Remember the days where our Facebook feeds were inundated with old-school memes and ‘tag-all’ composites? One of the single most popular jokes that would always elicit a snigger was something along the lines of the power of those pesky, imaginary headphone elves, and their uncanny ability to tangle-up your stringy earbuds.
Thankfully, while the days of Facebook chain mail and post-ironic memes haven’t quite left us – for the most part, wired headphones have. Well, we were so close until supermodel Bella Hadid was seen sporting a pair of those inconvenient, old-school earbuds.
Nevertheless, we’ve certainly come a long old way since the first ever modern pair of earbuds were invented in by the French engineer Ernest Mercadier in 1891. His patented design was actually intended for use as a telephone receiver, and his final prototype of miniature in-ear receivers weighed less than one and three quarters of an ounce. Pretty impressive for the 19th century.
The late 1950s saw the advent of stereo headphones thanks to musician and entrepreneur John Koss. These served as the first truly recognisable and high-quality pair of headphones through which you could privately listen to stereophonic recordings of your favourite tunes. Believe it or not, the first wireless headphone set came to be in the early 1960s. ‘Radio headphones’ connected to AM/FM waves through built-in antennas which were connected to extra-large, padded earcups.
In 1989, Dr. Amar Bose invented functional noise cancelling headphones, and later in 2001, Apple further revolutionised the audio space with the iconic, ever-tangling EarPods. Along came Bluetooth in 2004, and the audio technology was space-shuttled into the future.
Wireless headphones may conjure up images of AirPods or in-ear Beats by Dre, but Nothing has entered the chat. New on the scene, the lifestyle and technology brand was founded by Carl Pei back in 2020 - and has been making waves in the tech world ever since. It recently won three Red Dot Design Awards for its entire range of 2023 products.
The Ear (2) is Nothing’s second iteration of in-ear, noise cancelling, Bluetooth headphones, which provide up to six hours of listening time with one charge in comparison to the previous five, press control instead of touch control, improved clear voice technology and so much more.
Keep scrolling for an in-depth review of what Nothing has dubbed ‘mighty little things’.
Buy now: Ear (2) – £129, Nothing
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Specifications
Ear Bud size: H29.4 x W21.5 x D23.5 mm
Case size: H55.5 x W55.5 x D22 mm
Earbud weight: 4.5g
Case weight: 51.9g
Design
It’s immediately clear that the Ear (2) is a stunning piece of kit. Neatly packed like a brand-new pair of luxury shoes, the earbuds are magnetically housed in an attractive transparent case. I particularly appreciate the message that Nothing is sending with its transparent tech – the brand is clearly incredibly proud of the products they are putting out, and for good reason. Why wouldn’t you want to celebrate raw technology and expert craftsmanship?
They earbuds themselves feel surprisingly small and delicate to hold, perhaps due to their lightweight nature, but fit wonderfully snug in the ear.
Functionality, noise cancellation and sound quality
First and foremost, the Ear (2) feels comfortable and secure in your ear. The anxiety of your earbud pop out of your ear, dancing on the precipice between the train and the tracks, and falling beyond reach felt unlikely to become a reality. Though I find AirPods sound quality excellent, I do feel as though I’m constantly pushing them into my eardrums not only due to their looseness, but for fear of losing my almost £300 investment.
If you’re a regular ES Best reader, you might have read of my disdain for companion apps – why can’t I get everything I need via the product itself? Nevertheless, the Nothing X app is delightfully simple and easy to navigate. It’s all you need to control the noise cancellation levels and to begin your personalised noise cancellation experience.
The technology supposedly adapts shape of your ears with Personalised ANC - though I didn’t notice any significant change from the regular noise cancellations setting. I did, however, enjoy using Adaptive Mode for noise cancellation, which changes its levels based on your surroundings. It won’t block out the Jurassic sounds of the Northern Line screeching against the tracks, but that’s quite a high bar. If the goal is just to block out the nattering of passers-by, they’ll do the job.
Now, my biggest qualm – and I’m still not entirely sure about whether this is a result of hearing damage from blasting music over the years – was the relatively tinny sound quality. Even on full noise cancellation mode, I found that my music sounded strangely metallic and light at times. Perhaps this is a result of the fact that I’ve grown heavily accustomed to my extra-large, over-ear headphones from Bose.
Nevertheless, the Nothing Ear (2) headphones have an unbeatable battery life, which sets them apart from AirPods. A fully charged case provides up to 36 hours of use, and just 10 minutes of charging will get you eight whole hours of playback. You can also reverse charge the case using the Nothing Phone (1).
Verdict
The Nothing Ear (2)s are fantastic earbuds which sit nicely within that mid-range price bracket, planting Nothing as fine and firm contenders within the earbud space. Though they might not quite be at a stage in which the headphones can hold their own with the biggest brands on the market, they are certainly well on their way.
