Almost Too Good To Be True - NEW Nothing Ear(a)

These are the new Nothing Ear(a) and from my testing, they performed exceptionally well for their price. Latest price (affiliate) mikeobrienmedia.com/NothingEarA
This is Tech Today video: • The NEW Nothing Ear & ...
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Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
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ADDITIONAL VIDEO NOTES:
Nothing ear and ear(a) are new naming conventions for Nothing’s earbuds.
Nothing ear is $150 and competes with the most premium buds out there
Nothing ear(a) is $99 and kind of destroys most of the competition
Physical design
Absolutely incredible!
Teenage engineering aesthetic
The fastest a brand has gone from not existing to being iconic
3 colors - white, yellow, black
Compare to airpods case size
CONTROLS
Pinch 🙂
Can customize each feature on each bud individually
The double pinch and hold is a bit tricky
FIT/COMFORT
Comfort is great - almost exactly like the other nothing products. Also a lot like airpods
For me personally, the left bud falls out, much like airpods pro, especially when I move my jaw or do pushups or run
Mono mode = yes
Multipoint connectivity = yes, and more advanced as well. You can control it in the app
Low lag mode
Waterproofing = IP54 buds / IPX2 case (the reg ear is IP55 case)
Battery = 5.5/24.5 or 9.5/42.5 without ANC
10 min = 10 hrs charged/battery
Find my earbuds
Bluetooth 5.3
MIC TEST
SOUND
A subtle way I can usually detect good sound on a pair of earbuds is the natural volume I use. For crap earbuds, I have to turn the volume up to 60% or so because I subconsciously want the details. For these, I usually hang out around 35% volume. That’s awesome
Bass enhance is on by default - I turned it off
These sound really really good for the price
The equalizer is far less advanced than the flagship ear
Dual chamber design gives deeper bass with a smaller driver by allowing more airflow
CODECS = LDAC, AAC
Bass is very clean and smooth, but can definitely rattle your head if you dial it up
Brandon has a great video on the sound
Pretty analytical actually
The upper midrange and lower treble ranges are pretty pronounced
Overall, I prefer the ear over the ear(a) but both are really quite impressive
ANC
Claimed 45dB
My test results
COMPLAINTS:
The sound they make when they first connect still sucks
No wireless charging
WHO SHOULD NOT BUY THESE:
Hardcore audio enthusiasts. You would probably like the nothing ear better
Hardcore athletes. You may want something with wingtips to stay in your ears better - or you could buy aftermarket wing tips for these
WHY BUY THIS?
Amazing appearance. Most other (especially affordable earbuds) are ugly
These sound fantastic for the price
These feel like they were designed by an enthusiast who would probably buy them for themself. Not by a boardroom calculating market gaps.
I have a checklist of what earbuds need. These tick every box except wireless charging
I’ll make another video about the nothing ear because I think that is a bit more competitive than the $99 space here. These are my new default recommendation for anyone looking to buy new buds.

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Latest price (affiliate): mikeobrienmedia.com/NothingEarA What should I compare these to?

[@irondennis1]

I never understand why EVERY reviewer consider lack of wireless charging as a con... do people even use it?

[@jimmyzhang9134]

I don't know one person that uses wireless charging at home. Only for their cars when they use it as Navi

[@liuliukiu]

it's a plus when it's there when you need it. Like when I was out without my charger, I can flip the S22u over, turn on Wireless power share and charge my dead earbuds. It's like you dont need a car to always run in full speed, but it's also good to know that it can run very fast.

[@RiThaKilla]

I’ve basically never used wireless charging

[@ramzes3112]

I use it all the time, also at home

[@liuliukiu]

@@ramzes3112 TBH I like wireless charging in earbuds more than in phones. The case usually sit still for hours on our desk so why not charge it at the same time. On the other hand phones are used all the time and they heat up too much while wireless charging.

[@afmo500]

"you're not going to dunk these in water". Hoho, watch me put these through the washing machine in a week!

