Pros:
- Balanced and enjoyable sound output
- More sound tweaks available in the app
- LDAC codec support
- Attractive design, comfortable in the ears
- Improved ANC and Transparency modes
- Configurable pinch controls, and volume control on the buds
- Good call quality, dual pairing support
- Good overall battery backup, fast charging
Cons:
- No wireless charging or advanced EQ
- Charging case is prone to smudges and scratches
- ANC still feels slightly uncomfortable in the ear
Rating: 4.25/5
Price: Rs 7,999
Nothing recently launched two true wireless (TWS) earbuds in India - Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). The former is the successor to the Nothing Ear (2) from last year; we will discuss the missing ‘3’ in its review, but today we will focus on the latter. Earlier this year, the company made us believe that the (a) suffix would be reserved for their more affordable products like the Nothing Phone (2a). So it is safe to say that Ear (a) is an equivalent in their TWS earphones portfolio.
Fair warning, the article may read a little weird due to repeated use of Ear, but try and stay with me. As compared to the Ear (2) and Ear, the three key things missing in the Ear (a) are wireless charging, advanced equalisers (EQ) and proper ingress protection for the charging case. The rest of the things seem pretty much the same, and some even better than the company’s previous flagship, Ear (2). Let’s take a closer look at these new Nothing buds.
Nothing Ear (a): Design and Comfort (8/10)
The transparent design of Nothing buds is quite popular, and it does look cool and unique. However, unlike most of their previous products, the Ear (a) case, though transparent, has a very different shape and design which looks a lot sleeker and pocketable. We now have a yellow variant which is a lot more striking than black and white. The buds and ear tips are yellow with black transparent stems. The combination works well and doesn’t look overly funky either once you put them in your ears.
The earbuds have the usual white and red dots denoting left and right buds. The earbuds weigh just 4.8 grams each and feel extremely comfortable in the ears. The fit is snug and the buds do not pop out even during jogs. The silicone tips sit well in the ear canals and provide good passive noise isolation. Three pairs of ear tips are bundled, and it is important to choose the right-sized pair for a good seal and better active noise cancellation (ANC).
The charging case follows the same design language with a transparent lid and a yellow base. It looks cool but attracts a lot of fingerprints and smudge marks, and needs to be cleaned from time to time. It isn’t scratch-resistant either, and one can expect some scuff marks over time. You get a tiny power and status LED inside along with a Bluetooth pairing/reset button, and a USB-C charging port at the back.
The compact case weighs just under 40 grams. Unlike the Ear and Ear (2), the case does not have an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance. You get an IPX2 rating here which is not much to say, so might as well keep it away from dust and splashes. The buds sport an IP54 rating and can be taken along for workouts and jogs without worrying about sweat damage; they stay firmly in place too.
Nothing Ear (a): Features and Specifications (8.5/10)
These Bluetooth 5.3 earbuds support AAC and SBC codecs. Support for the higher-end LHDC codecs on the Ear (2) has been replaced by LDAC here, which is a wise decision given that the former was stuck on AAC codecs on most phones, while LDAC compliance is a lot broader. Each earbud is fitted with an 11 mm dynamic driver and three microphones for calling and ANC. You get three ANC modes to switch between – ANC on, ANC off and Transparency mode that lets ambient noise through.
You get three varying degrees of noise cancellation (low, mid, high) and adaptive ANC to switch between the three automatically depending on the quantum of ambient noise. The company claims these buds can cancel up to 45 dB of background noise across a 5000Hz frequency range. We will talk more about the ANC performance in the next section. You get wear detection sensors to pause the audio when you remove a bud from the ear and resume when you put it back in. It generally works well but misbehaves at times, at least in our unit.
The pressure-sensitive controls have been carried forward to the Ear (a), and I like them better than touch controls. One needs to gently pinch the stems once, twice, thrice or pinch-and-hold to perform the designated tasks. You hear a click every time an input gets registered. You can assign different tasks to different gestures (barring single pinch, which is reserved for Play/Pause) through the Nothing X app which is available on Android and iOS both.
You can assign previous/next tracks and voice assistants to double-pinch and triple-pinch gestures. ANC toggle and volume control can only be assigned to pinch-and-hold or the more complex double-pinch-and-hold gestures on either bud. The latency is fairly low and there was no noticeable delay between video and audio when watching videos. There is a Low Lag Mode in the app that can drop it further during gaming. These TWS earbuds support dual pairing and can be paired with two devices simultaneously; it works smoothly.
