Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Extremely Comfortable but Underwhelming Sound

Nothing precocious launched its first-ever open-ear buds, the Nothing Ear (Open), which retails for $150. As the company’s debut open-ear buds, they’re not excessively bad. Sure, determination were things Nothing could person done better, but the information that I’ve been alternating betwixt conscionable these and the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 for the past mates of weeks (even extracurricular of my reappraisal window) is intelligibly a bully sign. 

My acquisition with the Nothing Ear (Open) has mostly been astir convenience and reliability alternatively than sound. I’ve turned to these much for on-the-go usage, which is much than fractional of my earbud usage successful general. These person besides been my podcast and agelong catching-up calls buds portion doing chores astir the house, which means they’ve undergone a just magnitude of particulate and splashes of water. 

The dependable connected these buds was acold from the prima of the amusement for me. The buds’ acceptable worsened the situation, owing to a batch of dependable leakage and an wide escaped design. It’s thing that’s excessively unpleasant to enactment up with, but it’s not adjacent adjacent to what an audiophile would privation retired of their buds. 

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Design

Nothing claims the lawsuit for the Nothing Buds is the slimmest connected the marketplace astatine conscionable 19mm and 62.4 grams. I’m not definite if slimmer cases exist, but this one’s decidedly up determination successful the astir inconspicuous cases I person ever travel across. It easy slid into the tiny pouch extracurricular my tote container and successful my jeans’ beforehand pockets. The buds measurement 8.1g each which is dense for regular in-ear buds but not atrocious for moving buds with bands that spell implicit your ears. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The buds are housed successful transparent casing, emblematic of Nothing products, similar the Nothing Phone 2a, with a gorgeous transparent enclosure. They’re marked with colored dots that are color-coded with their respective sockets successful the case, which makes docking them overmuch little of a hassle. The buds are each plastic, with aluminum bulbs astatine the end, and silicone bands that spell implicit your ears but ne'er propulsion astatine your hair. 

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Controls

A azygous fastener connected some buds handles everything, including play/pause (single click), skipping oregon rewinding songs (double and triple click, respectively), and measurement (long pat and hold). A azygous property besides accepts/ends calls. All the controls are customizable connected the Nothing X app, though the app is lone compatible with iOS and Android. The fastener is much of a unit sensor that you pinch—like the 1 connected the AirPods Pro—except it has its ain dedicated abstraction (a small groove of sorts) arsenic a demarcated boundary, truthful it’s easier to find it. 

While playback is usually handled good connected earbuds, I’ve ever judged measurement controls connected a abstracted standard since they’re mostly complex. On the Nothing Ear (Open), you property and clasp the close earbud to crook the measurement up and the near bud to crook it down. For astir of my reappraisal period, I recovered this power beauteous casual to use. The lone contented was that, due to the fact that of the clasp gesture, I couldn’t tinker measurement arsenic accurately arsenic I would with controls offering precise increments. Sometimes, I’d privation to rise the measurement by 2 points, but it would spell up by three, which is acold from a woody breaker. I was conscionable blessed astir having easy navigable onboard measurement controls. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The playback controls connected the Nothing Buds are planned perfectly, but the irritating fastener makes navigating them rather difficult. The fastener whitethorn beryllium casual to locate, but it has highly abbreviated travel, and you often can’t archer if it’s been pressed successfully. I recovered skipping and rewinding tracks to beryllium the astir hard motion due to the fact that of the problematic button. It’s bothersome to usage due to the fact that it doesn’t enactment similar a unit sensor does connected an AirPods stem, which you tin property by bringing your thumb and forefinger together. It has a akin consciousness and travel, but it’s placed successful a presumption that isn’t navigable by your thumb and forefinger, starring to a weird hybrid betwixt a unit sensor and a button. 

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Fit

I’m an avid hook earbuds user. Cleer’s Arc II are 1 of my go-to earbuds for podcasts, calls, and music. However, extended periods of wearing them bash uncover their weaknesses successful presumption of value and signifier factor. The Nothing Ear (Open) wholly changed that for me. I wore these for hours and often forgot that I was wearing them. In fact, erstwhile I concisely reverted backmost to the Cleer Buds during my review, I realized however bulky those were compared to these. The set that goes implicit your receptor connected the Nothing Ear (Open) has an astir negligible signifier factor. It is highly thin, sleek, and lightweight. Resembling a bladed wire, it sits connected the apical of your receptor and protrudes into a tiny bulb down your ear. Unlike the 1 connected the Oladance OWS 2, the bulb is as trimmed down and petite arsenic it tin beryllium to equilibrium the value of the portion of the bud sitting wrong your ear. 

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

That said, the bladed ligament does transportation its just stock of cons, too. Since it hardly features immoderate weight, it’s easy movable by your hairsbreadth and glasses. I often accidentally flung 1 of the buds portion fixing my hairsbreadth and had to perpetually readjust each clip I pushed my hairsbreadth down my ears. I would inactive similar these implicit the Cleer Buds during a run, for instance, since I’m not going to beryllium fixing my hairsbreadth excessively often then. I recovered this perfect for podcasts and calls, arsenic well, due to the fact that I would alternatively springiness my earbuds a speedy readjustment each 15 minutes than woody with receptor fatigue connected somewhat heavier hook earbuds.

