Every so often, a gadget comes along, and I fall in love with it instantly.
Nothing, a tech accessory company, has managed to do this not once but twice.
Nothing is doing things a bit differently, with bold designs and smart, useful features on their phones and accessories.
Their latest earbuds are the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a).
Again, these are funny names, but don’t let that fool you. These are some of my favorite earbuds yet, especially considering the price: starting at $99.
Both have a secure, comfortable fit, excellent audio quality, and unique design.
Both offer active noise cancellation and transparency mode, which lets you hear the world around you.
Both have fast charging: a 10-minute charge provides 10 hours of playback. You’ll get about 40 hours of total playtime, including recharging using the case.
Both have pinch controls on the stems and sensors that automatically play and pause music when you put them in or take them out.
Plus, they have IP54 water and dust resistance, which reasonably protects them against splashes.
At these prices, there’s a lot to love here.
The Ear buds are the premium model. They have a more substantial case with quirky, squared-off edges.
The basic Ear (a) buds have a fun yellow case that looks like one of those buoyant keychains you might attach to your boat key to ensure it floats in water.
There’s even a color-coordinated dot, so you know where to place each earbud in the case.
These have become my favorite earbuds for Android, although they work with iPhones too. I typically generally recommend AirPods for iPhone users since those work with Apple’s walled garden ecosystem better. You’ll get features like access to Siri, fast device switching and more.
So what do you get for $150 more with the Premium Nothing Ear buds? A wireless charging case and a sound profile you can more fully customize, but I think the budget (a) model is perfect for most casual users.
There’s one more neat trick, but it won’t really be useful to most users unless you also have a Nothing Phone. You can set ChatGPT as your default voice assistant when using the buds.