The hype is high, a new brand coming to market with a smartphone and two headphones. Nothing Ear (stick), is the phone of the time, different, beautiful and very comfortable. I tested it daily for 15 days, I confess that some things enchanted me, but bear with me that I want to tell you all my experience using the Nothing Ear (stick) without all the hype that was created on top of it.
Nothing Ear (stick) review
The Nothing Ear (stick) is a comfortable headphone that fits well in your ears, being lightweight it is easy to keep it on for several hours without causing discomfort. Sound works well in low-noise environments, sound patterns can be configured per app for both Android and iOS. The good sound of the microphone offers a solution for meetings.
Specifications:
- Battery: 7 hours average
- Battery with case: 32 hours average (4 working days)
- Water protection: IP54
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
- Noise cancellation: none
- Drivers: 12.6mm
- Charging: via USB-C
Pros and cons
Design
For those who are used to seeing headphones with a characteristic design similar to Apple’s AirPods or Samsung’s grain of beans, well, Nothing came to change that perspective. I brought headphones with a different design, one-size-fits-all with no options for changing the rubber inserts, after all, they don’t have them.
There are no physical buttons, there are touch sensitive areas. Unlike other headphones, for you to control the actions, you need to make a pinch movement on either side. On the right side a pinch click and you stop the music or hang up the call. A click keeping it pressed will raise the volume, on the left it lowers it.
How long does the Nothing Ear (stick) battery last?
Using the phone daily to do the test, during the period of about 2 weeks, it was necessary to charge it at the end of the test. During the days, he endured the average period of 7 hours in direct use, one of the times the phone dropped from that time. Overall, you’ll certainly have a day’s work with the headphones.
When put in the box, they load again. To charge the box, you need the USB-C cable, standard in the last headphones analyzed by us.
Nothing Ear (stick): Som
The most important part for you is how the Ear (stick) sounds, isn’t it? As they are made of plastic, the earphones offer little sound insulation, which means that even moderate noise can make it difficult for you to hear your music. That said, in quiet environments and with the headphones properly placed, they sound good. I would say that for an office it is perfect, you get good sound quality in a low noise environment and still manage to stay alert when a colleague requests your attention.
The sound isn’t as clear or detailed as in headphones that cost two or three times as much, but the Ear (stick) don’t have that typical sound of cheaper headphones, where the high frequencies are so shrill that you want to throw them out the window. It’s easy to identify individual instruments and sounds. There’s also plenty of bass if you fit them right in your ears. The headphones only support SBC and AAC codecs (there is no aptX), as I have been using it on the iPhone, AAC helps me.
The quality in voice calls is very good, in a closed environment it even compresses the waves well, but it was in an open environment to the noise of passing vehicles that the microphone surpassed itself. A great option for those who use it in remote meetings.
How much does the Ear (stick) cost?
Nothing’s Ear (stick) headset can be imported through AliExpress, which sent us the product for analysis for around R$ 550 reais. The product reached us without the need to pay import fees, which is not a rule.
Is it worth buying the Ear (stick)?
If you leave aside the Hype that the Nothing brand is doing in the market and analyze it side by side with other competitors, you will see that the headphones are comfortable, for my purpose which would be listening to a LO-FI during work, participating in meetings at a distance and stay away from the battery, you can consider the Ear (stick) yes. I confess that I have a preference for headphones without the rubber bands, it seems to me that in my case they fit better in my ears, I had several problems with the others, when I yawned or smiled, they often disengaged and even fell out of my ears, which in fact it doesn’t happen with the Ear (stick).
Do not buy if:
- Acoustic insulation is required
- Does not like to import products