In a short period of time, London-based Nothing has delivered a number of audio products and the latest is the highly competitive Ear (a) earbuds. These offer fantastic sound, they have active noise cancellation and a great design. In fact, these earbuds check every box you should look at before purchasing a pair of wireless earbuds.

You might be confused why Nothing came out with the Ear (a)? The buds have been released alongside Nothing Ear, which is slightly more expensive but the naming is simple. In Nothing Ear (a), the ‘(a)’ is indicative of the price point, like the more affordable Nothing Phone (2a).

Clean design

In terms of design, I am excited to see the company pursue something out of the box. Just to save cost, Nothing didn’t move away from its transparent design philosophy. The earbuds don’t look like a ripoff of the AirPods. The design has a touch of a pill container and that’s unique. Plus, the shade of yellow is worth a mention. When you wear the earbuds, the yellow part is almost hidden and make a subtle appearance. I won’t get into the good-looking metal hinge at the back or the strong magnets that hold the buds in place. There is no wireless charging.

Nothing Ear (a) offers a snug fit.

There is a fair degree of comfort with the earbuds and it’s like wearing the more expensive Nothing Ear. Also, it stays put, even if you go jogging. The controls on the earbuds are customisable through the app. There are pinch controls that are more receptive than touch.

Several ‘other’ features

What matters are the functions you get. There is multi-point connectivity and it works flawlessly. The feature goes a step forward: In the app you can choose the two devices that you want the earbuds to remain connected to. Having Bluetooth 5.3 helps when connecting to devices and you can listen to music only one bud.

Further, Nothing is offering IP54 dust and water resistance on the earbuds and IPX2 for the cover. In case you are buying the Nothing Ear, the IP rating is slightly better for the case.

The companion app for Nothing Ear (a) is versatile.

Battery life is impressive. With ANC on, you get 5.5 hours of listening time (24.5 with case) and with ANC off, you get 9.5 hours of listening time. These are excellent figures and you will not have to charge the device often. In case you need to juice up in a hurry, with 10 minutes of charging these offer 10 hours of listening time.

Sound advice

Of course, nothing matters more than sound. In this department, it’s necessary to check the app, which is among the best designed. There is equaliser control, noise cancellation, bass enhance, and so on. The Nothing Ear has some extra features in the equaliser department but this one too has enough to keep you excited.

There are three degrees of noise control — noise cancellation, transparency and off. The noise cancellation part is quite effective, cutting out the noise of the fan or the refrigerator easily. You can even choose the level of cancellation — high, mid, low and adaptive. But the noise transparency feature can be improved.

I appreciate the overall soundstage, thanks to the dynamic 11 mm driver. There is focus on vocals and I don’t have to pump up the volume to get the best sound. Instruments don’t cut into the vocals while listening to something like the Beach Boys or George Michael. For those who prefer a rich bass, there is an option to get just that. It’s a very capable pair of earbuds.

The microphone is of good quality and it can tackle wind noises very well. Even on a crowded street, the person at the other end of a call will be able to hear you clearly.

Each time an inexpensive pair of earbuds come our way, there are some compromises to be made in the sound department. Not this one. Even at lower volumes I can enjoy The Temptations. And it helps that the earbuds can handle LDAC (LHDC 5.0 is on the Nothing Ear). Overall, Nothing Ear (a) is a compelling buy and it sets a new benchmark for affordable wireless earbuds.

At a glance

Device: Nothing Ear (a)

Price: Rs 7,999

High notes

• Excellent soundstage
• Capable companion app
  

• Good fit and design

Muffled note

• No wireless charging