Nothing Ear (1) - Wireless ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Headphones, White

I've had these for a couple of months now as an upgrade from Galaxy Buds+ because I wanted Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), and just bought some Sony WF-1000XM4s to accompany the Nothings. I'll try to give my review in the context of how they're an improvement compared to last gen wireless earbuds and how they compare to the high end earbuds that the Nothings are supposed to be flagship killers for. I think most people will be purchasing these as an intro to ANC, and I think it does an ok job at that but you need to set your expectations correctly. The Nothings do a good job at knocking down the sounds around you by a few notches, which depending on the scenario could be plenty for what you want or disappointing. I find that car sounds in particular are not filtered well by the noise cancelling, although I wonder if this is a product of the relatively poor passive noise cancelling. The plus side of this is that the ambient sound passthrough is very good, I would say it's the best out of the 3 buds in terms of how natural conversations feel when you have the buds in. In particular regarding these being an intro to ANC, the pressure they exert with ANC on is quite strong compared to the XM4s and can take a little bit of getting used to so 1) take it easy on first try by not having ANC on for too long and switching to ambient or no noise cancelling before taking them out, and 2) if the pressure is still too much don't be too discouraged from buying other higher end or next gen ANC earbuds. Sound quality is better than the buds+, which were already fairly good, but it's clearly held back by the bluetooth codec used and it would be much better if they supported up to date aptx codecs or LDAC. It's not as good as the XM4s (as expected) but unless you're used to high quality headphones you probably won't notice much difference. In terms of comfort they're very comfortable in most circumstances. I wouldn't wear them to bed because the stalk gets in the way, but otherwise the fit and light weight compared to other earbuds means you barely notice the feeling of them being in your ear once you're used to them. The control scheme is very intuitive compared to other buds. Often you need to choose between being able to control volume on the buds and doing something else, but the swipe control along the stem means that isn't an issue on the Nothings. They don't have a voice assistance control so if that is something you want then you will need to choose another earbud. Battery life is alright for most purposes, you can't get away with falling asleep with them in like other buds but they should last you through a day of work if you use your lunch break to put them back in the case. Overall I think these are really good earbuds for the price point but you should be aware that you are making sacrifices somewhere. They're more akin to buying a mid range phone than a flagship killer.

I got them back in September and I reckon they've updated at least 8 times since then, so since release they must have received more than 10-15 software updates (not counting the app itself), so take that into account when reading reviews. They had a bumpy release. My review after +6 months: ANR: It does a great job but don't expect 100% noise cancellation, it's an £80 pair of airbuds. (Sony's flagship ANR buds are +£250..). That being said, taking a flight with these changed my initial opinion drastically. It does an amazing job with constant buzzing sounds, to the point I don't think I'll be able to fly or take a train again without these. I fly at least 3-4 times a year so a massive game changer for me. Battery: They charge super fast! If I take a 4:20h flight they last with ANR on around 3h30, probably more without it. Then I just put them on the case 5-10 min and can use them the rest of the flight. I think for most users this should be more than ok. Connectivity: Instant pairing, that says it all. The only thing missing is multidevice support (having it connected to two devices simultaneously). That's a bummer for me but I knew that when I bought them. It doesn't automatically forget devices when you pair them to a new one though, so you don't need to set them up everytime. They just can't connect at the same time. I have to note something here though. The airbuds turn on/connect the moment you open the case, not when you pull them out. It's happened to me a few times that I pulled them out too quick (before the green light of the case turns on) and I'd be left with one of the airbuds unpaired. It takes half a second for the light to turn on, so not a big a deal at all, just be aware. Sound: I've used Sony earphones in the same price range most of my life and I found these quite comparable in sound quality. So perfect:). Volume-wise, like most earphones nowadays, I depends on the device. I've had no issue at all with my Pixel phone and MacBook air, they are pretty loud. I had on my old android tablet, but if you physically turn the volume on sliding your finger on the airbud it overrides the volume output of your device (that's the common solution for low volume on most airbuds with physical volume control btw). All in all I don't regret the purchase at all and can't wait for a second iteration with multi device support. Just by how often they've been updating these to refine the product gives me some faith.

