Along with the Nothing ear, which is the successor to Nothing ear (2), Nothing also launched the ear (a), a cheaper model last week. These feature a new design, comes in new eye-catching yellow color, but only the top of the case is transparent.
This has Bluetooth 5.3 and 45dB ANC, which is present in the Nothing ear. Even though these have LDAC code, these lack LHDC 5.0 audio codec which is present in the Nothing ear.
The battery life has improved, and launch price is less than the ear (2). So, the true wireless earbuds with ANC is worth the price? Let us dive into the review to find out.
Box Contents
- Nothing ear (a) in Yellow colour
- Ear tips in Small and Large sizes (Medium pre-installed)
- Braided USB Type-C cable
- User guide
The ear (a) has a new bubble-like design with raised contours for the case that is different from older models. The design team says that it takes inspiration from everyday pill packets.
The case has magnets, so the buds gets locked securely and doesn’t fall off easily. The glossy finish on the bottom gets scratched easily with everyday day.
The metal hinge felt loose, and when I tried to insert it inside, the top plastic cover came off easily, and I couldn’t seal the case tightly any more. This could be an issue with the glue applied in our unit or a manufacturing flaw. I have been using the earbuds for a week now. Since the case doesn’t shut properly, the buds are always connected to my phone.
The charging case measures 47.6 x 63.3 x 22.7mm and weighs 39.6 grams, making it smaller and lighter than the ear even with the same battery. There is a tiny LED light on the case that glows in white. The case also has IPX2 ratings for splash resistance compared to IP55 ratings in the Nothing ear.
The in-ear earbuds still have a transparent design for the stem as usual, and the yellow color for the earbuds are eye-catching. The earbuds weigh about 4.8 grams. Measuring 30.9 x 21.7 x 24.3mm, these are bigger. You can see the microphones.
There is an optical sensor for wear detection so that it can automatically pause the audio when you remove it from your ears and play when you put it back.
You can also see the NOTHING ear (a) branding on the outside where the touch-sensitive area is present that lets you control play/pause, ANC and volume. The earphones have IP54 ratings for dust and water resistance. It can withstand splashes or light rain, but you can’t use it when swimming.
The fit was perfect, and it doesn’t come out easily, even during strenuous activities like running or workout. The Earbuds fit test option plays music to ensure that your ear tips make a good seal with your ear canal for better noise-cancelling.
Connectivity, Pairing, and Controls
The Nothing Ear (a) supports Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC audio codec for HD sound quality on supported devices, it also supports AAC codec that works in phones that have it. LDAC offers transmission rate of up to 990 kbps at 32 bits/96 kHz.
The Nothing Ear has LHDC 5.0 that offers a transmission rate of up to 1Mbps, and transmitting frequencies up to 24 bit/192 kHz.
The pairing process is very easy. Just enable Bluetooth on the phone, open the charging case of the buds, place the charging case close to the phone, and follow the prompts. To connect to other devices, place the Buds into the charging case with the cover opened. Press and hold the setup button in the case for 2 seconds to enter Bluetooth settings. Then, select the Nothing Ear (a).
There is a fast pair option which works in latest Android phones. We tested it on the Pixel 8 and the OPPO Find X7 Ultra, and never faced any pairing or disconnection issues. There is also Microsoft Swift Pair to connect it to Windows. Since the phone pairs with the case and not the headset, you will need the case if you want to reconnect it or even turn on the headset if it’s disconnected from the phone.
You can enable dual connection option that lets you connect to two devices at the same time and switch the audio playback between them. But the headset gets rebooted every time you need to disable or disable the feature.
The earbuds feature press controls to avoid any accidental touches and discomfort of tapping into the ear canal. This lets you skip tracks, switch between noise cancellation modes, and adjust volume – all with a press. The controls can be customised in the Nothing X app.
| Function | Left earphone (L) | Right earphone (R) |
| Play / Pause or Answer call / Hang calls | Single Pinch | |
| Skip forward / Decline Incoming call | Double Pinch | |
| Skip back | Triple Pinch | |
| Switch between ANC and Transparency Mode | Pinch and Hold | |
| Volume control | Customizable with Pinch and Hold / Double Pinch and Hold | |
Wish the company brought back sliding option to control volume, so you have to customise them with the Nothing X app on Android and iPhone. You can change actions for Triple Pinch, Pinch and Hold and Pinch and Hold for each bud, but you can’t customise single or double pinch.
