Nothing Ear (open) review – Nothing for the “canned”

Nothing was founded in 2020 and its CEO, Carl Pei, has extensive experience in mobile products as he was one of the co-founders of OnePlus. But he left there precisely so that he could start his own company. Like OnePlus back then, Nothing first introduced a product from a single category, namely wireless headphones.

Almost four years later, Nothing has several phones, smartwatches and headphones to his credit. The latest product to arrive at our newsroom is the new Nothing Ear (open), an open-type headphone that the company has so far avoided.

Recenze Nothing Ear (open)

» 1. Introduction
» 2. Package contents
» 3. Design
» 4. Ergonomics
» 5. Equipment
» 6. Guest
» 7. Sound
» 8. Battery life and charging
» 9. Conclusion

Nothing Ear (open) review – Original packaging

In the package you will find the headphones themselves, a user manual and a white double-sided USB-C cable. Since these are not traditional in-ear headphones, you won’t find interchangeable ear tips of different sizes. Otherwise, it is a fairly classic package that you can throw away after unpacking. In order to get to the product, you have to tear the packaging from the sides.

This is what the headphones look like after unpacking | photo: own

Minimalistic design of the case and headphones

Nothing sticks to its design language. The top side of the case is transparent and on its left side is a smaller Nothing logo. When you open the case, you can notice an LED and a pairing button, while on the outside of the case is a charging USB-C connector. Dimensionally, the case is atypical because it is very wide, measuring 126 mm, but relatively flat.

If you often carry cases with wireless headphones in your pocket, you may find that part of it sticks out of your pocket, but it wasn’t a problem for me – I’m used to carrying large phones in my pockets. If you’re worried that the transparent case will be a fingerprint magnet, don’t worry. Nothing thought of that and provided the box with a special fingerprint-resistant layer.

I personally like the design of the headphones very much. The combination of black and white suits the headphones, and the headphones are again transparent in the part with the hardware itself. If you sometimes have trouble distinguishing which earpiece is the left and which is the right, Nothing has matured for this by making the left earpiece a white dot and the right red one, and this marking is also in the slots on the box. Just remember it and you don’t have to worry about putting on the headphones the other way around.

The Nothing Ear (open) box has USB-C | photo: own

Comfort is paramount

Nothing Ear (open) has been designed to be above all comfortable, and this is immediately noticeable upon first use. The headphones hold perfectly in the ear, because they close behind it from the outside. The very low weight of each earphone contributes to this – it weighs only 8 grams, so you hardly feel it in your ears. If you’re used to traditional in-ear headphones, putting them on might feel awkward at first, but it just takes a little practice.

The big advantage of this headphone design is undoubtedly that it fits like nails on the ears. They are therefore ideal for athletes where traditional in-ear headphones are not enough, as they can easily slip out of the ears. During sports, you sweat more, so the IP54 certification comes in handy, thanks to which you don’t even have to worry about the rain. The case has the same certification.

Nothing Ear (open) are comfortable | photo: own

Functional equipment

These headphones cannot be compared to traditional in-ear headphones, as they target a completely different group of people who require maximum comfort and do not need active noise cancellation. As the name of the headphones suggests, Nothing Ear (open) does not tightly isolate the ear canal from the surrounding environment, so if you listen to music at higher volumes, people around you will easily hear it. That was probably the first thing I noticed because I often listen to music at a higher volume.

The equipment is at an excellent level | photo: own

In an average noisy environment, such as a bus, tram or cafe, this may not be a problem, but in a library, for example, the escaping sound could be quite audible, just like at home. In short, this is a tribute to the highest comfort, and this is exactly how these headphones are designed – to fit as many people as possible, even those who are often not comfortable with wireless earbuds. Don’t expect wear detection or transparent mode with these headphones, as that would be pointless – you can hear your surroundings just fine while wearing them.

Among the functions, there is a Low Lag mode, which will be appreciated especially by gamers, and the possibility to easily find the headphones using the Find My Earbuds mode, which briefly plays the sound at maximum volume in the headphones, so that you can find them better. Of course, there is an equalizer with many preset modes, and you can also create your own. If you own a phone from Nothing, the headphones even have ChatGPT integration.

Gesture control

The headphones can be controlled using a pair of touch sensors, while gestures can be customized in the companion app. One press on the headphones will turn the music playing on or off, and two presses will switch tracks in the album. I didn’t use these gestures that much, but I did use the volume control gesture because I found it to be the most intuitive. Hold the right earbud to increase the volume, and hold the left earbud to decrease it.

How do the headphones play?

The most important thing about all headphones is undoubtedly their sound, and codec support also depends on this. I would have one complaint here – the headphones do not support any Hi-Res codec such as Sony’s LDAC. They only support SBC and AAC, which is fully sufficient for quality listening, but for more demanding users, including myself, the absence of LDAC or at least aptX Adaptive freezes. A good alternative to these headphones are, for example, the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo, which support the aptX High-Res codec and are a little cheaper, but they are not as comfortable, they have a smaller 10mm driver, and the headphones themselves are a little heavier.

The sound from the headphones will also be heard by the surroundings | photo: own

The headphones have a 14.2 mm titanium driver that provides good sound performance both for instrumental music and for rock or pop. The only thing I would complain about is the bass, which in my opinion is lackluster, but this can be improved by using the equalizer or selecting the More Bass preset option. I see a lot of potential here, mainly due to the ability to adjust the equalizer. In this way, everyone can adjust the music to their liking and thus get the most out of the headphones.

Otherwise, I have nothing to complain about the sound, except that it is necessary to get used to it, because it has a different “feeling” than plug headphones. The stability of the connection was also very good – not once did my headphones disconnect from the phone and there was no sound skipping at higher volumes.

Battery life

Since the headphones don’t have ANC or a Hi-Res codec, there’s nothing to drain the battery quickly. The headphones can easily handle 7 hours of listening at 80% volume and with the case, their endurance was approximately 26 hours. The charging speed is sufficient in my opinion – in 10 minutes you can get an extra 2 hours of listening time. The only drawback I can think of is the lack of support for wireless charging, which is almost standard for more expensive headphones.

Nothing Ear (open) | photo: own

A few final words

The Nothing Ear (open) are probably the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever tested, but they’re definitely not for everyone. Due to their design, many users will be afraid to try them, and the absence of a Hi-Res codec will discourage music enthusiasts who want to enjoy listening in maximum lossless quality. In addition to comfort, the headphones’ battery life, minimalist appearance and the ability to adjust the sound using the equalizer are a big plus. If you have a phone from Nothing, you can also enjoy advanced features such as integration with ChatGPT.

As a disadvantage, I perceive the wide case, which is not very compact compared to the Galaxy Buds Pro 2, and the already mentioned absence of a Hi-Res codec. Another downside is that at higher volumes, those around you can hear what you’re listening to, which can be distracting in a quiet environment. I would definitely recommend the Nothing Ear (open) to anyone looking for extremely comfortable headphones and to athletes who simply don’t like earplugs. Nothing Ear (open) will be available from October 1 and their price will be 3,999 crowns.