Nothing Ear and Ear (a) officially launch starting at $99 with better battery and ANC

Ben Schoon | Apr 18 2024 - 3:45 am PT

Nothing is today launching its third generation of earbuds in the Nothing Ear and Ear (a), and they seem like pretty great options.

Available starting this month, Nothing Ear and Ear (a) build on what was already one of the best series of earbuds in recent memory. With this latest iteration, Nothing is offering a few key improvements.

That starts with noise cancellation.

ANC is now available on both the Ear and lower-priced Ear (a) and manages up to 45db of noise cancellation. That’s up from Ear (2)’s 40db, but because of the way decibels scale, that’s actually almost twice as powerful, Nothing says. This should be further boosted by the “Smart ANC algorithm.”

The next big improvement is to battery life. Where Ear (1) and Ear (2) both had a measly 4-hour running time with ANC turned on, Ear lasts up to 5.2 hours, while Ear (a) managed 5.5 hours. Those numbers jump to 8.5 hours and 9.5 hours, respectively, when you turn off ANC. It should be a big improvement, and the case also stores a bit more power as well now, with up to 42.5 hours available on Ear (a) without ANC.

Both sets of earbuds feature 11mm drivers for audio output and, over Bluetooth, can connect to two devices with a dual connection mode.

Audio quality, as summed up in a pre-release analysis, should be quite good – in my early use of both, I’m quite pleased with the audio quality. The Nothing X app will still control settings for both pairs of earbuds, and they also support Google Fast Pair.

Nothing is also switching to “pinch” controls on these earbuds, similar to earbuds from OnePlus and others.

What are the differences between Ear and Ear (a)?

There are some audio differences, but it’s barely noticeable in our testing thus far. The biggest changes include the hardware – Ear (a) isn’t as water resistant and has a much smaller case –the lack of fully custom EQ on the Ear (a), and the lack of wireless charging on the cheaper model, too. But, realistically, these are very much comparable headphones for most folks.

Another difference is the color lineup. Both earbuds come in black and white, but Ear (a) also adds a bold yellow color. Nothing explains its first colorful product saying:

Not only does yellow perfectly compliment the playfulness of Ear (a)’s design, it is a colour that, by theory, aligns with Nothing’s value of transparency. If one strips back how colours are built, they are left with the primary colours. This purist approach to colour led Nothing to Ear (a) yellow – a vivid and playful audio product.

On Nothing Ear, another difference is added LHDC 5.0 support. Both earbuds, though, support LDAC.

Nothing Ear and Ear (a) will be available for pre-order starting today, with shipping beginning on April 22. Nothing Ear will cost the same $149 as its predecessor, while Ear (a) will replace Ear (stick) as a big upgrade at $99.

What do you think of Nothing’s new earbuds?