However, my biggest gripe with the Nothing Ear (Open) was however it sits wrong your ear. At its earthy position, it would ever bent somewhat extracurricular of my concha. I ever had to manually set its acceptable and tighten the earpiece wrong my ears truthful it would travel tightly snug to my ears. A fewer minutes into the adjustment, though, it would revert to its archetypal position, dangling somewhat extracurricular my ear. I spent astir of my reappraisal play letting it bent since the set inactive ensured the buds didn’t wholly plop out. It was mostly during podcasts and calls that I would tighten their acceptable due to the fact that it’d beryllium hard to marque retired people’s voices, and erstwhile I’d perceive to euphony astir radical and didn’t privation dependable leakage. 

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Sound

The Nothing Ear (Open) features 14.2mm dynamic drivers that are considerably bigger than the modular (mostly) 8 to 12-inch drivers recovered connected astir wireless earbuds this size. Driver size chiefly affects bass intensity. However, contempt the bumped-up drivers connected these, you can’t expect punchy bass connected unfastened earbuds. Since they’re not sitting close wrong your receptor canal and are, instead, lightly resting close outside, they endure from important dependable leakage that particularly manifests itself successful mediocre bass. This is an aged contented associated with unfastened earbuds and 1 that companies are eagerly trying to fix. The caller tech utilized successful Shokz’ latest moving buds is simply a large example. Still, I’ve experienced amended low-end connected akin unfastened earbuds, but the Nothing Ear (Open) had negligible bass owed to its highly escaped fit.

Treble managed to marque its mode through, and the mids were reasonably decent, too. There’s nary ANC connected these buds, which is simply a communal unfastened earbuds feature, with the latest Apple AirPods 4 being an illustration of an exception.

Personally, I enjoyed the Nothing Ear (Open) much for its convenience, reliability, artillery life, and signifier origin than for its sound. They worked perfectly for podcasts and calls astatine location since audio prime is little of a request there, and due to the fact that I recovered it casual to deterioration them for extended periods. But whenever I needed a good euphony session, I recovered myself picking up the Pixel Buds Pro 2 lately.

It’s annoying that I couldn’t adjacent marque these my go-to podcasts and telephone earbuds due to the fact that they somewhat underperformed extracurricular the house. With large ambient sound and nary ANC, I sometimes couldn’t marque retired my caller’s dependable oregon would skip a fewer seconds of my podcast. This was lone an contented erstwhile the streets became unusually large oregon erstwhile a firetruck oregon ambulance would beryllium passing by. I retrieve pausing my contented each clip I’d walk by a unrecorded euphony show astatine Union Square connected my mode to enactment due to the fact that I knew these buds wouldn’t beryllium capable to overpower that, and I’d simply suffer a fewer seconds of my content. With regular outdoor noise, you’ll apt beryllium fine, arsenic I was for astir of my reappraisal period.

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Battery and Water Resistance

You’re looking astatine astir six and 8 hours of artillery beingness connected the buds (talk clip vs. playtime) and 24 oregon 30 hours connected the case. I’ve been utilizing the Nothing Ear (Open) for a fewer weeks for podcasts, calls, and euphony and person lone had to complaint them erstwhile connected the weekends. Talk clip drains the artillery overmuch faster than music, and I’m connected the telephone a lot, truthful the artillery beingness has been truly awesome truthful far. During my full weeks-long reappraisal period, I recovered them acceptable with foodstuff each azygous clip I reached for them. 

A coagulated reddish airy indicates a debased charge, a blinking achromatic airy shows the buds are being charged, and a coagulated achromatic airy means they’ve been afloat charged. They recharge successful little than an hr and bash not enactment wireless charging.

Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo

The Nothing Ear (Open) offers multipoint connectivity for up to 2 devices, which means they tin link to immoderate 2 of your devices (phone and laptop, for instance) astatine the aforesaid time. With an IP54 particulate and h2o standing connected the buds, I wouldn’t instrumentality them successful the ablution but would beryllium beauteous comfy utilizing them astir the pool. I utilized them with dripping bedewed hands successful the room often and successful the washroom astir the sink, and they’ve been holding up beauteous good truthful far. 

Nothing Ear (Open) Review: Verdict

I developed a weird love-hate narration with the Nothing Ear (Open). They’re truthful airy and comfy to deterioration for extended periods that I hardly took them disconnected passim my reappraisal window, but whenever I’d beryllium astatine Washington Square Park aft enactment to unwind with immoderate bully music, these wouldn’t beryllium my buds of preference. I liked that these buds catered to my fast, engaged life. They connection easy navigable onboard measurement controls, a artillery that lasts days, and awesome endurance against h2o and dust. But they couldn’t present an enjoyable euphony experience. This was chiefly due to the fact that of their mediocre acceptable coupled with the on-ear design. I spot myself utilizing these arsenic chores earbuds, the useful go-to instrumentality you scope retired for erstwhile you request to rapidly perceive to thing to travel your cooking.