Nothing truly impressed us with their first pair of truly wireless earbuds, the ear(1). They were so good in both design and sound that they truly set a benchmark for truly wireless earbuds in the sub Rs 6,000 price point.
So when Nothing launched Ear(stick), I was excited to be once again blown away by what they have to offer. But were they able to create a bigger impact, if not the same? Let¡¯s find out.?
The Ear(stick) retains the transparent see-through design language Nothing is quite known for, and they've implemented the whole carrying case in a pretty cool way too.?
You gain access to the earbuds by rolling the bottom, similar to that of a lipstick.?
The earbuds look similar to the ear(1), but Nothing has gone from an in-ear noise-cancelling design to a non-noise-cancelling earbuds style like a pair of first-generation AirPods (more on that later).
The case, albeit cool looking, is still prone to scratches (despite its rather reassuring build quality). Moreover, the choice of a matte white barrel on the inside is prone to smudges and dust, which over time will look terrible. So if you¡¯re someone who doesn't like your things looking dirty, best avoid this or use them with gloves at all times.?
While aesthetically, the buds do look good, the fit is an entirely different experience, at least for me. I¡¯ve got decently large ear holes and these earbuds just weren¡¯t ready to stay in.
Even after pushing them hard, and trying different angles, I did manage to get a decent fit that made them sound decent-ish, moving my head in the other direction or simply just lying down, the buds would fall right off them.
I have had no issue with the AirPods, which also tend to slip out, but they stayed put for longer in much more active conditions, the Ear(stick) were just terrible.
Nothing boasted that they've tested these earbuds on hundreds of different ear pairs, but clearly my ears (and some other pairs of ears from my friends and family that I tested their fit on) didn¡¯t make the cut, it seems, as they wouldn¡¯t stay very put.
Eventually, I got the hang of simply resting them in my ear and even yet, the feeling was not very satisfying. So much so that I had no faith in them for taking them on walks.?
Chances are you might have a different experience in terms of fit, but the only way you can really understand that is by trying them out.?
Since these didn¡¯t offer a very sealed fit, my testing with these earbuds was mainly with the earbuds resting slightly put at the very beginning of the ear canal.
Listening to Kesariya, the headset vividly emphasised Arijit Singh¡¯s voice, and while I could hear other instruments in the background clearly, they clearly weren¡¯t as pronounced. The bass was soft, not overpowering, and offered a nice texture to the overall sound.
I experienced something similar listening to Rihanna¡¯s Lift Me Up, where her sharp, calming voice made the earbuds shine.
Switching to Mirzya by Nucleya and these earbuds just didn¡¯t sound as good. The punchy-bass sections just weren¡¯t as pronounced, and it made me feel a lot was missing from this track.
Overall, Nothing Ear(stick) sounded surprisingly good for Bollywood songs, and casual pop music but don¡¯t expect a lot of dynamism and detail from these, mostly since a lot of outside noise could penetrate and ruin your listening experience.
With the design Nothing has gone ahead with, the Ear(stick) doesn¡¯t get any kind of noise cancellation whatsoever -- neither active nor passive.
This means, if you¡¯re trying to listen to music in a loud office, you¡¯ll barely hear any decent music unless you blast the sound to at least 65 percent.
These earbuds could be perfect for those who find noise-cancelling earbuds uncomfortable and suffocating, as there is a lot of open space, so much so that you will barely feel you¡¯re wearing any earbuds.?
But for those who like to get clean isolation from the outside world, these are clearly not meant for you.?
For gestures you still get the single tap and double tap which can be customised to whatever you want it to do -- change tracks, end/answer phone calls, you name it.
And those work well too, except when you aren¡¯t lying down because that (in my case) caused the earbuds to fall down. Adjusting the fit would often trigger them, hampering my music listening or at times even affecting my phone calls.?
What truly disappointed me was that Nothing didn¡¯t bring the slide gesture to control volume from the ear(1) on the Ear(stick), and resorted to the long pinch gesture to execute that, which just wasn¡¯t as intuitive in my experience.?
What was great was the software experience, which especially on iOS was much, much better than it previously was with the Nothing ear(1) app. The UI looked more user-friendly, and the pairing experience was much snappier overall.
The onboard microphones and their placement is just as good as it was in the Nothing Ear(1)s and it manages to send a rather crisp and clear sound to the listener on the other end, despite its truly-wireless nature.?
Although do keep this in mind that while you¡¯re on the receiving end of the call, you can have a challenge listening to the speaker in rooms that are loud or honestly have any kind of sound whatsoever.?
Using them actively for calls and casual music while working, the earbuds managed to easily last around six hours on a single charge with ease. Without putting the earbuds on a charge, they lasted a good two and a half hours before they started to conk out, which was decent.?
Nothing Ear(Stick) is for a very niche set of buyers -- those who don¡¯t mind always listening to everything happening in the outside world, who feel suffocated with silicone ear tips and active noise cancellation, and whose ears these can fit comfortably in. And if you do fit the niche, I¡¯d honestly recommend you try them on before making a decision of buying them.
At Rs 8,499, these are really hard to justify. Honestly, at this price point, there are various other offerings in the market that not just offer ANC but also sound much better while being more comfortable to wear for long. Best wait for a good sale to bring its prices down if you really are hell-bent on buying these.
Heck, even Nothing¡¯s Ear(1) (which at the time of writing might be completely out of stock and maybe even discontinued as an NDTV report) is a much, much better offering than these, and those were nearly Rs 2,500 cheaper.