Giant-killing tech brand Nothing is at it again with its new launch: a fun pair of earphones it has dubbed the Nothing Ear (open) range.
The 'open' (in parenthesis) is a description of the open nature of these earphones, where you can put them on and still hear the world around you.
For those who are fans of noise cancelling, these aren't for you. But if you find ANC to be a little hard on your hearing then having an open set of earphones may well be the way forward.
ShortList has been lucky enough to try these on for the past week - here's what we think...
1. Nothing's see-through style is for all to see
Nothing has been championing its see-through style from day one, and it's no different on the Nothing Ear (open) range. the shaft of the earphones looks just like the current Nothing Ear range, but this time there is a an extra piece of material that curls around the ear.
This not only makes them comfortable to wear but the fact that they just rest on the ear means that there is very little fatigue when wearing them.
It is worth noting that even thought there is extra material, these earphones are superlight (weighing just 8.1 grams per earbud) and the hinge helps with stability. If you are a glasses wearer you may struggle a little with the back of these cans, but I felt they had a nice comfort factor and have a decent grip for running and the like.
2. You will be hyper aware of your surroundings
If you have yet to wear a pair of OWS (open wearable stereo) earphones, then the sensation is a little strange at first. It takes a while for your ears to adjust to what I initially felt was sound leakage - not from the songs I was listening to, but from my surrounds. I could hear birds chirping in chorus to Taylor Swift, trains speeding by to The Prodigy, office gossip while listening to, er, Gossip.
Once your ears adjust, though, what you are listening to becomes the focus and the rest of the noise blends into the background, so you don't feel out of touch with what is going on around you. There is a reason for this...
3. Nothing has packed in some decent audio tech
To make sure that music is at the forefront of these earphones, Nothing has added a bunch of features, including a Sound Seal System and directional speakers to minimise sound leakage - so even though you can hear what's going on around you - thanks to Nothing's Open Sound Technology - your Katy Perry obsession will stay secret to you and to you only.
Couple this with a titanium coating that keeps low frequencies as bass-y as you want and the high frequencies high and what you have is a decent whack of audio delivered to your ears.
4. Battery life is immense
Battery life is decent with 8 hours of playback quoted on a single charge, and up to 30 hours with the charging case. These are definitely ear buds for all-day use and then some.
Even when I had to charge the things, there is a 10-minute quick charge option that offers up 2 hours of listening time. The charging case that comes with these is sleek, too, if a little on the wide side.
5. AI is on board, if you are that way inclined
Despite other tech companies shouting harder about this, Nothing was one of the first to embrace ChatGPT in its tech. These earphones take advantage of AI. What that means in real money is that, through the Nothing X app, you can get real-time information piped to your ears. It's voice controlled, so you can ask ChatGPT what you want on the go and you should get the answers you need.
Nothing Ear (open) early verdict
While I have always been team noise cancelling, using the Nothing Ear (open) earphones for a week now has made me think that going out in the open with open earbuds is the future - and given Nothing's sleek industrial design, the future looks pretty cool right now.
Pre-orders for Ear (open) are now open on nothing.techin the US, Canada, UK, and Europe. Ear (open) will be available for purchase globally starting 1 October for $149 / £129 / €149.
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