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Nothing announces the Ear (2): here to justify the price increase

By Preslav Kateliev

Published: Mar 22, 2023, 10:17 AM

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In late 2022, Nothing announced the Ear (Stick) at $99, and simultaneously increased the price of the Ear (1) to $149. This caused a lot of raised eyebrows in the tech community, and we still feel like it wasn't the best move. Today, Nothing launches the Ear (2), which is supposed to be that "flagship earbud" model to deserve a price uptick.

Nothing Ear (2) review

Nothing Ear (2) design

You will notice that the Nothing Ear (2) look almost identical to the Ear (1). The new case is ever so slightly smaller and has more defined corners, but it follows the same guidelines as the previous model.

The Nothing Ear (2) controls now work via a squeeze on the stems — unlike the Ear (1) which were controlled with touch-sensitive stems. No doubt a lot of people are going to be happy — touch controls are just not cool for earbuds, which you often... touch to adjust!

As for internals, Nothing has upgraded the Ear (2) drivers with N52 neodynium magnets — stronger than the N45 from before — and has considerably increased the open spaces inside the buds themselves, giving the driver more air to move around.

New Nothing X app

Nothing announces the Ear (2): here to justify the price increase

The Nothing Ear app will now evolve to Nothing X. An app that will be used to control any other Nothing devices that come out in the future.

It's available for iOS and Android and you should be able to get access to all Nothing Ear (2) features, no matter what device you are on.

These include a custom EQ, personalized sound profile, personalized ANC, low-latency mode for gamers, and — of course — firmware updates. However, Nothing Phone (1) users will also get to enjoy high-res LHDC 5.0 streaming.

The new ANC mode is listed as attenuating up to -40 dB with a wide 5 kHz frequency range. This should be able to reduce a variety of noises better than before — it's a 2.5 times wider band than on the Ear (1), as per the Nothing presentation.

Nothing Ear (2) connectivity and battery

The Nothing Ear (2) will support simultaneous connection to 2 devices, so you can have them paired to your laptop and your smartphone at the same time, for example. This is a huge quality-of-life improvement and we welcome it.

According to Nothing, the battery life, with ANC and dual device off, will be about 36 hours (~6 from the buds + 30 from the case). Turning ANC on will shave off about 10 hours of that total — these are similar numbers to the Nothing Ear (1) and they are perfectly fine. Dual device connection should also drain a bit more juice.

Nothing Ear (2) price and release date

The Nothing Ear (2) takes the spot of the Ear (1) at that $149 price point — you can no longer buy the predecessor. Pre-orders of the Nothing Ear (2) should start any moment now, shipping / sales begin on the 28th of March.

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Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.