Nothing Ear (2) long-term review: my new favorite earbuds

Nothing, like many big tech makers, changes the design of its products only minimally from generation to generation. With the Nothing Ear (2), that doesn’t bother me, because this is only the second generation. Under the hood, though, Nothing has stepped it up again. The earbuds have become my favorites by now, and at the moment I actually wear only them.

Design: transparent and high-quality

I think the design is great. It looks modern and high-quality and stands out from the crowd. The transparent look runs through all Nothing products. Because I have the Nothing Phone (1) in this design, I wanted the matching earbuds too, and maybe the matching smartwatch will come in the future. As with Samsung and Apple, once you start with one product, you want the others to go with it.

The hard plastic case has become a bit smaller compared to its predecessor. The design of the buds themselves hasn’t changed, and I like that. For me, the Nothing Ear (1) and (2) are the best-looking in-ear Bluetooth earbuds, even if they’re strongly modeled on the Apple AirPods.

Controls and app

The controls have changed. You no longer tap or swipe on the housing, but press a very small press button on the stem, which you first have to find by feel. With it, you start or stop music and accept or decline calls.

I find it a pity that the swipe gesture for volume is gone. I found it super handy. In the app, only a single gesture can still be customized: press twice and hold. I assigned it to “Increase volume.” There is no longer any option for “Decrease volume.”

The app offers, among other things:

• Modes: active noise cancellation, transparency mode, or normal mode. You switch in the app or by long-pressing the left or right earbud. In transparency mode, though, the buds hiss a little.
• Noise cancellation: high, medium, and low levels and an adaptive mode. You can only set the adaptive mode in the app.
• Wear detection: The music pauses when you take one or both buds out of your ear.
• Personalized noise cancellation: It adapts to the volume of the surroundings.
• Low latency: I don’t quite understand why that’s a mode. It would be nice if it were that way by default.
• Dual connection: Two devices, such as smartphone and tablet, are paired at the same time.
• LHDC codec: It only helps if the paired device supports it. The Nothing Phone (1) does, a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone currently doesn’t. I couldn’t hear a difference between the Nothing Phone and the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
• Personal sound profile: After a kind of hearing test, the audio quality adapts. For me it had hardly any effect. For people with impaired hearing it may be useful.
• Equalizer: I like listening to my sound with a lot of bass.

The audio feedback when switching modes is funny, a long exhale or a typical Nothing knock. The first time, I was a bit startled.

Noise cancellation

Active noise cancellation dampens up to 40 decibels. That’s okay, actually even pretty good. But it can’t keep up with that of the Apple AirPods or the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, though those also cost a bit more. The Nothing Ear (2) start at an RRP of €149.

Sound and calls

The audio quality is excellent and on the level of the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, and in my view also on the level of the AirPods Pro. When watching movies, making calls, and listening to music and podcasts, I couldn’t find any notable difference. Thanks to Clear Voice technology and three microphones on each bud, call quality has gotten even better. The person on the other end understands me clearly and distinctly.

Wearing comfort, battery, and charging

The wearing comfort is very high. The buds sit perfectly and don’t fall out of the ear even during sports. They are protected against sweat and dust to IP54.

• Playtime: about 5.5 hours without and 3.5 hours with noise cancellation switched on, before I have to put them back in the case. That gets me through the day just fine.
• Fast charging: If you hang the earbuds on the cable for 10 minutes, together with the charging case you get a maximum playtime of 8 hours.
• Wireless: With up to 2.5 watts, for example on the back of the Nothing Phone (1). I love such practical things.

Verdict

The Nothing Ear (2) are my current favorite earbuds. Design, wearing comfort, audio quality, and voice quality are great. Only the noise cancellation could be better.