The “early adopter tax” is a term that is often mentioned in relation to new technology. The concept is that a company’s initial attempt at an idea might not be flawless; it could be glitchy, poorly made, or otherwise fall short in some way. Nothing is new. An example are the genuine wireless Ear 1 earbuds. When we examined them last year, we discovered that they had various faults and lacked some software capabilities at launch due to a lack of polish. In this article, we will show you our Nothing Ear (Stick) review. ..
The Ear Stick, on the other hand, come with a novel cylinder casing that is entertaining to use. However, they are more of a simple substitute for the Ear 1 earphones than a replacement. There is no wireless charging, no silicone ear tips that passively mute out background noise, and no active noise cancelling.
Design
The Ear (stick) charging case is unlike anything we’ve seen on the market previously, underscoring Nothing’s dedication to creating enjoyable and tactile items. The case feels remarkably tactile, and we have to add that we are particularly impressed with the packaging box the Ear (stick) ships in, which looks nothing like the standard carton packaging typically used to market a pair of $99 earbuds.
Comfort
The Ear (stick) earbuds come with an outside-the-canal, half-in-ear configuration that is said to feel quite light in the ears. They weigh less than the Ear (1) at 0.15 ounces per earbud and are IP54-rated for dust, water, and sweat resistance. Despite their light weight, they are said to be very comfortable. ..
Nothing Ear Stick review: Connectivity
The upgraded Nothing X app, which offers more choices, is compatible with the Nothing Ear Stick. If you use a Nothing phone, connecting the ear stick to your phone will be considerably easier because to the app’s minimal customizing options. Because the Ear Stick has in-ear sensing, the music immediately stops when you take out one of the earbuds. The song restarts once you put them back inside. When you press the stem, the touch controls turn on. The choices in the companion app allow for customization of touch controls. Due to this, we were unable to check for a firmware upgrade that would enhance the call quality and sound quality. Additionally, we haven’t been able to experiment with the equalizer or change the earbud’s controls. ..
We’ve found that the Ear Sticks are a great way to keep our audio connected even when we’re far away from our devices. The Bluetooth range was about 8 meters, but it was insufficient compared to the range of our Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones or AirPods Pro, which is several meters further in our home.
The Earbuds have a touch-sensitive panel built into the stem that you can find. When you put them in, it will “click” and it will help you verify your activity. Short presses play or pause the music by default, long presses change the volume (left for lower volume and right for higher level). You can also double tap to advance songs. Although the control scheme works fairly well, there are some unintentional pushes that sometimes happen. We’ve found that we need to adjust the Ear Stick to ensure it is positioned correctly so that all of our music is played at once.
Noise cancelling
The Nothing Ear Stick is a new earphone that features three microphones per earphone to capture both background noise and your own voice. Clear Voice technology eliminates more than a million different environmental noises, making it perfect for making calls in a range of settings. You can also check out our article on the Nothing Ear Stick review for more information. ..
Audio performance
The ANC in the Nothing Ear Stick may not be ideal for some people, as it does not allow for a lot of noise to escape. Additionally, because there are no silicone ear tips, the sound of what you are listening to is not as clear as it could be.
The Ear Stick is a great option for people who want a full-body experience when listening to upbeat party music. The drivers are crisper highs and the bass is punchy, which makes it perfect for tracks that include bass-boosted music. Even if there are too many instruments playing at once, listening to it doesn’t wear out the hearing. The singer’s voice was melodic and clear, and the gentle sufi music was calming.
Call performance
The earbuds have a balanced treble, so even at maximum volume, the voices don’t sound shrill. As a result, listening to music loudly is not a problem. When it comes to call quality, the earbuds deliver a respectable sound quality. When you receive a call, the device automatically connects to your phone, and both ends of the call had excellent speech quality. Voice and video calls worked without a hitch, and talks were audibly clear. ..
The Ear (stick) is a new Bluetooth device that claims to improve call performance over the Ear (1). With Phone 1, there is a low lag setting available. SBC and AAC audio codecs are supported by Bluetooth 5.2, which is used by the Ear (stick). For the duration of our use of the Ear, connectivity to our iPhone remained steady. For eligible devices, Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair are also on board. ..
Nothing Ear Stick review: Battery and charging
The Ear stick battery’s life is listed as seven hours of music playback and three hours of talk time. The wireless headphones should be able to support 12 hours of talk time and 29 hours of music playback when charged with the charging case. In the test, these values were repeatable. The charging case could recharge the earbuds more than four times before the battery was completely depleted.
The TWS headphones managed a playback time of little under eight hours when listening to an audiobook. The Nothing Ear (stick) was loaded with five hours of standby time, one hour of talk time, and three hours of music playback for use throughout the day. Nine percent of both earphones’ batteries were still charged.
The earbuds and the case should absorb enough energy in ten minutes to playback for an additional nine hours. Within ten minutes, our measuring gadget calculated a 594 mWh energy use. Within 55 minutes, the case and the earbuds had received their full charge, with the case absorbing 1,647 mWh.
Price and availability
The Nothing Ear Stick earphones are a great option for those who want an affordable option that still offers good sound quality. They come in different colors and styles, and are available for $99 or 99 British pounds.
The company has decided to raise the price of the Ear 1 earphones from $99 to $150, but we’re not sure if this is because the Ear Sticks are now selling for that amount or if the Ear Stick earbuds offer the same value. You received a wonderful deal if you were able to purchase the Ear 1 headphones prior to the price hike.
We understand that the semi-open form of the Ear Sticks won’t always appeal to the same individuals as the Ear 1 did, but we also can’t advocate them in the same way we did with the Ear 1. They simply don’t offer as much value as the Ear 1 did at this price. Nevertheless, some elements that might not have had an impact on costs at the time the Ear 1 were introduced do do now. You will enjoy our article on Nothing Ear Stick review. ..
Conclusion
The Ear Stick are nothing new, but they are the latest wireless earphones from Nothing. With a striking rotating case design made of the translucent plastic that has been the company’s signature, these earphones are as much a fashion item as a tech item. The Ear Stick uses the older half-in-ear style similar to the AirPods, whilst the Ear 1 has a more typical in-ear design. As a result, they are also deficient in features like transparency mode and active noise cancellation.
