Great if you don’t like sticking things in your ears

Launching slightly greater than a yr after it debuted the Nothing Ear 1, Carl Pei’s firm is again with one other audio product, this time devoted to individuals who need to hear their tunes however dislike the sensation of getting one thing lodged of their ears. The Nothing Ear Stick are one other tackle true wi-fi buds, with an open design that sits exterior your ear canal. And though it might appear that that is the one distinction between the Stick and the Ear 1, that isn’t the case. Nothing packed a number of refinements into this new pair within the hopes of justifying the $99 asking value, however are they sufficient? Let’s discover out in Android Authority‘s Nothing Ear Stick evaluation.

• Nothing Ear (Stick): $99 / £99 / €119

The very first thing that’ll catch your consideration with the Nothing Ear Stick is the tubular case. Nothing desires you to have a look at it as a vogue accent first and a tech object second — it succeeded. The case is paying homage to lipsticks; you twist the underside half to open it, then twist to shut it. It’s a wonderful fidget too — I’ve usually discovered myself opening it and shutting it for no motive apart from it was at arm’s attain.

Nothing’s design ethos nonetheless dictates all the things in regards to the case and the buds inside it. Transparency, white and black with some purple accents, and a dot matrix font for each branding factor. You possibly can’t confuse this type with another firm’s.

Inside, the buds look almost similar to the Nothing Ear 1, save for the absence of a silicone tip. As an alternative, the entire bud is manufactured from plastic with three seen grills that disguise the speaker and new microphones.

A brand new custom-built 12.6mm driver sits inside every bud, and it’s supposedly massive sufficient to compensate for all of the sound leakage from the open design. There are three microphones to cancel any background noise that’s louder than three decibels and be sure to sound very clear throughout calls. Clearly, these microphones don’t play any function in lively noise cancellation (ANC) whilst you’re listening to audio — the design merely makes any isolation not possible.

Nevertheless, Nothing is sticking with AAC and SBC; there’s no help for aptX or another high-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs. However a minimum of there’s a brand new Ear Stick-only low-latency setting that ought to scale back lag whereas enjoying video games, even on the AAC and SBC codecs. In my exams, I seen a small, very small latency discount with this setting enabled on my Pixel 7 Professional.

For controls, Nothing has opted for a brand new strain mechanism as a substitute of swipe gestures. You need to maintain the stem of every earbud between your fingers and squeeze it to set off any actions. It’s a extra deliberate motion that ought to scale back, if not take away, any unintended swipes.

The Ear Stick additionally profit from a barely extended battery life — seven hours with out the case. With the case, this will go as much as 29 hours. Our exams have been in-line with these numbers. A two-hour listening session at 70% quantity drops the battery all the way down to 70% on common, and the case lasts round two weeks on a cost with a few hours of day by day use. Each of those are stable stats, although understand that ANC is often an enormous drain for true wi-fi earbuds — one thing the Ear Stick should not have.

The Ear Stick present up natively within the Fast Settings space of the Nothing Cellphone 1, however they will additionally connect with any Bluetooth gadget. It helps Google’s Quick Pair, which simplifies connections to any subsequent gadget after you’ve paired them with the primary one below your Google account. Plus, Nothing’s new app permits you to customise the totally different controls and choose between 4 preset equalizers. You can too use a {custom} EQ to set the bottom, mids, and treble to your liking.

Obtainable solely in white, the Nothing Ear Stick retail for $99 now, the identical because the launch value of the Ear 1 (which has now been raised to $149).

Every time you are taking the Nothing Ear Stick out of your pocket in public, you’ll get a look or two as a result of these aren’t your typical earbuds. The case’s design is exclusive and it’s extremely enjoyable — and a bit addictive — to twist it open and closed on a regular basis.

Nothing says it examined the Ear Stick’s form on 200 totally different ear fashions to verify it’s comfy and safe. For my particular ears, the match is sort of as nice because the Ear 1, which I’ve lauded repeatedly as probably the most comfy buds I’ve ever worn. The Ear Stick simply don’t exert strain anyplace in my ears, which is a really bizarre feeling to get used to. And even throughout lengthy listening periods, there’s not a second the place I felt that rising clogged-ear sensation that pushes me to take away some in-ear earbuds each hour or two.

This can be a nice pair of true wi-fi buds for anybody who simply doesn’t like several in-ear annoyance. The dearth of a tip to stabilize them does maintain me on my toes, nevertheless, however extra on that within the subsequent part.

As somebody with medium-length unfastened hair that usually triggers earbuds’ gestures inadvertently, I welcome Nothing’s transfer to pressure-based controls. The entire pausing, quantity altering, and observe skipping I’ve carried out on the Ear Stick to date has been intentional.

The Ear Stick additionally sound surprisingly loud and clear. Quantity-wise, it appears to go as loud because the Ear 1, regardless of the extra open design, although I couldn’t tolerate it that top for lengthy. At round 70%, there’s nonetheless sufficient quantity to get pleasure from your music, podcasts, or audiobooks.

