Nothing Ear (stick) – Hardware Review
We have featured a lot of wireless in-ear earbuds over the course of the last year, be it Sennheiser’s MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 or the very budget-friendly Nova Sport earbuds by Rolfstone. These earbuds all had one thing in common, namely the fact that they were in-ear devices, which is something that is very popular right now. In comes Nothing, who is going back to basics with their Ear (Stick) earbuds, which still offer wireless functionalities, but the actual device is like the old earphones that didn’t have those in-ear adapters. We were curious to see how these earphones would hold up in a sea of high-quality competitors.
Design
First of all, let us say that we absolutely loved the design of the case, as well as the earbuds. Nothing has opted for a cylinder-shaped case, where you have to twist the red dial on the side in order to open the case. The earbuds themselves have a very classy yet minimalistic design, and we loved the seethrough sides on the ‘antenna’ parts of the earbuds. The earpieces themselves are donned in white, with a few silver metallic parts that are also visible. All in all, you’re getting a gorgeous pair of earbuds here.
We did find the packaging of questionable design. The entire idea of the box is very cool, especially seeing the cable is inserted in a small cardboard cylinder in the beam-shaped cardboard box. The same goes for the actual case of the earbuds. Sadly, you have to rip open the cardboard packaging of the main box on both sides, which felt a bit like a waste (and a shame) for those who love to store their items neatly when they aren’t using the device, or simply for warranty purposes. We would have loved a more traditional resealable packaging here.
Comfort
It took us some time to adjust to having a traditional earphone design rather than having in-ear earbuds. That being said, the earphones are very light and fairly comfortable. Keep in mind, these earbuds do not come with adapters, so it’s a one-size-fits-all kind of deal. We enjoyed the lightweight experience, but we did find them slightly less comfortable for very long usage.
Overview
The Ear (stick) earbuds are very simple to pair with your device of choice. You simply search for them via Bluetooth of the chosen device, and you’ll be good to go in mere seconds. The audio quality was immediately very crisp, and we were treated to very smooth sailing from the start. There are, however, a few differences with in-ear earbuds, as you’ll have more environmental noises seeping through your listening experience with a traditional design such as this. This can be a good thing if you wish to stay aware of your surroundings but it can also be a bad thing if you’d rather completely zone out. The microphone is of decent quality, and with the ENC, it makes sure those on the receiving end can hear you loud and clear.
Controlling the earbuds is also slightly different than the traditional tap or tap-and-hold controls that most devices now have. The Ear (stick) functions in nearly the same way, but you’ll have to apply pressure to the designated ‘buttons’. The developers made it this way to allow the earbuds to be operated with slightly wet hands. For some, it may also provide better feedback as to what precise command they are executing. When taking the earbuds out of your ear(s), your audio will also be paused, which is great as you can just take an earbud out and listen to the person speaking to you, without first pausing what you were listening to.
On a single charge, you can get around 6 hours of listening pleasure out of the earbuds, and if the case is fully charged, you can have up to 25 hours of playtime. These times were quite consistent, and this is a fairly decent playback time. If your earbuds run out of juice, the quick charge allows you to have around an hour of extra playtime.
Conclusion
Nothing’s Ear (stick) is a very unique package and we were pleasantly surprised by the overall quality. While it took us some time to get used to the old-school shape and design of classic ‘earphones’, we did enjoy the sound quality and the ENC while calling. Overall the battery life is decent, and we were very content with the build quality. That being said, those looking for ANC may be a bit disappointed, and the one-size-fits-all formula might not be for everyone. All in all, you’re getting a decent pair of wireless earbuds, but we wish the price would have been a bit more competitive.
Nothing Ear (stick) - Hardware Review,
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