Nothing Ear (open) review

02 November 2024

Most wireless earbuds have one crucial flaw—they have a tough time staying in your ears. That’s especially annoying if you’re working out, running, or simply walking about. Enter the Nothing Ear (open), which adds clever hooks that go around your ear to secure the buds in place.

As their name suggests, these are Nothing’s first open-fit earbuds. They omit the in-ear silicone tips and instead place their 14.2mm drivers next to your ear canal. Nothing developed a new Sound Seal System with directional speakers to keep sound leakage at bay.

You get the now signature Nothing look with transparent design elements, IP54 dust and water protection for both the buds and their charging case and a claimed 30 hours of playback.

So, did Nothing succeed with its first open wearable stereo (OWS) buds? Yes, but they come with several caveats.

Design

Nothing has excelled in creating an identifiable brand design, and the Ear (open) are no exception. The main compartment housing the drivers has the signature transparent look and exposes the stacked PCB and the pinch control sensors.

The main compartment is linked to the ear hooks, which features a nickel-titanium wire on the inside coated in soft-touch plastic. The end of each earbud has an aluminum bulb - an integral part of Nothing’s “three-point balance system”.

While each earbud weighs 8.1 grams - close to double of your average TWS earbud, you don’t feel the bulk thanks to the ergonomic swopping ear hook design and the great weight distribution.

We found the Nothing Ear (open) comfortable for all-day use thanks to their ergonomic design and the soft-touch materials on the ear hooks. At times, you genuinely forget you are wearing them. For those of you wearing glasses, we’re happy to report that the earhooks did not interfere at all, which is not always a given when dealing with earhooks.

But despite their comfortable fit, Ear (open) could not stay in place in one key area - at the tip of the ear canal. That main compartment housing the drivers would constantly move around, resulting in notable separation between the earbuds and your ears, which lets in even more outside noise. This resulted in a constant habit of readjusting the buds during our review process and meant that we had to turn up the volume most of the time.

The issue is evident not only during fast-paced activities like runs, hikes and gym sessions but also during normal desk work without much movement. No matter what we tried, we could not get a snug fit.

A few words on the charging case - it’s pretty wide at 125.9 mm (Ugreen dongle for scale) though it makes up by being just 19mm thick so it’s easy to slip into a pocket or bag. It charges via the USB-C port and omits wireless charging.

Features and companion app

Nothing packed sizeable 14.2 mm dynamic drivers inside the Ear (open). Nothing opted for a stepped driver approach, which lays the drivers as close to your ears as possible. It’s also paired with a Sound Seal System, which claims to minimize sound leakage via reverse sound waves captured by the microphones.

We already discussed the lackluster fit in the design section, and we have to reiterate that here, as there’s plenty of sound leakage. You should be wary of people hearing what you are playing, even at lower volume levels.

Ear (open) pair over Bluetooth 5.3 and support the generic AAC and SBC codecs. There’s no higher bitrate option here. You also get Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair for phones and PCs alongside dual device pairing, which worked flawlessly in our tests. We would have liked to see wear-detection sensors, which are present on most competitors’ TWS buds.

The Nothing X app is one of the best-looking companion apps on the market, and it boasts a neat array of features and control options.

Nothing opted for pinch controls that you operate via dedicated pressure sensors on the sides of each earbud. While not the most intuitive implementation, it worked flawlessly in our testing period. You can remap either side of the buds with double, triple, pinch and hold and double pinch and hold. We’re glad to report that there’s an option to control the volume from the buds via pinch and hold.

The app has four pre-installed equalizer options and a custom parametric option that allows for detailed frequency response tweaking. Nothing has been a leader in the sound customization space, and we’re glad the Ear (open) got the same attention as the brand’s flagship earbuds. The other neat bit is that users can export their custom sound signatures and also import options from community members.

Ear (open) supports the Find My network and offers a low-latency mode for gaming. If you own a Nothing phone, you can also summon and use ChatGPT directly from the buds. Rounding out the specs is an IP54 water and dust resistance for both the buds and their case. The IP54 rating for the case is something rarely seen from competitors.

Performance and Sound quality

Open-ear TWS buds aren’t known for particularly detailed sound signatures, but the Ear (open) delivers a pleasing listening experience if you don’t pay attention to the bass. One of the first things you notice is the lack of bass, which is unsurprising given the loose fit. The Xiaomi Buds 5 we reviewed recently are in a different league regarding bass reproduction while still being in the OWS buds category.

Lackluster bass aside, Ear (open) brings sharp treble and mids. Vocals and instruments sound rich and vibrant with surprising levels of detail for buds of this form factor. That’s paired with a great set of EQ customization that can help you get more out of the Ear (open) than the default presets offer.

You will need to turn up the volume when listening in noisier environments compared to in-ear buds. My first time at the gym with the Ear (open) was overshadowed by the loud music playing from the speakers at the facility. I was using the buds at 90% volume which is not something I resort to with regular earbuds.

Call quality is about average, with the buds having a tough time isolating my voice in busier environments. Bluetooth connectivity remained top-notch in our testing, with no drops even when stepping outside of rooms. The dual device pairing worked flawlessly when switching between a MacBook Pro 14 and iPhone 15 Pro, as did the pinch gesture controls.

Battery life

Nothing claims the Ear (open) will last up to 8 hours of listening time, with the case providing an additional 22 hours for a total playback time of 30 hours.

In our tests, the buds lasted for two weeks of daily usage around the office and at the gym before the red LED indicator on the case started flashing. Keep in mind that talk time endurance is lower as calls will drain out the buds in around 6 hours compared to the 8 hours of media playtime.

When you eventually need to charge the Ear (open), a quick 10-minute top-up will give you 2 hours of use.

Verdict

Nothing Ear (open) is one of the most comfortable pair of earbuds we’ve tested to date. Their soft hooks allow them to stay attached to your ears at all times and you don’t feel any ear fatigue even after wearing them all day. Combined with their signature Nothing design and a great set of features like dual device pairing, panoramic EQ customization, and reliable pinch gesture controls.

The Ear (open) are not flagship-grade buds in terms of sound reproduction, but they were never designed to compete with the likes of the AirPods Pro or Sony WF-1000XM5s. Nothing pitches these buds to people who want to be aware of their surroundings while commuting or jogging around busy cities, and we can certainly see them appealing to that category of users.

Combined with the flashy design, solid battery endurance and great companion app, the Ear (open) is a worthy consideration if you’re set on getting a pair of open-ear buds.

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