Nice in the event you don’t love sticking issues in your ears

Launching a little bit greater than a yr after it debuted the Nothing Ear 1, Carl Pei’s firm is again with one other audio product, this time devoted to individuals who wish to hear their tunes however dislike the sensation of getting one thing lodged of their ears. The Nothing Ear Stick are one other tackle true wi-fi buds, with an open design that sits outdoors your ear canal. And though it could appear that that is the one distinction between the Stick and the Ear 1, that isn’t the case. Nothing packed a number of refinements into this new pair within the hopes of justifying the $99 asking value, however are they sufficient? Let’s discover out in Android Authority‘s Nothing Ear Stick assessment.

• Nothing Ear (Stick): $99 / £99 / €119

The very first thing that’ll catch your consideration with the Nothing Ear Stick is the tubular case. Nothing needs you to take a look at it as a vogue accent first and a tech object second — it succeeded. The case is paying homage to lipsticks; you twist the underside half to open it, then twist to shut it. It’s a wonderful fidget too — I’ve usually discovered myself opening it and shutting it for no motive apart from it was at arm’s attain.

Nothing’s design ethos nonetheless dictates every thing concerning the case and the buds inside it. Transparency, white and black with some pink accents, and a dot matrix font for each branding aspect. You possibly can’t confuse this model with every other firm’s.

Inside, the buds look practically an identical to the Nothing Ear 1, save for the absence of a silicone tip. As an alternative, the entire bud is manufactured from plastic with three seen grills that disguise the speaker and new microphones.

A brand new custom-built 12.6mm driver sits inside every bud, and it’s supposedly massive sufficient to compensate for all of the sound leakage from the open design. There are three microphones to cancel any background noise that’s louder than three decibels and be sure you sound very clear throughout calls. Clearly, these microphones don’t play any function in lively noise cancellation (ANC) when you’re listening to audio — the design merely makes any isolation inconceivable.

Nonetheless, Nothing is sticking with AAC and SBC; there’s no help for aptX or every other high-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs. However not less than there’s a brand new Ear Stick-only low-latency setting that ought to cut back lag whereas taking part in video games, even on the AAC and SBC codecs. In my exams, I seen a small, very small latency discount with this setting enabled on my Pixel 7 Professional.

For controls, Nothing has opted for a brand new strain mechanism as a substitute of swipe gestures. It’s important to maintain the stem of every earbud between your fingers and squeeze it to set off any actions. It’s a extra deliberate motion that ought to cut back, if not take away, any unintentional swipes.

The Ear Stick additionally profit from a barely extended battery life — seven hours with out the case. With the case, this could go as much as 29 hours. Our exams have been in-line with these numbers. A two-hour listening session at 70% quantity drops the battery all the way down to 70% on common, and the case lasts round two weeks on a cost with a few hours of every day use. Each of those are strong stats, although understand that ANC is usually an enormous drain for true wi-fi earbuds — one thing the Ear Stick would not have.

The Ear Stick present up natively within the Fast Settings space of the Nothing Cellphone 1, however they’ll additionally hook up with any Bluetooth machine. It helps Google’s Quick Pair, which simplifies connections to any subsequent machine after you’ve paired them with the primary one below your Google account. Plus, Nothing’s new app enables you to customise the completely different controls and choose between 4 preset equalizers. You can even use a {custom} EQ to set the bottom, mids, and treble to your liking.

Out there solely in white, the Nothing Ear Stick retail for $99 now, the identical because the launch value of the Ear 1 (which has now been raised to $149).

Every time you’re taking the Nothing Ear Stick out of your pocket in public, you’ll get a look or two as a result of these aren’t your typical earbuds. The case’s design is exclusive and it’s extremely enjoyable — and a bit addictive — to twist it open and closed on a regular basis.

Nothing says it examined the Ear Stick’s form on 200 completely different ear fashions to verify it’s comfy and safe. For my particular ears, the match is sort of as nice because the Ear 1, which I’ve lauded repeatedly as essentially the most comfy buds I’ve ever worn. The Ear Stick simply don’t exert strain anyplace in my ears, which is a really bizarre feeling to get used to. And even throughout lengthy listening classes, there’s not a second the place I felt that rising clogged-ear sensation that pushes me to take away some in-ear earbuds each hour or two.

It is a nice pair of true wi-fi buds for anybody who simply doesn’t like every in-ear annoyance. The dearth of a tip to stabilize them does hold me on my toes, nonetheless, however extra on that within the subsequent part.

As somebody with medium-length free hair that always triggers earbuds’ gestures inadvertently, I welcome Nothing’s transfer to pressure-based controls. All the pausing, quantity altering, and monitor skipping I’ve completed on the Ear Stick up to now has been intentional.

The Ear Stick additionally sound surprisingly loud and clear. Quantity-wise, it appears to go as loud because the Ear 1, regardless of the extra open design, although I couldn’t tolerate it that top for lengthy. At round 70%, there’s nonetheless sufficient quantity to take pleasure in your music, podcasts, or audiobooks.

