Nothing Ear (1) Looks Great, Sounds Nice; Offers Competition Something To Worry

Carl Pei¡¯s newest tech brand, Nothing has finally dropped the much-hyped Ear (1) TWS (truly wireless earbuds) that promises to offer unique and stellar aesthetics along with great sound, all at an affordable price tag of just Rs 5,999.

Also Read: OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei Raises $7 Million For His New Unknown Venture

But are they really worth their hype or do they have ¡®Nothing¡¯ to show for? I got to spend a week with these earbuds and here¡¯s what I liked and disliked about them.

What I Liked

Nothing

Nothing shows everything!

The moment you unbox these and have a look at the casing, you get the sense that this is no ordinary pair of earbuds. Sure, they¡¯re just Bluetooth wireless earbuds, but the see-through plastic along with a rather unusual placement of the buds in the case itself, it looks fresh, but also has a retro-vibe.

The top of the lid gets a big dimple that snaps open and closes with great satisfaction, thanks to magnets, and Ear (1) isn¡¯t shy to hide them away.The white cutout has a dotted texture on top and the sides that adds to the overall character of the case.

The earbuds are slightly similar to AirPods Pro near the driver unit but that¡¯s where the similarities end. The flat stem showcases the crazy attention to detail and the industrial design of these buds, including the tiny magnets that connect to the prongs in the case.

What this results in a tiny, discreet earbud that doesn¡¯t protrude much, and is perfect for someone who listens to music while lying in their bed.

Also Read: Co-Founder Carl Pei Has Left OnePlus To Start New Venture: Reports

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Audio Quality

Nothing has made sure that their earbuds don¡¯t just look good, they sound equally good too. Let¡¯s talk specs first -- we¡¯re looking at an 11.6mm speaker driver with sound tweaked by Teenage Engineering. These also get a spacious air chamber that enables a punchy bass. I tested these on my OnePlus 9 Pro which also gets Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity just like the earbuds.

On the software front, the app gives you the ability to switch between four equaliser modes -- Balanced, More Bass, More Treble and Voice. My primary testing was in Balanced and More Bass modes as More Treble made the sound too warm for my liking.

While listening to Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein by Adnan Sami (perfect track for a monsoon afternoon BTW) on balanced mode, the background percussions, in the beginning, were really crisp while also creating a decent soundstage accommodating the reverb effect on Sami¡¯s voice. Pushing it in ¡®More Bass¡¯ mode didn¡¯t really compromise on the crispness, but made the tabla¡¯s bassy nature shine more vividly, which was great to hear.

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Listening to Genda Phool by Rekha Bhardwaj (another great track that puts emphasis on vocals), the ¡®Balanced Mode¡¯ was just perfect, with the rattling between ¡®oye hoye hoye¡¯ being very clearly audible as if it¡¯s happening next to my ears. This again, was evident when I turned to the ¡®More Bass¡¯ mode (I tend to shift more towards a bassy sound signature because I really enjoy the thump) when the hip-hop mix came after the first paragraph and the earbuds didn¡¯t disappoint.

Listening to Enjoy Enjaami by Dhee, Arivu and Santosh Narayanan, the Ear (1) was warm and offered great crispy vocals with great instrument separation and a resounding thump, but this track also made me really wish the earbuds had a wider soundstage to experience the beautiful audio engineering of the track.

Overall, Ear (1) has this slightly V sound signature that offers good treble and good bass on balanced mode but doesn't overwhelm in a bad way. For bass lovers, the bass mode offers a good thump with minimal compromises on the highs. The high-treble mode for me was just too sharp and downright uncomfortable to listen to. They sound fantastic for the price and will definitely wow most listeners. The lack of a wider soundstage does hurt a little though.

Active Noise Cancellation

At this price point Ear (1) also offers Active Noise Cancellation. This can be toggled either by long-pressing one of the stems of the earbuds or through the app itself. The buds did a decent job of cancelling out the rattling noise of the high-speed fan at my place, as well as the monsoon rains quite well. It however isn¡¯t perfect as at times I was able to hear loud-speaking individuals (albeit ever so slightly).

Moreover, the included transparency mode is a godsend as it eliminates the need to remove the buds every time someone wants to talk to you. The long-press feature can be used to toggle between transparency or different ANC modes (low and full).

Mic quality

One big issue with budget truly wireless earbuds is that they don¡¯t sound as good when on call. But Nothing Ear (1) does this surprisingly well. Even with a fast noisy fan next to my work desk (yes I know I should probably get that fixed), the person on the call could hear my voice fairly crisply. Moreover, I didn¡¯t really need to shout to make sure I¡¯m audible. They¡¯re so good that they¡¯ve actually become my go-to earbuds for calling.

What I Dislike?

Scratch Prone

While the earbuds look out of the ordinary, the transparent and glossy nature means it¡¯s prone to smudges and yes scratches.

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During the briefing, Nothing revealed that they've gone with a harder polycarbonate material to prevent scratches, but it was able to catch scratches easily even though I didn't carry them around in a backpack or pocket -- they just moved from my desk to my table. So in case you buy these, be prepared for them to look old really soon.

Pairing Experience

My initial pairing experience was a nightmare as I didn¡¯t have access to the Nothing app and for some reason it wouldn¡¯t pair well with my OnePlus 9 Pro. However, somehow I managed to successfully pair it.

When I did get access to the app, the app won¡¯t recognise the earbuds, so I had to unpair and then again repair them using the app. The whole experience was really buggy and didn¡¯t get better until I received the update version 1.0.4, which offered seamless connectivity and made the experience much more enjoyable.

Also Read: This Is How Music On The World's Most Expensive Headphones Priced At Rs 45 Lakh Feels Like

Battery Life

For the battery, you get 570mAh on the case and 31mAh on each earbud. Battery life on the Ear (1) was not the best, but it managed to pull through a busy day of taking calls and listening to music with ease. With ANC on at all times, I was able to get around four hours of listening on the earbuds alone. It would charge in a matter of minutes.

The case promises to offer 36 hours of total playback along with Qi wireless charging and fast charging with USB-C. Overall the battery performance was fine for my usage, although a little more stamina on the earbuds would have been nice.

Should you buy Nothing Ear (1)

Nothing Ear (1) is like sev in poha, or wasabi in your sushi, it breaks the monotonous offerings of TWS in India and gives you something fresh, something that contrasts the norm and truly makes the listening experience unique -- whether it¡¯s with the way it sounds, the design or the feature to price ratio at which it¡¯s being sold in India.

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Keeping aside the scratchy nature of the case, Nothing Ear (1) offers a fine listening experience that would wow audiophiles and casual listeners alike. It offers a good balance of sound signatures as well as modes to tweak the listening as per their liking, without compromising on the sound quality.

All this at an affordable price tag of Rs 5,999 -- cheapest anywhere in the world, it¡¯s really worth every penny, in my opinion, and no one in the competition comes close to its value for money package, not yet at least.