These are really good headphones for the money. Really good. They sound amazing, fit in my ear easily and the battery life is good (not amazing). But the problem is they feel like a beta product. Occasionally.... note, occasionally, they may lose connection to my OnePlus phone or not connect properly when removed from the case. Another thing I dislike if the fact you can't buy a replacement case. If anything was to happen to my case, such as it being lost, I'd have to buy another pair. Not an issue with standard wired Bluetooth headphones. Apart from that, great product. Update: May 2022. I still love them, but still feels like a beta product. For the money, the sound is very, very good. I love the design, though wish the black version was released along with the white version. I would have gone for that, though that is.a personal design choice. The issue I have is that it when I remove both buds from the case, there is a 50/50 chance both will understand they have been removed from the cade. This lead me to have to put the one that is not responding back in the case and remove it again in the hope it understands I want it to be active. As a company that is trying to establish itself in the market, I want it to do it's best. I'm excited for it's upcoming phone, but for the fact I can't rely on it to work on time, every time, is making me feel that I should go for more established brands (a la Google Pixel Bud and a Pixel Phone). I would say, yes, these are great headphones, but it still feels like a beta. Update: October 2022 Still having connection issues to my devices. If I touch the headphones even slightly in a WhatsApp call they hang up. No software updates in a good few months. Long and short of it, I wish I went for the Pixel Buds A series. Update: January 2024 I have sold these to a popular second hand tech store and got just over £30 for them. Not bad for having them for 2 years. Honestly, I would not buy these again. It wasn't a great experience, being my first Nothing product, and although they are the first product from Nothing, the connection issues were a major factor for not keeping them.

These earbuds were massively, massively over-hyped before launch. So when they came out (and had a few bugs / didn't match that hype) the reviews were naturally disappointing. But months later (and some software updates later) I decided to test them fully and review them from a neutral perspective, to see how they 'really' compare to the competition and...I was pleasantly surprised. Are these on the level of the flagships from Sony/Bose etc? No. And the hype suggested they would be. But are they amazing value for money at £100? Absolutely. I reviewed these on YouTube as part of a 'best earbuds under $100' video, and they performed really well. Since I bought them on here I decided to share with you all the review and also the clip from that video featuring the ear(1)s. So that's what the video is and below is the written form of the review in case you'd rather read instead: [Review below]: What the tech world has reached a consensus on is the design, with many (including myself) calling these the best looking earbuds on the market. This transparent design looks awesome - the craftsmanship is second to none, and I personally love this minimal design that, as they say, highlights the beauty of tech. It’s not just for the earbuds, but the charging case too…and I think these look especially good in this new black colour. You’re not gonna be mistaking this unique design for any other earbuds. The touch controls here are great, they’re responsive and the contact area is surprisingly wide. They’re one of only a few earbuds to support a swipe gesture for volume - and this time…it actually works. I had close control over each volume increment, and the glossy outer surface meant I could swipe without knocking these from my ears (though this is still possible if you aren’t careful). These also have wearing detection and customisation in the app - so the controls are almost perfect. But customisation is limited and there’s sadly no single tap option. Comfort is another thing they’ve nailed, I’m talking…forget you’re wearing them, kind of comfortable. They’re lightweight and form a gentle seal in the ear, so I can easily wear these all day. I can just about run with them as well, and they have IPX4 protection, but I wouldn’t trust them to stay in place for most other workouts. The gentle seal means the passive noise isolation isn’t amazing, even with the larger eartips. However the active noise cancellation was surprisingly good. Obviously it’s not flagship level performance, but you can clearly hear the reduction in noise turning this on. The transparency mode though, is very good, clearly amplifying your surroundings. There’s still a bug here though where there’s a faint hiss that seems to fade in and out sometimes in transparency mode. Inaudible with music playing, but still a bug - so for all the firmware update improvements we’ve seen since their launch, that minor annoyance still exists. The main improvements have been to connectivity, these are now very reliable, offer single earbud use, fast pairing and show no noticeable latency with videos. There is a dedicated low-latency mode here as well, which gamers may be interested in, but otherwise it’s not really necessary. On one day I did have one earbud randomly disconnect - but a quick power off and on with the case seemed to fix it. So maybe not 100% of the issues are fixed, but on the whole…my experience has been pretty consistent. Battery life is a big weakness though, you only get 5 hours on a single charge with up to 34 in the case. They do support wireless charging though, which is nice, and actually these are the only earbuds in this video to offer ANC, transparency, wearing detection and wireless charging - so these actually have the most complete feature set. The mic quality was really decent as well. My voice sounded really clear and the earbuds isolate my voice well from the background noise - so phone call performance was very good. As for the audio quality…it’s good, better than I expected actually. These have good clarity, are well-detailed and are leaning slightly towards a bright sound signature. The bass is tight and punchy, but I’m sure some will find this lacking. EQ options unfortunately are very limited - you’ve only got these 4 options. There’s a distinct difference with each mode, but I’d love to be able to customise this myself. The overall sound quality should be good enough to please most - but some of our other entries like Lypertek and Sennheiser’s are a step up. Having tested these throughly myself, I can understand why the initial reviews were so underwhelming. As the flagship killing phenomenon these earbuds were touted to be, sure, they leave a lot to be desired. But as a $99 pair of earbuds, as they should be viewed, they’re actually exceptional value for money. I was left genuinely shocked by just how good these turned out to be for the price.