[@bigload6]

Me to a t 😂

[@Rjl41]

Pierre Trudeau in 1970: just watch me!!!

[@MarkusSchober]

I dropped my Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro case into my coffee. Ruined the poor thing. Water resistance on the case is important!!

[@ThePIeds]

​@@Rjl41and canada is a 3rd world shithole today lol

[@EdgarWoodroof-mr6jc]

LOL

[@kindofanmol]

I'm so excited for where this company is heading. Godspeed Nothing!

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Nothing is really on the right track

[@icecreamwtf]

​@@MikeOBrienMedia Nothing is actually

[@extra4542]

I turn off ANC all the time when there isn’t much environmental noise for longer battery life. Def a stat I think worth noting for consumers

[@taylornicty1170]

The shape of the (a) case is better than the more expensive Nothing (ear) case in my opinion

[@cesarmaldonado147]

ONG, wish they had the same design

[@Jason-sz7ek]

I agree. although the extra features on the regular ear still made me buy those rather than the ear a.

[@bishopalexander6617]

⁠@@Jason-sz7ekI just wish the ear came in yellow like the ear (a). Black and white are so boring I’d love literally any other color

[@ThisIsTechToday]

Thanks for the shout out, dude!

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

You explained the sound better in your video than I ever could

[@PlaySA]

You know what I'd like? Multipoint connectivity that allows you to play two different audio sources at the SAME TIME. So I could listen to podcasts with some nice ambient behind it, or some other fun combo. Dark ambient plus a police scanner stream is kind of amazing.

[@mindlessk.784]

You said with anc off it last 9.5 hours with single charge, did you test it your self or just forwarding what the company says?

[@dannywinget]

Great breakdown dude! Nailed it

[@nematjafari6143]

What are you doing here man? !

[@shido705]

I would get a pair of ear(a) just for the amazing yellow color. In a world of trying to blend in (looking at the Apple ecosystem fans), stand out 💛💛

[@ericqhochuli6004]

I think you make great videos, but I have bought two products based on your recommendations recently and I have had to return both. The latest Sony tws buds and the Galaxy Fit 3. I am not sure how but you missed big flaws in both those products. The Sony's had horrible transparency mode that sounded very unnatural. The Fit 3 has major bugs in the syncing with the phone app. Keep working hard and making these excellent videos. I just wanted to point these misses out so you can keep improving. :)

[@daleycarter]

This is a constructive comment, I commend you fellow tech consumer

[@randallhill7979]

Great review, thanks 👍

[@FahadAhmed-pe5xt]

Great review mate! These seem very interesting. Could you compare these with the Soundcore liberty 4 NCS and the P40is? I found the p40is be better for their lower price than the liberty 4 NCs in general.

[@DanielBonaker]

great review thanks

[@samvrit3098]

love ur videos

[@None17555]

SoundCore would be a cool comparison. We almost always get Anker for the kids because of their tendency to lose stuff. However, the plastic build quality is a noticeable problem for people who are rough on their stuff.

[@ezrapardede1921]

i mean if you only getting it for ur kids, u could've just get the $30-40 earbuds from anker, or edifier, you don't always need to go the Anker way

[@cannotkazi]

@@ezrapardede1921 Yeah. P20i/R50i come to mind. $19 - $25 = less of a bummer when lost or roughly handled.

[@magusxxx]

I have issues with their quality control. My history with SoundCore headphones (Spirit X2)... 1st Pair: Lasted about 1.5 years before I got a new phone. Then they wouldn't pair together. Only individually. 2nd Pair: Because I really liked them got another pair where within a month they lost the pairing. Would only pair individually, again. 3rd Pair: Company pleaded to give them one more try and sent me a pair. Now over a year later I have to manually pair them to my phone. (Hit the connect button under bluetooth) Somehow one of the earbuds keeps losing a charge. I will not store them in my bag anymore. I keep flat on the table before putting them in my backpack. One hour later I'll use them and sure enough one will say it's full while the other says it's medium for battery charge. Side Note: I tried SEVERAL video methods on how to fix the pairing issue with none of them working.

