Nothing has promised a slew of gadgets for 2023, the first of which, the Nothing Ear (2), was announced on March 22, 2023. Interestingly, the Nothing Ear (2) became the first second-generation gadget of the company, which has already mesmerized the world with its transparent design. Nothing has claimed that Nothing Ear (2) is equipped with upgrades in several departments, and the audience will have a more refined experience with these new earbuds. Read the article to find out about the enhancements introduced by the company and whether it will become a worthy successor or not.
Design
The Nothing earbuds 2 and its case have gone through some minimal and fruitful changes. The case has become smaller, with a dimension of 55.5 x 55.5 x 22 mm, but can only be understood when placed beside its predecessor. The curved edges of the case have become more angled, and the large dimple has become smaller in the middle of the case, which holds the earbuds in place. The bottom of the case had a cover that encased the opaque plastic in the Ear (1) which was prone to scratches. That cover has been removed, and you can almost feel the curve of the receptacles of the earbuds in the Nothing Ear (2). The hinge has become smaller, while the magnet is a bit stronger than its predecessor and closes with a clang. The patterned finish inside the case has been replaced by a smooth one, and the device is only available in White color. The earbuds almost look identical to their predecessor, but the position of the mic has been changed in the Nothing Ear (2). The earbuds and the case weigh 4.53 g and 51.87 g respectively and are lighter than the Nothing Ear (1), which is not very noticeable. But the switch from IPX4 certification to IP54 for the earbuds and IP55 for the case is a welcome change.
Audio
The Nothing Ear (2) uses the same 11.6 mm dynamic design as its predecessors, but the drivers are upgraded, and the earbuds also have Hi-Res audio certification. A new diaphragm made of polyurethane and graphene has been implemented. With a dual-design chamber, the interior of the earbuds has also been upgraded. Along with SBC and AAC, the addition of LHDC 5.0 is a blessing that supports up to a sampling rate of 192 kHz and a bitrate of up to 1 Mbps. On first impression and a quick review, the sound of the new Nothing Ear (2) has improved largely over that of the original Nothing Ear (1). The sound quality comes with good clarity and feels extremely refined, like a premium earbud. With a decent sense of positioning and imaging, the sound is quite spacious too. The Nothing Ear (2) is extremely comfortable to wear for long hours and offers lively, bass-laden music that is enjoyable and engaging. The microphone quality, which is implemented with the Clear Voice Technology, is decent and each earbud has 3 microphones.
Features
The Nothing Ear (2) is packed with several features, and some of them really come in handy. Firstly, if we talk about the ANC and the Transparency Mode, both of them are far better than Nothing Ear (1). Along with three manual levels of ANC and an adaptive setting, the Nothing Ear (2) also offers personalized ANC. To make it more simple, if you put Nothing Ear (2) in competition with Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 or Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds II, then it can be labeled as average. The implementation of the Dual Connection mode, along with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, is pretty sleek. Due to the Dual Connection, while watching a video if you are connected to these earbuds then you can automatically switch to your smartphone for a call and be back to your video and this is why the Dual Connection is an ace. You can set your Personalized Sound Profile in the Nothing Ear (2) with the help of the Nothing X app, which will create a unique audio ID to make your experience more immersive. The Nothing X app offers several other customization options with the EQ settings, and other features like Ear Tip Fit Test, In-Ear Detection, Low Lag Mode, and Find My Earbuds work adequately.
Battery
On a full charge, you will get up to 6.3 hours of listening time on the earbuds and up to 36 hours of backup charge with the case. When you turn on the ANC, the number drops to 4 hours for the earbuds and 22.5 for the case. Talktime with ANC on is 3 hours on the earbuds and 17.5 hours on the case, and turning it off would provide 3.5 hours and 20.5 hours, respectively. But if you use both the ANC and LHDC, the number further decreases, and for a modern pair of earbuds, the battery life is not very satisfactory. A 10-minute fast charge can offer 8 hours with the ANC off, and the Nothing Ear (2) also supports 2.5W wireless charging. Each earbud has a 33 mAh battery, while the case is equipped with a 485 mAh battery, which seems to be a downgrade from its predecessor.
Connectivity And Controls
Similar to the Nothing Ear (stick), the Nothing Ear (2) is equipped with pinch controls in place of touch ones. For connectivity, it has the latest Bluetooth 5.3, and the earbuds are compatible with Android 5.1 or above and iOS 11 or above. With the single press, you can play or pause music and answer or hang up calls, with the double press, you can reject calls and skip forward, with the triple press, you can skip back, and with press and hold, you can juggle between ANC and Transparency Mode.
Conclusion
Nothing Ear (2) is already available in the USA, and the price is $149, which is similar to Nothing Ear (1) after the price hike. In India, Nothing Ear (2), will be available from March 28, 2023, on their official website, Flipkart, and Myntra, and is priced at ₹9,999 which is more than a ₹2500 hike from its predecessor. Leaving the poor battery life aside, on our first impression of the Nothing Ear (2) review, we can safely say that it has all the necessary upgrades to become a worthy successor. If you are looking for premium-quality earbuds under ₹10,000, we can recommend that you go for the Nothing Ear (2) without hesitation.