I have had my beloved Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless earphones for about a year until they sadly died last week. Looking for a replacement but not wanting to spend another £250, I remembered about a company called 'Nothing' that I had seen a few months prior. Now while I'm not an audiophile, I have experience with some very nice headphones / IEMs & good audio quality is important to me. I began looking at reviews and articles, and was struck by their rather unique, small form-factor design, as well as the generally very good reviews. I decided to bite the bullet and place the order. As soon as they arrived on my doorstep, I was impressed by the packaging. The box and the overall brand is plastered with a very unique visual style, very clean and minimal, something you'd expect from a much more established brand. Clearly a lot of work has gone into this brand identity. The unboxing experience was very pleasant, everything was packaged very cleanly, with minimal text or unnecessary extras. The box contains; the earphones nested within their charging case with pre-applied medium size ear-tips, some minimal paperwork - printed atop some very nice quality black card, a small cardboard insert containing some additional silicon ear-tips (Small and Large) and a very nice quality USB-C to USB-A cable. Upon taking the earphones out of the packaging, I was shocked with how nice the charging case feels in the hand. The photos make it look like thin clear plastic, but it's surprisingly substantial and very nice quality. It has some weight to it, although is on the bigger side where charging cases are concerned. It still fits just fine into a pocket. The earphones themselves also feel extremely well-built and click perfectly into the charging case with no force. The hinge is very solid with no wobble and shuts with a satisfying 'click'. I have rather small ear canals and found the small tips fit perfectly into my ears. I can swing my head as hard as I like with no risk of them falling out. So... How do they sound? Simply put? I was blown away. In many cases, better than my old trusty XM4's at less than half the price. I primarily listen to metal, classical a bit of rap and podcasts, but found they are extremely well-balanced for all genres. The bass is solid, but the accuracy of the mids and highs is what struck me. They are considerably better than my Sony's. They sound every bit as good, and better in some ways. Ear fatigue was non-existent even after an extended listening session. While I absolutely do own IEMs that sound better, they are significantly more expensive (£250 - £300) and I would argue that these wireless earphones beat just about anything in their price range. Overall the Nothing Ear (1) is a fantastic product. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great listening experience without breaking the bank. You can not do better in this price range, and they have the build / sound quality of much more established, expensive brands.