[@cesarvarela5438]

You could say they went from Nothing, to something

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Definitely

[@rdsreference]

I bought the ear two last year admittedly making a direct comparison with Sony WF-1000 XM4. I kept them for 1 day. Hopefully the new ear will be a big improvement. However in the design department they can't be beaten they look so so good.

[@Basthey]

Thanks for the review. I think it would be nice to include Airpods Pro 1 in the comparisons because I can imagine a lot of people still use these.

[@GreenPizza577]

These earbuds make me think of the retro headphones used with the first Sony Walkman just earbuds now.

[@unmatchedfrolov]

Hey and thank you for the video. I have ear 1, and probably would be another in the future, om satisfied overall but software or connectivity issues make me sad from time to time - when I get them out of the case, 7 times out of 10 only one earbud gets connected to my pixel 7 and I have to get it back inside the case for a second and it gets reconnected, that's frustrating. No update fixes that. Btw I live the design, sound, eq etc

[@Stealth_Black_Sanji]

To get around earbuds falling out during exercise, I use a headband to cover my ears

[@milpatel83]

Transparency mode is one of the most important features of any earbud I look for. It's also technically one of the hardest things to get right, hence why so few OEM's do a good job on it. I find it hard from my standpoint to see these as that good if they can't get part right.

[@audoodle9963]

what buds get transparency right you think? is it just airpods? I know everyone loves those

[@tokelahti]

Low lag mode is how low? What codec? Works with apple products?

[@gavrilaize]

12:58 that digital "chirp" was so irritating i had to return my nothing ear 2 and buy Samsung buds. To be honest i reported that sound bug to Nothing and they answer was the buds needs servicing. I got a new pair of buds and still that sound was there. And immediately i could tell that is the problem with the buds and not the software. I think they could fix this problem trough an update but they don't recognize the problem!

[@user-tc4hr8lu7i]

Isn't it just the sound it makes when you put in the earbud? I think all of the nothing buds have them

[@gavrilaize]

@@user-tc4hr8lu7i yes and you couldn't turn it off either, plus the volume of the sound notification was so high that was hurting my eardrums

[@gtc6366]

Friend:hey,bro,what r u wearing? Me:nothing Friend:what? Me:nothing😅

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Genius naming. So many puns to be made

[@omdevs]

Yea XD, that'd be really funny

[@LukeR1M]

You'll own nothing, and you'll be happy.

[@Nonchalent1]

I've had the nothing ear stick for a couple months... i love making this joke

[@jasonk00712]

Great review man, thanks

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@gyanwire]

bro compare these with the old Nothing ear 2, those are cheaper now around the same price so it's interesting to know which of these is a better deal.

[@jax02zerotwo]

Yes, I bought the Ear 2s for just a little bit more than this two months ago. I really like them but the battery life on these new ones is really a vast improvement over the old ones

[@antonyp6617]

How do they compare to the ear 2? The ear 2 are at the same price right now thanks to discounts, so I wonder which ones would be the best deal.

[@dallaschristensen2972]

You should compare them to the samsung Galaxy buds fe! I love your stuff!

[@user-gq7xk8vx5b]

Please compare these with soundcore liberty 4 nc

[@daejuanobrien1399]

Are you avoiding the oneplus buds 3?

[@CaptainRaylin]

Hey, i heard in another review that there is no mono-mode. You said at around 05:00 that there is a specific mono mode for the buds. Now i'm slightly confused if there is one or not. Could you maybe double-check it?

[@darkstar223]

It’s Great you went with the colour which is called ear wax yellow ….original and most people not choose that you are not like most people

[@sukinelson2153]

Would love to see a comparison between these and some soundcore earbuds in the similar price range. But Nothing has something special here imo.

[@Erobbo25]

So what's the model order now, with performance? Confused with available models and price?

[@nikhilchandra3778]

This or the Buds FE? I got the Buds FE which I admire for the tuning, but not so much for the comfort.

