Review: Nothing’s new Ear and Ear (a) buds have ChatGPT and good audio

Its latest launch sees the introduction of Ear and Ear (a), its new premium and budget wireless earphone models.

Whereas we had Ear (1) and Ear (2), Nothing has eschewed going for an Ear (3) title and has called the new upgraded buds Ear, plain and simple. The company has also added a budget version called Ear (a), which have many of the same features but cost a third (€50) less.

There’s an obvious aesthetic difference between the two sets of buds, with Ear using Nothing’s usual monotone (in this case, white) styling and Ear (a) opting for a jauntier sunflower yellow.

As with previous Nothing buds, the main design for the head of both sets of buds is very similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro.

That includes squeezable stalks that can control playback, listening modes and a range of other things.

One upside of the AirPods Pro similarity is that the fit on both sets of buds, supported by a choice of three supplied sizes of ear tips, is superb: never once did either feel even slightly loose. You can easily take these on a run.

The physical design of the higher-priced Ear box, like its predecessor, remains distinctive and useful. The transparent plastic makes this stand out from almost all other buds, while the large ‘dimple’ on the front makes it easy to figure out in your pocket which side is up, taking about a second off the time it takes to grab them and open them up. Nothing also put idiot-proof colour-coded dots on each bud berth to match the left and right buds, a genuinely useful guide that I wish some other manufacturers would do.

The Ear case also facilitates wireless charging, a real perk at this price.

The only slight downside is that this main case is a little larger than some other earbuds cases.

This isn’t the situation for the case of the Ear (a) case, though, which is almost exactly the same size as an AirPods case.

However, although it’s also transparent plastic and features a similar colour-coded dot system, this case doesn’t have any dimple, nor does it support wireless charging. Still, it’s neat and tidy and looks great with the yellow colour underneath.

In terms of audio performance, in general these buds are really good; the higher-end Ear buds, in particular, compare very well to standard AirPods or Galaxy Buds.

I found a difference in the audio quality between the Ear and Ear (a) buds, with the main Ear buds being noticeably better, just clearer overall. While they both have fairly somewhat similar technical architecture, with 11mm drivers, the pricier Ear buds use slightly better materials and space management within the buds to produce a more pleasing, less distorted sound.

Both the Ear and Ear (a) buds have active noise-cancelling built in, although it’s on the milder scale of what you can get on the market. You’ll notice a difference with the ANC mode on, but it won’t really block audio out to the extent that the likes of Apple’s AirPods Pro, Google’s Pixel Buds Pro or Sony’s 1000XM5 will (note, however, that those models cost around twice as much as the Nothing buds).

There’s also a ‘transparency’ mode on each set, although this is very mild.

There’s no ‘spatial audio’ on board, here, which isn’t a big surprise, given that this trends to be a fairly premium feature.

For making and taking calls, both of these buds are fine. They’re a little tinny sounding on the other end, but they’re relatively good in wind, an advantage in a country like Ireland.

They can both also switch between two devices, a really nice feature for relatively inexpensive buds.

I tested them with a variety of handsets, including Nothing’s own phones, a Samsung Galaxy S24 and an iPhone 15 Pro and the audio quality was good throughout.

There’s one interesting additional feature, though, that both the Ear and Ear (a) buds have if you’re using them solely with a Nothing phone — ChatGPT. This lets you ask questions and get answers, pretty much as you would in typing a query or prompt in. It’s a novel use of AI and probably a forerunner of what’s to come on other devices.

Battery life is fine on both sets of buds, at about four to five hours each, rechargeable at least four times from the USB-C supported cases. If anything, the cheaper Ear (a) last slightly longer, because of the smaller chip power required.