Nothing Ear (2) - Wireless ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Headphones, Hi-Res audio certified, Dual Connection, Powerful 11.6 mm custom driver - White

I'm a bit of a headphone collector and have many both wireless and wired variants. I was drawn to these because they are not 'in ear' and can therefore be safely worn in a work environment, walking the dog etc as they still allow you to hear the world around you. Obviously with this type of open fit bud there are compromises on sound. Usually the bass is lacking somewhat but nothing have managed to somehow create a default sound profile that sounds full and unlike any other open fit bud I've tried before. That's not saying these are overly bass heavy or muddy sounding. To me they sound full and warm. You can even adjust the profile in the app if you prefer more or less bass emphasis. I love the default profile though - it sits just right for my ears.The design is gorgeous, and the case works better than I expected, although I have concerns about it's longevity and protection from dust. These are buds I could happily wear all day and I love the 'clicky' touch controls, similar to apple's approach.My only potential negative is that I think they may be too large for some ears. They fit mine perfectly but they're quite tight on me, so if you have smaller ears you may find these unsuitable. The in ear part looks about the same size as apple's offering but somehow feels a bit larger.Tldr - Great sounding, well thought out, affordable and unique looking buds - if they fit your ears.

I've had these for a couple of months now as an upgrade from Galaxy Buds+ because I wanted Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), and just bought some Sony WF-1000XM4s to accompany the Nothings. I'll try to give my review in the context of how they're an improvement compared to last gen wireless earbuds and how they compare to the high end earbuds that the Nothings are supposed to be flagship killers for.I think most people will be purchasing these as an intro to ANC, and I think it does an ok job at that but you need to set your expectations correctly. The Nothings do a good job at knocking down the sounds around you by a few notches, which depending on the scenario could be plenty for what you want or disappointing. I find that car sounds in particular are not filtered well by the noise cancelling, although I wonder if this is a product of the relatively poor passive noise cancelling. The plus side of this is that the ambient sound passthrough is very good, I would say it's the best out of the 3 buds in terms of how natural conversations feel when you have the buds in.In particular regarding these being an intro to ANC, the pressure they exert with ANC on is quite strong compared to the XM4s and can take a little bit of getting used to so 1) take it easy on first try by not having ANC on for too long and switching to ambient or no noise cancelling before taking them out, and 2) if the pressure is still too much don't be too discouraged from buying other higher end or next gen ANC earbuds.Sound quality is better than the buds+, which were already fairly good, but it's clearly held back by the bluetooth codec used and it would be much better if they supported up to date aptx codecs or LDAC. It's not as good as the XM4s (as expected) but unless you're used to high quality headphones you probably won't notice much difference.In terms of comfort they're very comfortable in most circumstances. I wouldn't wear them to bed because the stalk gets in the way, but otherwise the fit and light weight compared to other earbuds means you barely notice the feeling of them being in your ear once you're used to them.The control scheme is very intuitive compared to other buds. Often you need to choose between being able to control volume on the buds and doing something else, but the swipe control along the stem means that isn't an issue on the Nothings. They don't have a voice assistance control so if that is something you want then you will need to choose another earbud.Battery life is alright for most purposes, you can't get away with falling asleep with them in like other buds but they should last you through a day of work if you use your lunch break to put them back in the case.Overall I think these are really good earbuds for the price point but you should be aware that you are making sacrifices somewhere. They're more akin to buying a mid range phone than a flagship killer.

These are really good headphones for the money. Really good. They sound amazing, fit in my ear easily and the battery life is good (not amazing).But the problem is they feel like a beta product. Occasionally.... note, occasionally, they may lose connection to my OnePlus phone or not connect properly when removed from the case.Another thing I dislike if the fact you can't buy a replacement case. If anything was to happen to my case, such as it being lost, I'd have to buy another pair. Not an issue with standard wired Bluetooth headphones.Apart from that, great product.Update: May 2022.I still love them, but still feels like a beta product.For the money, the sound is very, very good. I love the design, though wish the black version was released along with the white version. I would have gone for that, though that is.a personal design choice.The issue I have is that it when I remove both buds from the case, there is a 50/50 chance both will understand they have been removed from the cade. This lead me to have to put the one that is not responding back in the case and remove it again in the hope it understands I want it to be active.As a company that is trying to establish itself in the market, I want it to do it's best. I'm excited for it's upcoming phone, but for the fact I can't rely on it to work on time, every time, is making me feel that I should go for more established brands (a la Google Pixel Bud and a Pixel Phone).I would say, yes, these are great headphones, but it still feels like a beta.Update: October 2022Still having connection issues to my devices. If I touch the headphones even slightly in a WhatsApp call they hang up. No software updates in a good few months. Long and short of it, I wish I went for the Pixel Buds A series.Update: January 2024I have sold these to a popular second hand tech store and got just over £30 for them. Not bad for having them for 2 years. Honestly, I would not buy these again. It wasn't a great experience, being my first Nothing product, and although they are the first product from Nothing, the connection issues were a major factor for not keeping them.