I wanted a pair of wireless earbuds to wear whilst mountain biking on my own. That's all. That was me three years ago. At the time, I assumed one pair of bluetooth earbuds was the same as all the others when it came to having them in your ears and your smartphone no more than two feet away playing the music you enjoy. My thinking was that a relatively cheap pair would suffice for this simple task. Oh, naiave me! At 54 I should know that you get what you pay for and that China is constantly out to make a quick buck. After a few £30 to £40 disappointments the realisation that a good amount of money had to spent hit me. That realisation lead me to the ridiculously priced Air Pro thingys. Not happening. Then a Youtube tech reviewer I had followed for a while did a piece on the Nothing Ear 1. At £90 they ticked ALL the boxes and were a serious contender, so I ordered a pair despite a couple of caveats. They came promptly. They were British (well, I think). They looked smart. They looked like everything the reviewer said they were. The packaging was slick and the items within were ergonomic. Great. I was impressed and excited to try them. They worked. The set up was seamless and I was away. The sound quality is impressive, I heard things on the tracks I played that I had never noticed before (things that were supposed to be there). I went off cycling with them and they worked great for 20 seconds. They paused. No bother, I thought. I tapped my right earpiece twice and we were off again. No problem. Twenty seconds later they paused again. Again, I stopped, removed my cycling gloves and tapped my right earpiece twice. The music continued and I replaced my gloves and set off for another twenty seconds. They paused again. And so on and so on, you get the picture. I got them to work sort of semi-ok after I adjusted my left ear piece and changed up to the larger rubber (as supplied). A month on, I have a love-hate relationship with these earbuds. The sound quality is amazing and I really want to love them for that alone. The ANC is also amazing and it can give a sense of total isolation. However. I feel this item has been rushed to market before the wrinkles have been ironed out. For me the next couple of days will be when I decide to return them or not.

Firstly, Amazon have been amazing. I purchased the Nothing ear(1) earbuds having been a fan of the founder from his days with OnePlus. The product arrived promptly and setup was straightforward with the companion app available on iOS to quickly update the firmware. Sound quality for the price is very good. As is the noise cancellation feature. I found the transparency/ambient mode lacking but perfectly fine for the price. With regards to sound quality, I noticed a generally deep bass but a soft transition to bass/low end tones, so there was less of a feeling of pressure when tracks really kicked in that can sometimes be felt with ANC devices and it was a welcomed choice. The companion app was great for setup and software updates with the app also showing lots of detail with regards to how you interact with each bud. The ability to change volume by swiping up and down on the exterior of the bud is a delight. Other manufacturers should take note. However, I had regular connectivity issues. The buds would lose sync with one another and temporarily disconnect from my phone. This issue persisted with not just my phone, but my tablet and laptop also. So it was isolated to the buds only. Having spoke to Amazon initially I then took my concerns to Nothing directly for coverage under warranty. Troubleshooting steps were followed but alas the problem continued. They had advised free replacement under warranty but I had to ship them away, for which they would provide a shipping label. After two weeks of waiting, I contacted them to be told it was with ‘logistics’ and I had to wait. After nearly a month from my initial contact with them, still nothing (pun intended), so I reached out to Amazon on the off chance they could assist or prompt Nothing in to action. Equally as frustrated, they initiated a return and full refund which was incredible and handled in minutes, rather than days and weeks! This response from Amazon is how you handle customer service interactions. A shame really as I was a fan of the product, but I have chosen to invest my money elsewhere at this time.

I got the earbuds and within 20mins, I was able to get a good idea of what these earbuds could achieve. This, for the price of £99 is stupidly impressive. The mids are crisp and clear (probably more than even the airpods pro). The low end had a presence although it wasn't too overpowering in the normal setting. After the 'more bass' mode was selected, the bass was perfect for rap songs. They just hit differently. The only slight issue I had with the sound was with the higher range. At maximum volume, the higher range felt like it was a bit soft. Overall, the sound performed brilliantly across a wide range of genres. In my opinion, these earphones are slightly better in terms of mids than the airpods pro and nearly as good as the depth of the galaxy buds pro. Touching on the other features, the touch sensitive stalk of the earphone was good and on par with the original airpods in terms of sensitivity. The noise cancelling was good and I couldn't hear people speak around a meter away from me. All background noises were pretty much non existent too. I haven't gotten a chance to review the battery life but in the short time that I used the earbuds, the charge went from 100% to around 98%. So not too bad I guess. The app of the earbuds are very easy to use and setup was simple. Comfort was also good and I was perfectly happy with the medium sized eartips. They did not fall out during walking or jumping. Just one more thing regarding the whole pre-order situation. I set in a pre-order on the 14th of September (when the re-stock came) and amazon said I should get them by the 24th. On the 19th, I saw an alert saying that it would be delivered on the 20th. And that's it, it was delivered in less than a week. I've just heard from a lot of people that ordered around a month ago and still haven't got it. I just wanted you to know of my situation. Overall, I am very, very impressed with these pair of earbuds. At £99 these are hard to beat. Thanks or taking the time to read my review. this is all my honest opinion and yh, I'm just happy I made the purchase.