[@sherylmeasel2165]

Which ANC earbud is best for a side sleeper trying to sleep with traffic noise. No music needed, just long battery life and quiet. Thanks p.s. is the quieton3.1 good?

[@ItsNish101]

Like the case of the ear (a) over the other one.

[@Rafael-ng6wx]

How does the anc compare to the flagship model, is it the same or has a little difference?

[@sillysausage72]

Didn't see them on the website. You have a link. Thanks.

[@mauludianto]

Please do a comparison to a CMF Buds Pro

[@chansamuel9569]

Just got the ear(a). Can replace the defalt ear tips? Any suggestions?

[@Mike_Hog_A_Nator]

I used to like Nothing until the stems started coming apart in the heat. I've had 2 pairs do this & you cannot glue them back together. Then, I bought the Earfun Air Pro 3's for $55. There's a huge difference in sound & volume. ANC is about the same but, I don't need ANC with my Earfun's. 60% volume on my Earfun's drown out all noise & to get that same volume out of my Nothings? I have to crank them up to 85%. Just over hyped

[@oliverstemp9132]

Does the plastic still get scratched immediately?

[@ShipMaple]

What camera do you use?

[@quinten5287]

Should i get the 2 or the A if price doesnt matter?

[@josephsanki9046]

When will these come out

[@jhoeljgc1237]

So are they worse than Buds FE?

[@jorgecisne]

"a busy road" just 3 cars pass by 😂😂

[@tomgillotti]

Sold me at the find my earbuds feature. I just lost a pair of earbuds for two months (found them in a winter coat pocket).

[@silver33]

How do you compare this with the Soundcore Liberty 4NC?

[@justcore69]

I don't know why exactly, but this thing gives me some strong solarpunk-ish vibes

[@MiguelHernandez-ie3fh]

Would you recommend waiting for the galaxy buds 3(supposed to come out sometime this year) or get the nothing ear(a)? from a galaxy user

[@siggistef192]

The ear (a)’s are so inexpensive i think they will always be a better option for the money

[@timmyreckage]

Will you do a video on the nothing ear as well?

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Yep

[@noorgaloody9781]

As a person who works out a lot, If I had 100$ to spend on earbuds I would go with the GALAXY BUDS FE

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Those wing tips are awesome

[@ezrapardede1921]

from how it's priced in my country, Nothing seems like a class above, bcs here the fe would cost only like 50usd while the Nothing cost almost 100usd, with that in mind, i would without a doubt choose the Samsung, but if they're the same price, i would definitely pick Nothing, bcs atleast from many review i watched, it legitimately compete with higher priced earbuds sound, and noise cancelling wise, and it's control gesture better than a lot of other earbuds

[@omarreid7222]

Love the wingtips hate the sound

[@noorgaloody9781]

I mean the sound isn't that bad, its just not competing with other earbuds@@omarreid7222

[@ImR1mpl0]

That's exactly what I did except I got them at 40% off

[@danielcn7486]

Does the ANC work on ios as well? Do you have another pair of earbuds which have a great anc and work well on ios under 100? Thank you

[@IAmSarlosCantana]

I can’t speak from personal use experience but the ANC should work on all devices

[@Bruceneuman]

Voice test: nice and loud - could be a bit clearer both inside and outside. Nice price for what looks like a quality set of earbuds.

[@MrBaskins2010]

i work in a warehouse so now ANC for me. dont wanna be a pallet sandwich

[@diegoirizarry2333]

You can turn it off or turn on transparency to help you listen

[@user-im5hq4ve9w]

You can get the ear(stick)

[@SoundblasterYT]

You know you can turn the ANC off right? And there's often a transparency mode .

[@sayantandas3512]

have Nothing Ear (2). Should I upgrade to Nothing Ear?