Nothing Ear (a): Performance (8.5/10)
Before we move on to the performance of these earbuds, a quick word on the sound tweaks available in the Nothing X companion app. Before the version 2.3 update of the app, the sound tweaks were limited to just four audio presets and a not-so-efficient 3-band equaliser to create a fifth custom preset. The new version of the app added the Advanced Equaliser option for fine-tuning the sound with an 8-band equaliser and Q factor, and also lets you create and share multiple sound profiles as opposed to one earlier.
The bad news is all those advanced options are not available for the Ear (a) and we are almost back to the pre-version 2.3 era. The good news is these earbuds are tuned so well that you won’t miss them much. The Balanced profile remains one of the best-tuned sound presets around in TWS earbuds across brands. The sound is indeed very well-balanced and enjoyable across various genres of music.
Though the sound is slightly on the warmer side, it is quite pleasant with tight and punchy bass and a good midrange response with crisp vocals and good instrument separation. The highs are perfectly tempered and they retain ample sparkle without sounding sibilant. There is a good amount of detail in the overall sound, and the fairly broad soundstage makes the whole experience better.
If this doesn’t work for you, there are 3 more presets - More Bass (much better than the one on Ear(2)), More Treble and Voice. The Voice preset comes in handy in podcasts and other vocal-heavy content. And lastly, you can create one custom profile using the aforementioned 3-band equaliser. However, the loudness drops a bit when you use it. There is a new addition to the sound settings this time in the form of Bass Enhance, which is nothing but 5 different levels of bass boost to suit your taste.
Moving on to ANC, it sees a significant improvement here, not just in terms of numbers, but performance too. It is a lot more effective now at cutting down low-frequency ambient sounds like the whirr of a fan or the buzz of an AC or even car engines when outdoors. It cannot eliminate human voices entirely but does reduce them quite a bit. However, the implementation still isn’t the most comfortable and seems to create extra pressure in the ear canals, though less than before. Also, the different levels of ANC available here seemed quite similar to my ears.
The Transparency mode is decent and has improved further after the recent 1.0.1.43 firmware update. There is still scope for improvement with further amplification of vocal frequencies, but at least you do not get the annoying hiss or wind noise anymore when you activate the mode. It is good enough to have a quick chat without taking the buds off. The wireless range is good with a strong connection at 10 metres with a clear line of sight. These earbuds are fairly loud at 55 to 60 per cent volume level in Balanced Mode.
Nothing Ear (a): Call quality (8/10)
The call quality is quite good on these earbuds, and outdoor calling has improved since the Ear (2). In quieter areas, people on the line were perfectly audible to each other with excellent voice clarity. Even when outdoors, the Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) works well now to eliminate most of the low and mid-frequency ambient sounds during calls without impacting the voice clarity much. Though not the best in the business, these earbuds are pretty good for calling.
Nothing Ear (a): Battery life (8.5/10)
The battery department has also seen a significant improvement, especially with ANC turned on. Each earbud hosts a larger 46 mAh battery, while the case packs 500 mAh of reserves. Collectively they claim to deliver 42.5 hours of playback with ANC off and 24.5 hours with ANC switched on. We believe those figures are derived when using AAC codec, and we used LDAC codec throughout the duration of our test process, which is expected to consume more battery.
During our testing, with ANC turned on at all times and loudness around 60 per cent, the buds lasted close to four and a half hours, which though not great, is manageable. With ANC switched off, the buds went on for 7 hours, which is very good. The case can recharge them fully thrice over and some more, which takes the overall battery backup in the range of 20 to 32 hours depending on the quantum of ANC usage, which is not bad at all.
The Nothing Ear (A) does not support wireless charging but you do get fast wired charging. A 10-minute charge gives you approximately 10 hours of playtime (buds and case combined) with ANC off and on AAC codecs. Using LDAC, that figure should be upwards of 7 hours, which is more than handy. The battery level of each earbud and the charging case can be seen in the phone’s settings and in the companion app.
Nothing Ear (a): Price and verdict
The Nothing Ear (a) is priced at Rs 7,999 with a one-year warranty, which incidentally is the same as what the Ear (2) sells for currently. Despite that, I would be tempted to opt for the Ear (a) over the (2) for a slightly better sound output, superior battery backup and LDAC codec support. However, if wireless charging and advanced sound tweaks are more important to you, then the Ear (2) would be a better buy.
Incidentally, Nothing had an introductory price of Rs 5,999 for these earbuds. If the company can make that the official selling price of the Ear (a), it can shake up the segment and how! At that price, it can easily target and triumph over the likes of the OnePlus Buds 3 and Realme Buds Air 5 Pro which sell for Rs 500 to Rs 1000 lower. Even at its current selling price, the Nothing Buds (a) is packed with features, performs well and is among the best-sounding TWS earbuds under Rs 10,000 in India currently. Happy to recommend it.