You can disable in-ear Detection from the settings. The company has also added ChatGPT integration when you use it with Nothing phones.
Audio Quality
The Nothing Ear (a) has a 11mm dynamic driver with PMI + TPU diaphragm. There is extra space in the buds that gives sound waves more room to vibrate, and with two new vents, airflow is improved inside the bud, says the company.
The audio quality is crisp with clear vocals, deeper low frequencies and the high frequencies were clear, thanks to the design. Mid-range and the upper midrange are decent, but I felt the ear did a better job. LDAC worked with the OPPO Find X7 Ultra and the Pixel 8.
It features four equalizer presets – Balanced (default), More Bass, More Treble and Voice – so that every song can be heard how it should. You can also create custom EQ.
This doesn’t have 8-band custom equalizer option, and Personal Sound Profile, which the ear has. There is a Bass enhance feature that lets you set levels from 1 to 5. Custom 8-band EQ doesn’t matter for me, but Personal sound profile was useful in the ear (2) since it tunes the audio based on the ear canal.
Noise Cancellation and Call Performance
Regarding the Noise cancellation, the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) blocks the ambient sound up to 45dB with 5000Hz frequency range, compared to 40db in the ear (1) and ear (2). The quality is good compared to the older models. You can feel the difference when you are listening in doors and outdoors.
There are four modes, Low, Mid, High and Adaptive Mode that automatically adjusts the noise reduction level based on your environment in real-time. This doesn’t have personalised ANC options, which the Nothing ear has. You can switch between noise cancellation, transparency and no noise cancellation with a pinch and hold on the earbuds.
This also has Transparency mode that allows you to listen to ambient sound so that you can recognize the surrounding situation and any potential risks. The low-latency gaming mode, which is called low lag mode, works automatically with the Nothing Phones in Game Mode, but you need to enable it from the settings for other devices. Without the low lag mode, the latency is too high, but it is decent with the mode enabled, which the company claims is 120ms.
Coming to the call noise cancellation, it uses Clear Voice Technology for calls that uses three high-definition microphones to cut external noise. The company says that it has talk mic and extra airway on the stem for wind to pass through, so interference is reduced by 60% compared to Ear (2).
Based on my use, the call quality has improved a lot, and the wind noise was completely cut out to the receiver, and the traffic noise were faintly audible.
Battery Life
The earphones pack a 46mAh battery that promises about 9.5 hours of standalone battery life without ANC and 5.5 hours with ANC. During my use with LDAC and noise cancellation enabled, I got slightly over 5 hours in about 60% volume, which is good. With AAC and noise cancellation fully off in 50% volume, it lasted for close to 9 hours, which is the best. For calls, it lasts only for 4 hours with ANC since it uses call noise cancellation tech.
With the 500mAh charging case, smaller than the 570mAh in the ear (1), and bigger than the ear (2) it promises up to 42.5 hours of total battery life without ANC and 24.5 hours of total battery life with noise cancellation enabled. Battery life is the best in the earbuds. This doesn’t have wireless charging support.
Conclusion
Overall, Nothing ear (a) is a decent active noise cancellation (ANC) TWS for the price. The new design is attractive, the case is compact, audio quality and the ANC are good.
Even though the launch price is cheaper than the ear (2), this is still at a higher range for earbuds without features like wireless charging, and LHDC codec.
Priced at Rs. 7,999, the Ear (a) is available from Flipkart online as well as Croma and Vijay sales.
Alternatives
At a cheaper rate, OnePlus Buds 3 offers dual drivers and LHDC 5.0. If you spend a bit more, you can even get the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 that gets cheaper during sale.
Pros
- Eye-catching design
- Good audio quality, LDAC audio codec
- Brilliant call quality
- Good ANC with customizable modes
- IP54 for buds and IPX2 for case
- Good battery life
Cons
- No LHDC audio codec
- Glossy case is prone to scratches
- Hinge is not sturdy
- No profile sharing, personal sound profile and Personalized ANC