[@deebyh23]

hii mike could you do a review for realme buds air 5 pro, i heard that it is a good earbuds for calling and anc under 100 usd, it compete well with other brands with the same price including samsung, nothing, soundcore

[@flyingwalri3782]

I read somewhere Teenage Engineering has designed previous nothing products, explains why it seems like their design language

[@smellyshirley]

Really? I've never heard that. Please provide sources. I'm really interested.

[@user-vg8iq7zb9l]

ive had the first i have the second and maybe ill get them,for now im keeping the ear2 ,the first when i run fell off my ears the second don do that,the first died in the washingmachine the second survived it ,the sound of the first blew me out the water the second didnt really , i run then without of noice canseling cause it doesnt work for higher frequency,i dont have a problem with the pinch control,transparency was and still is shit

[@SkyhighStarlight]

Oh wow apple so affordable. Thank You Mike.

[@mrrooter601]

>9.5 without anc is this finally a reasonable replacement for my galaxy buds+? the SE were entirely disappointing (especially in battery life, was getting literally sub 5 with ANC on) so much so that I returned them and went back to buds+. I dont really care about wireless charging so these seem prefect. My only real question is if they will be comfortable and stay in well enough to use while sleeping. buds+ and white noise has done wonders for my sleep schedule.

[@AcAlvin]

Huh, buds fe that bad? I was seriously considering that over this.

[@mindlessk.784]

It's a lie don't fall for it

[@bullshitdepartment]

how often are you continuously listening to stuff for 5+ hours? Honestly thats bad for your hearing imo

[@mrrooter601]

@@bullshitdepartment I sleep with white noise at a low volume. its fine. that and using them as better earplugs while motorcycle riding.

[@mrrooter601]

@@AcAlvin Mine could have been defective, but it wasnt close to what they promised. I will definitely wait to see what normal people say for real world battery life before making a choice.

[@monoplug]

I was just about to buy the Soundcore Liberty 4 ANC, and now I'm not sure if I should get these instead..

[@ezrapardede1921]

sound, definitely this, control, this (squeeze control, less accidental trigger), ANC, soundcore, battery , still soundcore, build quality, i say on par, although a black not transparent case will look good for longer, and looks, for me, definitely nothing, there, few major thing to help you consider which to buy edit;my bad , i was thinking the liberty 4 nc are more inline to compete with the more expensive Nothing ear, which to me something i would pick without a doubt than the Liberty, but from the review though, it seems like the A and Liberty wasn't so far apart

[@dobronxfan99]

nothing ear(a) or the oneplus buds 3?

[@zamaankhan9591]

No reviews state how these work with other phones???? I have a Samsung s24 ultra would these work hands free to make calls ? other voice assistant features ? I already know I can’t use chat gpt but I wanted to know if they can assist my new phone to make calls , texts and other useful stuff whilst driving .

[@julianmorrone3478]

These or the Liberty 4 NC's ?

[@MarceloSousa-yz7gj]

muito boa a analise

[@insanityrooster6386]

I want someone to do a comparison between Moondrop Space Travel and Nothing Ear A Bcz I dunno if I should upgrade to Ear A or nah 😭

[@murtazachaudhary3339]

Nice video

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Thank you!

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

Thank you!

[@user-ku4he7oc8c]

Can i use nothing ear a earbuds to use ear 2 charging box

[@Bruceneuman]

Confused about lineup. What is nothing ear 2? How many choices are there?

[@ItsNish101]

Nothing ear (1), Nothing ear (2), THEN Nothing ear (it would be 3 but they dropped the number going forward), and Nothing Ear (a)

[@isthatxavier92]

I wish they made over the ear!

[@isthatxavier92]

and gosh, handsomeness really sells a product, and not talking about the nothing buds.

[@southeasternthrills]

Could you please do a comparison between the Beats Fit Pro and the Galaxy Buds FE?

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

I've seen a lot of requests for a comparison with the Buds FE

[@southeasternthrills]

@@MikeOBrienMedia I'm asking because I like that Beats work great with both IOS and Android and the Beats Studio Buds don't fit my ears well. Also, I want to know if the Galaxy Buds FE are worth saving $100 on even though they don't work well with IOS.

