Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Two new audio products are launching in a few weeks: the high-end Ear and the more affordable Ear(a) wireless headphones. As someone who has used and loved the first-generation Ear 1 and the subsequent Ear 2, I have only one wish, and one wish only: not to destroy comfort, nothing!
Nothing good could come of that – see what I did there?
Will you buy Nothing Ear 3 or 3a?
35 votes
In my review of Nothing Ear 2, I praised the company for not changing its winning formula. Months passed and I still kept my promise. While not perfect in every way, the Ear and Ear 2 perfectly perfect one aspect of true wireless headphones that few other brands and models offer: comfort and fit. I’ve yet to meet a single person complaining about the long-term wearability of Nothing’s earbuds. I was also their first champion.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Almost every other earbud I’ve tried, from brands of varying price and feature range, has caused some pain and pressure in my ears. If I’m lucky, I can wear them for an hour before I start to feel the sting, but usually, it’s much less than that. 30 minutes, even 10 minutes – looking at you, Sennheiser friends.
There’s something magical about Nothing’s earbud design that keeps my ears happy and comfortable.
Still, there’s something magical about Nothing’s design that makes my ears happy. I first noticed this on Ear 1, and it’s also true on Ear 2. They both slide right in, put no pressure on the tragus of my ear, and sit comfortably for hours on end. Before I felt any discomfort with these headphones, I was running out of battery—an issue that other earbuds didn’t last long enough to see.
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Indeed. If you ask me, there’s no such thing as the holy grail of earbud ergonomics and comfort—a design so universally loved that it shouldn’t be messed with under any circumstances. The only thing I would like to improve is the smooth material. But that’s secondary to comfort. I need to put the headphones on first and then worry about them slipping off when I get sweaty.
Nothing has found the holy grail of earbud ergonomics, and it shouldn’t change that.
In addition to hardware design, I feel that Nothing’s third-generation headphones still have a lot of room for improvement. Better sound quality, more effective noise cancellation, longer battery life, better plastic case durability; these are all areas where the new Nothing Ear and (a) can move forward. Please leave it alone, nothing?