The Nothing Ear vs the Nothing Phone: A Comparative Study of Wireless earbuds at Goldilocks’ Porridge

Not everything needs to reinvent the wheel. The latest earbuds from Nothing are the same ones that have produced some of the best wireless headphones money can buy. Sure, at its founding the company vowed to do so much more than make headphones and smartphones—it hasn’t quite followed up on that promise yet—but at least we get affordable earbuds that don’t look the part.

You are getting multipoint, Fast Pair, and a low-latency gaming mode in the cheaper buds. There is a lot of stuff in a single package. If you don’t want to go without it, the battery life on the buds is over five hours and well over eight hours.

Both wireless earbuds come with three sizes of ear tips, with the medium installed as standard. They fit me well for my average ear size, but I believe they wouldn’t suit anyone with smaller ears. The Ear reached Goldilocks’ porridge territory in size, stability, and long-term comfort. I like the larger, more feature-rich Ear, but if I had to choose between it and comfort, the Ear would get my money.

The Nothing Ear costs $100 and the Nothing Phone is two dollars cheaper. The company started with the Nothing Ear and followed up with the Nothing Ear last year so why the latest one is not called the Ear is confusing.

What More Can You Ask for from an Eear? The Ear and Ear (a) is Nothing’s third generation of AirPods

Neither are groundbreaking audio products—there are better headphones if you spend a little more and plenty of comparable models—but they’ll more than satisfy just about anyone. They work well and look great; what more can you ask for?

The new Ear and Ear (a) are Nothing’s third generation of AirPod clones, resulting in a pair of mature products with competitive sound, pricing, and user experience. From good-looking cases that easily fit in your pocket to smaller, more thoughtful design touches, these are some great wireless earbuds to consider if you’re hunting for a pair under $150.