[@markomuller7327]

Still use the first one, prefer the touch controls. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@manafyusuf8231]

what about Huawei Freebuds pro 3?

[@iyax2448]

This or galaxy buds Fe?

[@rogerpriestwell6379]

lolll, I'm one of the very few people that don't use ANC many times on my ANC buds

[@potion95]

I don't use it either. I much prefer transparency mode if the model allows.

[@FishySquad90]

What is the best AirPod pro alternative

[@insomniostudios4359]

Depends what you're looking for. For instanc,e if you care about sound quality (like, a lot), I really recommend you the galaxy buds2 pro. I got my pair at about 100$ usd. That 24 bit audio is impressive for tws buds. That being said, you need some other stuff (that is kinda complicated) to really juice that 24 bit audio. I'm pretty sure you could get something that's more of a bang for your buck in case are more lineant to having new tech and cool features over audio quality -but I wouldn't have any recommendations-.

[@Blu3_777]

OnePlus buds killin them for the same price

[@Honk_Clank]

one plus 3/link buds s/galaxy buds 2 pro seem like comparable alternatives

[@OceanSoul1969]

I don’t see a link anywhere and don’t see them on Amazon

[@Vanny_Dorito]

go to nothing's website. I bought a pair there just a few minutes ago. It's not on the "shop" page, it's under audio with its own dedicated page.

[@ml3141]

What is missing from all these buds is battery replacement.

[@JoeyBoBoey]

Is the battery still struggling to hit 4 hours. That’s why I took the ear 2s back. It was unacceptable.

[@FT__Cool_Stuff______-of5pi]

Instead of these I bought the Moondrop Space Travel and I am really happy with them so far.

[@jasonyu-gi-oh1056]

Interesting earbuds. I still like my Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

[@MikeOBrienMedia]

I hope Samsung launches a new flagship pair of Galaxy buds this year

[@r3drift]

Deal breaker for all “nothing” buds are low battery life. After that I’m sold

[@EverythingIsPhotogenic]

I have to think some of the costs are stripped out of the materials in the case and the marketing for the brand. Honestly, that is probably $100 right there. Brand tax is "nothing" for now. I think these could probably position themselves above the galaxy buds price wise, and wouldn't be surprised to see them get there after 6 months. I can't imagine they stay at $99 for now, their margin is probably trash.... unless they really are using trash components but I would think you could tell. You don't usually see seemingly good build and sound quality with terrible reliability... but who knows

[@stv4563]

The battery life of 2-nd generation was declared to be the same as airpods'. In fact it was twice less though. Waiting for real reviews and tests

[@Ike32]

These are the same color as kraft singles. The Cheesebuds

[@AllelineNguyen]

I buy ANC earbuds and I don't turn on the ANC, because it provides little value to me in term of noise rejection and just eat at my battery. It just happens that a lot of high end earbuds with good audio quality happens to also have ANC. My god, the mic quality of these earbuds sounds horrible in your test. l'm going to skip on these, regardless of great battery life.

[@Things_explained_by_me]

I have heard that it also has AI, is this true?

[@ayushkushwaha3434]

Yes it has chat gpt

[@EmoblazeXD]

Go for moondrop golden ages

[@bbbt8090]

I love the design of the 2's, but the pinch control isn't to my liking. Also, they were very uncomfortable in my ears. Sound quality wasn't worth the $130-$150

[@JeanSupreme]

have you tried the skullcandy rail anc? this is their premium earbuds and they have really nice bass. skullcandy currently is having a big sale. I use the crusher anc and the bass is amazing. i actually feel the bass on max settings. makes my cheeks jiggle lol.

[@rheeko2119]

The crushers quite literally have a vibration motor in them that reacts to the low end of the sound, that you can tweak with the slider on the unit

[@kod4130]

In 2024 do we really need earbuds above $150 like the airpods, sony wf 1000 xm5?

[@aznism101]

1:39 so youre excited to see Nothing go from being nothing to Nothing? lol