The quality of this product is so great considering its offordable price and the other competitors out there. I have no problems at all bar the cutting put at times but other than that there is not one fault

Fits perfectly, and the sound is very good

Ho recentemente avuto l'opportunità di provare questi auricolari wireless con cancellazione attiva del rumore (ANC), e devo dire che sono rimasto estremamente impressionato dall'esperienza sonora che offrono. Iniziamo parlando della cancellazione attiva del rumore. Questa tecnologia è veramente sorprendente, in quanto è in grado di eliminare efficacemente il rumore di fondo, consentendoti di immergerti completamente nella musica o di concentrarti sulle tue attività senza distrazioni. Che si tratti di un caffè affollato, del rumore di una metropolitana o dei suoni di un aereo, sono in grado di creare una bolla di silenzio intorno a te. La qualità audio è eccellente. Gli auricolari sono dotati di driver di alta qualità che riproducono fedelmente ogni dettaglio del suono. I bassi sono profondi e potenti, mentre gli alti sono nitidi e cristallini. Ho provato diversi generi musicali e gli auricolari hanno offerto una resa sonora eccezionale in tutti i casi. La connettività wireless è affidabile e stabile. Gli auricolari si collegano facilmente al mio dispositivo tramite Bluetooth e non ho riscontrato alcun problema di connessione durante l'utilizzo. Inoltre, la portata del segnale è più che sufficiente per muoversi liberamente senza dover portare il dispositivo con sé. La durata della batteria è un altro punto forte di questi auricolari. Ho potuto usarli per diverse ore senza preoccuparmi di doverli ricaricare. La custodia di ricarica inclusa fornisce ulteriori cicli di ricarica, garantendo una durata complessiva molto soddisfacente. Il comfort è un fattore cruciale quando si tratta di auricolari wireless, soprattutto se si prevede di indossarli per lunghe sessioni. Fortunatamente, questi auricolari sono leggeri e dotati di cuscinetti auricolari morbidi, che li rendono comodi anche dopo diverse ore di utilizzo. Inoltre, sono dotati di un design ergonomico che si adatta perfettamente all'orecchio, garantendo una buona stabilità. Un altro aspetto degno di nota è il controllo touch intuitivo presente sugli auricolari. È possibile regolare il volume, passare alla traccia successiva o precedente e rispondere alle chiamate semplicemente toccando leggermente gli auricolari. Questo sistema di controllo è molto comodo e facile da usare. In conclusione, questi auricolari offrono un'esperienza sonora eccezionale con la loro cancellazione attiva del rumore, la qualità audio eccellente e la connettività affidabile. Con una buona durata della batteria e un comfort di lunga durata, sono perfetti per l'ascolto musicale o per concentrarsi su qualsiasi attività. Se stai cercando auricolari wireless di alta qualità, questi auricolari sono sicuramente da considerare. Unica pecca che mi sento di dire è la mancanza di una custodia, su internet si trovano quelle compatibili ma di qualità molto bassa.

These sounded fine out of the box, but about 10-15 minutes of listening to music and tweaking the equalizer in Poweramp got top-quality sound out of them. The bass is great even though I'm too much of a coward to turn it up all the way. Big driver, big sound and very crisp high end. Style is great and they're light but secure in your ears and don't come out while running. The controls are good and they don't have the "phantom touch" problem that I've suffered under for like 2 years with the Samsung Galaxy buds. Very happy that I bought these, and I'm looking forward to daily use.

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