After making waves in 2021 with the original Ear (1) earbuds that were not only affordable and incredible value for money, Nothing has now announced the Ear (2) earbuds that are set to be a step up from their predecessor.

Carl Pei, CEO and Co-Founder of Nothing told StereoNET:

We are excited to introduce Ear (2) as a significant upgrade to our debut product Ear (1), which sold over 600,000 units. With Ear (2), we've re-engineered everything from the ground up and utilised cutting-edge technology to create the ultimate personal listening experience.

StereoNET managed to get our hands on a set of the new True Wireless Earbuds, and we must say the Nothing Ear (2) earbuds are certainly ‘nothing’ to scoff at.

The form factor remains the same, with the same transparent design philosophy that Nothing has retained across all their products. However, Nothing has managed to shrink the Ear (2) case and earbuds down ever-so-slightly, making it less bulky to carry around. The case still feels good in the hand, and there’s still that indent that allows you to play with the case like a fidget spinner, if you so desire.

The earbuds have the same transparent shell, allowing one to peek in and take a look at the internals. Of course, the build quality is stellar, with no messy wires or blobs of glue visible.

Additionally, while the Ear (2) still utilises an 11.6mm dynamic driver, it comes with a new custom diaphragm made with polyurethane and graphene as well as a new dual chamber design. The tuning of the earbuds is also done in-house, this time with an upgrade to Bluetooth 5.3 as well as added support for LHDC 5.0.

This means that when paired with a compatible device, users will be able to stream up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Moving away from the touch control system of the Ear (1), the Ear (2) now uses a control system that’s very much inspired by the AirPods Pro’s stem squeeze. This is a much better control system that’s less prone to accidental touches or swipes, so it’s a good change in our books.

Nothing has also worked on the active noise cancellation (ANC), with a marked improvement when cancelling out low and midrange noises. In the Nothing X app, users will also be able to undergo a hearing test to personalise the ANC.

Battery life is slightly impacted by this, though. The earbuds now only have around four hours of playtime with ANC on, and the total battery life has gone up to just 22.5 hours with the case. While it is a step down from the Ear (1), the improved ANC and sound quality, which we’ll talk about next, does feel like it’s worth the trade-off. 

As for how it sounds, this is also another area where Nothing has built on the great foundation of the Ear (1). The overall tuning is well-balanced and accurate, with a slight boost in the bass that is still nicely controlled and not overly emphasised. You get a minor dip in the mids, followed by a boost in the treble that allows for plenty of air and sparkle.

Listening to Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy, the earbuds accurately and distinctly bring across the separate vocal layers while pushing out thumpy, impactful bass. With Loren Allred’s Never Enough, the emotion and timbre of the vocals come through clearly with the earbuds. As for the soundstage, while it can’t be considered deep by any means, the left/right separation is quite well done, and I certainly enjoyed listening to songs like Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground with these.

Last but not least, Nothing has managed to compete on the price front with these again. The Nothing Ear (1) was so impressive because it managed to do so much at just £149. The new Ear (2) has some great improvements in ANC and overall sound quality, all at the same £149 price tag.

The Nothing Ear (2) is one to keep an eye out for, and it is now available for order at Nothing’s website.