The mids and highs are undoubtedly clearer than the Ear 1. The bass is just barely improved; the open design tends to carry down the thumping feeling of bass with it, however Nothing’s “bass lock” algorithm balances that out. And in the event you don’t just like the default sound signature, there are three completely different presets and a {custom} equalizer to tailor it in 12-step increments (-6 to +6 for bass, mids, and treble).

In comparison with the Ear 1, there’s a marked enchancment within the built-in microphones’ audio high quality too. Voices come out clearer (although with some odd artifacts in calmer environments) and background noise is diminished, even when it’s erratic and inconsistent. I examined this out by recording a pattern subsequent to a Nest Hub that was taking part in wind, nature, fan, and thunderstorm sounds. Whereas the Ear Stick canceled out each little bit of noise, the Ear 1 nonetheless let a number of the louder thunders and noises come by.

Nothing Ear 1 pattern recording with close by thunderstorm sounds:

Nothing Ear Stick pattern recording with close by thunderstorm sounds:

Due to the buds’ design, transparency and consciousness are default options. You don’t should allow any setting to listen to your environment, so you possibly can — roughly — safely put on these on the road and at dwelling with out concern of lacking out on a honk, bell, alarm, crying youngster, or barking canine.

One facet impact of the Nothing Ear Stick’s tubular case design is the shortage of wi-fi charging. I’m used to plopping my Ear 1 case on a Qi pad at my desk, and I can’t try this with the Ear Stick. I’ve to be deliberate about plugging it in with a USB-C cable after I have to cost it.

One other facet impact is the case’s propensity to choose up mud and lint. The grainy white plastic attracts small particles when the case is in your bag or pocket (and even sitting at your desk), then you definitely twist it and every thing will get carried inside. Because of the clear plastic, you see each little annoying speck. I’ve already used a small air blaster — the identical one you utilize on digicam lenses — to take away a number of the mud. I don’t know what the case will appear like in a number of weeks or months.

Transferring on to the buds, the route Nothing took with the open design creates two weaknesses. One is the shortage of any stabilizing anchor for the bud contained in the ear. They simply sit there, free, unattached to something. It at all times appears like they’re one minor nudge away from falling out. I’ve bopped and shaken my head many occasions with out dislodging them, however that doesn’t imply they’re firmly secure. A flick of my finger on the stem takes them out. I’m positive a little bit of sweat may even trigger them to slip proper out (I’ve been sick and unable to train so I couldn’t take a look at this). This isn’t the pair of buds you go on a run with or put on on a jam-packed subway.

Talking of subways, the one time I dared put on them there, I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes. There’s no isolation with this open-bud design. Zero. You hear every thing, each little hum and drum and whir round you. Even on the loudest quantity, I may nonetheless hear each deafening noise from the Parisian metro. As a matter of reality, the loud quantity made the expertise extra painful; it was irritating to attempt to differentiate between the music and every thing else happening.

One final weak point to remember is the shortage of Bluetooth Multipoint, a function that’s making its option to a number of different true wi-fi buds just like the Pixel Buds Professional. You possibly can’t join the Nothing Ear Stick to 2 gadgets concurrently, and you may’t simply swap them from one to a different. You’ll have to decide on whether or not these are paired to your telephone or laptop (or pill, smartwatch, TV, and so on.) and be proud of that single selection.

The Ear Stick are positioned in a reasonably distinctive spot within the true wi-fi earbuds market. Competitors within the semi-open and open-ear section isn’t as fierce because the totally in-ear section, regardless of some customers’ demand for a pair of earbuds that don’t clog their ears or trigger any discomfort whereas sporting them.

Nothing is providing a solution right here with a pair of earbuds that may be worn for a number of hours with no strain or ache and with out skimping on sound high quality. However in doing so and in prioritizing aesthetics over perform, it finally ends up dropping some necessary options like wi-fi charging and passive isolation.

In the end, the Ear Stick proposition comes down to at least one easy query: Do you want sticking silicone or foam ideas in your ears? If that’s the case, then you definitely’ll most likely dislike the laborious plastic feeling of the Ear Stick’s buds, and also you’ll miss the additional stabilization and passive isolation supplied by a pair of in-ear buds. The dearth of ANC, even in the event you don’t at all times use it, is one other large loss to deal with.

But when the reply is not any and you actually should have a pair of earbuds with no in-ear ideas, then the Ear Stick are a really first rate worth at $99. The Apple AirPods (third era) ($19.99 at Amazon) value $80 extra and aren’t your best option for Android customers, whereas the Sony Linkbuds WF-L900 ($128 at Amazon) are additionally $80 costlier and have a bizarre design that may not match all ears. The Bose Sport Open ($229 at Amazon), are regularly discounted, and an fascinating various with a extra secure design, however they require a proprietary cradle for charging and don’t mechanically activate/off once you take them out of the case or put them again in. As compared, Nothing’s proposition with the Ear Stick appears very cheap.