Nothing Ear (a) review: Feature-packed wireless earbuds in midrange segment | Tech Reviews

British consumer technology start-up Nothing recently launched in India the Ear (a) wireless earbuds. The “a” suffix in the name could denote affordability because the Ear (a) is the affordable model, at Rs 7,999, in Nothing’s 2024 Ear wireless earbuds line – other being the Nothing Ear priced at Rs 11,999. Though cheaper, the Nothing Ear (a) is an interesting proposition since it debuts Nothing’s new yellow colourway and boasts premium features. Moreover, like the elder sibling, the Ear (a) supports ChatGPT integration when paired with supported Nothing smartphones. But how do these fare in terms of audio, features, battery life, and connectivity? Let us find out:

Design

Despite donning a familiar Nothing design theme, the Ear (a) stands out with a new yellow colour that looks striking without being too flashy. The new colour option is complemented by black colour accents on both the earbuds and their charging-and-storage case. Like other Nothing earbuds, the case here features a transparent design with charging port (UBS-C) on the back and charging indicator together with pairing button on the inside cavity. As for the earbuds, these sport an in-ear design with black coloured internals complemented by yellow colour cavity. The earbuds ship with ear tips of three different sizes in addition to the medium size, which are pre-installed on the earbuds.

Pairing and connectivity

Connecting the Nothing Ear (a) to an Android device is simple since the wireless earbuds support Google Fast Pair – open the case, place it near an Android device, and follow the on-screen instruction to pair and connect. For non-Android devices, the pairing process is similar to connecting any other Bluetooth devices – go-to Bluetooth settings, search for Ear (a) in the list of discovered devices, and tap on pair to connect.

The above steps apply for the first time pairing process. To pair with a new device, long press the pairing button on the case until the light indicator starts blinking and then go-to Bluetooth settings on the source device to find the earbuds in the discovered devices list to pair and connect. Important to note, the Nothing Ear (a) supports connection with up to two devices simultaneously.

Companion app

The Ear (a) is powered by Nothing X companion app for smartphones – iOS and Android. The app boasts a simple interface with most of the options available upfront on the home screen. The app displays the battery for both the case and earbuds separately. As for the customisation options, there are equalizer, controls for active noise cancellation, and an option for bass enhancement.

Audio quality, ANC, and features

The earbuds excel in sound quality, delivering deep bass and clear soundstage across frequency bands. Though tuned for bass-rich output, there are preset equalisers to customise audio signature based on one’s preferences.

Among the core differentiating features for the Nothing Ear (a) is the support for LDAC audio codec, which enables audio streaming in hi-res. Though disabled by default, the LDAC codec can be enabled from settings in the companion apps. Important to note, the codec is not largely supported by all devices.

Coming to the features, the earbuds support in-ear detection, automatically playing audio when inserted and pausing when removed. This is an opt-in feature, which can be enabled/disabled from the companion app.

Besides, there is an active ANC and transparency mode. Users can seamlessly switch between transparent and ANC either through the app or by on the earbuds, indicated by a distinctive breathing sound. The adaptive ANC feature works well in noisy environments. While the ANC adapts, users have the flexibility to manually adjust the passthrough intensity with three level settings: low, mid, and high.

During calls, the microphone provides clear sound even in noisy surroundings, ensuring a smooth calling experience by automatically transitioning from transparency mode to ANC. The environmental noise cancellation is robust, supported by a Clear Voice Technology with 3 mics per bud.

Battery

According to Nothing, the Ear (a) can deliver up to 5.2 hours of playtime with ANC enabled and up to 24 hours with the case. As for charging it comes with a USB- C type cable for wired charging and supports wireless charging (2.5W).

Verdict

The Nothing Ear (a) are feature-packed wireless earbuds. Boasting a stylish design, balanced audio quality, and effective noise cancellation, the Nothing Ear (a) impresses with ease-of-use when used along with a companion app. Additionally, the earbuds support ChatGPT integration (only with Nothing phone) and “Find my earbuds” feature, enhancing their functionality. At Rs 7,999, the Nothing Ear (a) excels in sound quality, battery life, and overall user experience, positioning it as a worthy competitor to premium earbuds in the market.