The mids and highs are positively clearer than the Ear 1. The bass is simply barely improved; the open design tends to deliver down the thumping feeling of bass with it, however Nothing’s “bass lock” algorithm balances that out. And if you happen to don’t just like the default sound signature, there are three totally different presets and a {custom} equalizer to tailor it in 12-step increments (-6 to +6 for bass, mids, and treble).

In comparison with the Ear 1, there’s a marked enchancment within the built-in microphones’ audio high quality too. Voices come out clearer (although with some odd artifacts in calmer environments) and background noise is lowered, even when it’s erratic and inconsistent. I examined this out by recording a pattern subsequent to a Nest Hub that was enjoying wind, nature, fan, and thunderstorm sounds. Whereas the Ear Stick canceled out each little bit of noise, the Ear 1 nonetheless let among the louder thunders and noises come by means of.

Nothing Ear 1 pattern recording with close by thunderstorm sounds:

Nothing Ear Stick pattern recording with close by thunderstorm sounds:

Due to the buds’ design, transparency and consciousness are default options. You don’t should allow any setting to listen to your environment, so you’ll be able to — roughly — safely put on these on the road and at dwelling with out worry of lacking out on a honk, bell, alarm, crying youngster, or barking canine.

One facet impact of the Nothing Ear Stick’s tubular case design is the dearth of wi-fi charging. I’m used to plopping my Ear 1 case on a Qi pad at my desk, and I can’t do this with the Ear Stick. I’ve to be deliberate about plugging it in with a USB-C cable once I must cost it.

One other facet impact is the case’s propensity to select up mud and lint. The grainy white plastic attracts small particles when the case is in your bag or pocket (and even sitting at your desk), then you definately twist it and all the things will get carried inside. Due to the clear plastic, you see each little annoying speck. I’ve already used a small air blaster — the identical one you utilize on digital camera lenses — to take away among the mud. I don’t know what the case will seem like in a number of weeks or months.

Transferring on to the buds, the path Nothing took with the open design creates two weaknesses. One is the dearth of any stabilizing anchor for the bud contained in the ear. They only sit there, free, unattached to something. It at all times looks like they’re one minor nudge away from falling out. I’ve bopped and shaken my head many instances with out dislodging them, however that doesn’t imply they’re firmly secure. A flick of my finger on the stem takes them out. I’m certain a little bit of sweat may even trigger them to slip proper out (I’ve been sick and unable to train so I couldn’t check this). This isn’t the pair of buds you go on a run with or put on on a jam-packed subway.

Talking of subways, the one time I dared put on them there, I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes. There’s no isolation with this open-bud design. Zero. You hear all the things, each little hum and drum and whir round you. Even on the loudest quantity, I may nonetheless hear each deafening noise from the Parisian metro. As a matter of truth, the loud quantity made the expertise extra painful; it was irritating to attempt to differentiate between the music and all the things else happening.

One final weak point to remember is the dearth of Bluetooth Multipoint, a function that’s making its technique to a number of different true wi-fi buds just like the Pixel Buds Professional. You possibly can’t join the Nothing Ear Stick to 2 gadgets concurrently, and you’ll’t simply swap them from one to a different. You’ll have to decide on whether or not these are paired to your telephone or pc (or pill, smartwatch, TV, and so forth.) and be pleased with that single alternative.

The Ear Stick are positioned in a reasonably distinctive spot within the true wi-fi earbuds market. Competitors within the semi-open and open-ear section isn’t as fierce because the totally in-ear section, regardless of some customers’ demand for a pair of earbuds that don’t clog their ears or trigger any discomfort whereas sporting them.

Nothing is providing a solution right here with a pair of earbuds that may be worn for a number of hours with no strain or ache and with out skimping on sound high quality. However in doing so and in prioritizing aesthetics over operate, it finally ends up shedding some vital options like wi-fi charging and passive isolation.

In the end, the Ear Stick proposition comes down to at least one easy query: Do you want sticking silicone or foam suggestions in your ears? In that case, then you definately’ll most likely dislike the exhausting plastic feeling of the Ear Stick’s buds, and also you’ll miss the additional stabilization and passive isolation offered by a pair of in-ear buds. The dearth of ANC, even if you happen to don’t at all times use it, is one other huge loss to cope with.

But when the reply isn’t any and you actually should have a pair of earbuds with no in-ear suggestions, then the Ear Stick are a really first rate worth at $99. The Apple AirPods (third era) ($19.99 at Amazon) price $80 extra and aren’t your best option for Android customers, whereas the Sony Linkbuds WF-L900 ($128 at Amazon) are additionally $80 dearer and have a bizarre design that may not match all ears. The Bose Sport Open ($229 at Amazon), are often discounted, and an fascinating various with a extra secure design, however they require a proprietary cradle for charging and don’t robotically activate/off while you take them out of the case or put them again in. As compared, Nothing’s proposition with the Ear Stick appears very affordable.