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Nothing ear (1): Transparent ANC in-ears start for 99 euros

Jul 27, 2021

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With the ear (1), the young company Nothing is launching its first wireless in-ear headphones that not only want to attract attention with their transparent design, but also with the value for money. With a price of only 99 euros, the ANC in-ears promise a lot.

For users, ease of use should be in the foreground and technology in the background. For this project, well-known people in the industry have teamed up such as Tony Fadell, who is considered the inventor of the iPod, Kevin Lin (co-founder of Twitch), Steve Huffman (co-founder and CEO of Reddit) and Casey Neistat (co-founder of Beme).

Transparent design of the earphones and the charging case

The transparent design of the earphones also focused the design focus on the inner components when developing the ear (1), because components such as magnets are usually not polished if they are not visibly installed. The search for suitable suppliers and components was therefore a challenge, according to Nothing.

A special adhesive had to be found for joining the housing together, which is no longer visible after drying. The transparent design is continued in parts of the charging case. Instead of using the usual labeling with the letters “R” and “L” for the right and left earbuds and charging position in the case, Nothing uses language-independent colored markings (red and white) on the ear (1) as they are knows about cinch plugs in the audio sector.

The design should also exude lightness, which is continued in the technical data with a weight of 4.7 grams per earphone. For the ear (1), Nothing itself is more often looking for a comparison with Apple's AirPods Pro (test), which are undoubtedly the top dog among the ANC in-ears as a competitor.

Bluetooth 5.2 and AAC without multipoint

The Nothing Ears (1) rely on 11.6 mm large, dynamic drivers and a larger sound chamber compared to the AirPods Pro. Bluetooth 5.2 ensures a greater radio range and lower power consumption. However, Nothing does not use Multipoint (Bluetooth Multi-Connect) to connect several end devices to the earphones at the same time and to switch seamlessly between them – according to their own statements, because the battery life suffers too much. When it comes to audio codecs, the ear (1) rely on AAC and SBC, so they lack an HD codec. With new Android smartphones, Fast Pair can also be used to connect the earphones to the smartphone more easily. The app can be used to search for the ear (1) by playing a beep when they are within range.

ANC, transparency mode and neutral sound

The active noise suppression (ANC) of the ear (1) is supposed to attenuate the environment by up to 40 dB, which promises above-average noise suppression. To achieve this, Nothing relies on three microphones per earphone, which are directed both inwards and outwards (feed-forward and feedback processing). In addition, the ANC can be adapted via the app, which is available for Android and iOS. The ear (1) also offer a transparency mode, but the intensity cannot be adjusted. The earphones also have air channels for pressure compensation to ensure a comfortable fit.

Nothing promises a neutral vote for the sound, because you don't want to change the music of the artists. If you want to adjust the sound, you can use the equalizer in the app.

Comparatively short battery life

The 31 mAh battery in the earphones ensures uninterrupted music playback for 5.7 hours without ANC and 4 hours with ANC. The battery life can be extended to 34 hours without ANC or 24 hours with ANC via the charging case. The capacity of the battery in the charging case is 570 mAh. Fast charging ensures that after 10 minutes of charging, music can be played for another 90 minutes without ANC or 50 minutes with ANC. The ear (1) can be charged either via USB-C or via wireless charging according to the Qi standard. With dimensions of 58.6 × 58.6 × 23.7 mm, the charging case weighs 57.4 grams.

control over the handle with auto-play/pause

The stem of the earphones houses the touch controls. In addition to double and triple taps, the functions tap and hold and swipe up and down are used. Swiping up and down controls the volume. Ear (1) users can use the app to adjust the occupancy. In addition, sensors ensure that playback pauses when the earphones are removed (auto-pause) and continues when they are inserted (auto-play).

Nothing ear (1) Apple AirPods Pro Bluetooth standard: 5.2 5.0 Audio codecs: SBC, AAC Operation: Touch Battery life of the earphones: 5.7/4.0 (ANC) h 5.0/4.5 (ANC) h Battery life with charging case: 34 h 24 h Wireless charging: Yes ANC: Yes Single use: Yes IP certification: IPX4 Weight per earphone/only charging case: 4.7/57.4 g 5.5/46.0 g USB charging connection : USB-C Lightning Dimensions charging case: 23.7 × 58.6 × 58.6 mm 45.2 × 60.6 × 21.7 mm Price: € 99 from € 185

IPX4 and Fidget Spinner

The earphones are protected against splash water in accordance with IPX4, so they can also be worn in the rain. The observation that many users keep opening and closing the charging case of their AirPods Pro has also led to the fact that you can hold the charging case of the ear (1) by the indentations and turn it in your hand like a fidget spinner.

In addition to the earphones, ear (1), and the charging case, ear (case), the customer receives three differently sized silicone attachments that allow adaptation to the individual size of the ear canal.

The ear (1) can be ordered directly from Nothing for 99 euros from July 31st.

Update 07/27/2021 8:25 pm

In the meantime, Nothing has released a few pictures that better show the transparent inside and thus also the inner workings.