The Nothing Ear (1) Truly Wireless are the first headphones produced by this company. They have a sleek and eye-catching circuitry look and come with active noise cancelling (ANC) as well as a companion app. Out of the box, they have a fairly neutral sound profile that you can adjust to suit your taste using one of their four EQ presets. They also have a comfortable and well-built design that's certified IPX4 for resistance against splashes of water. However, their continuous battery life of roughly five hours won't last through long days at the office without a recharge. There have also been user reports of receiving defective products and experiencing other issues regarding quality control. We received a defective pair and were completely unable to test them until we exchanged our unit for another one.
Our Verdict
The Nothing Ear (1) are decent for neutral sound. Out of the box, they have a fairly neutral sound profile with adequate bass. However, a dip in the mid to high-mid weakens vocals and lead instruments, nudging them to the back of your mix. The buds are also somewhat prone to inconsistencies in bass and treble delivery, so you should get the right fit, seal, and positioning in your ears to ensure more consistent audio delivery.
- EQ presets available.
- Are somewhat prone to inconsistent audio delivery.
The Nothing Ear (1) are good for commute and travel. They have a comfortable, lightweight, and well-built design. They have ANC and can block out a good amount of background noise, like the low rumble of bus or plane engines. However, their five-hour continuous battery life may not last through long days on the road without pausing to recharge them.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Good noise isolation performance.
- Are somewhat prone to inconsistent audio delivery.
The Nothing Ear (1) are great for sports and fitness. They're small, lightweight, and can easily fit into most pockets and bags without too much issue. They're also comfortable and are rated IPX4 for protection against splashes of water. However, while they shouldn't move around too much during a jog in the park, they may move around during more intense physical activity.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- IPX4 rating.
- Are somewhat prone to inconsistent audio delivery.
The Nothing Ear (1) are decent for office use. They're comfortable, well-built, and have an ANC feature that helps block out ambient chatter around you. They also don't leak much audio at high volumes, which is nice if you like to blast your music. However, their five-hour continuous battery life may not be enough to get you through long shifts. You also can't connect them to your smartphone and computer at the same time.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Good noise isolation performance.
- No multi-device pairing.
- Are somewhat prone to inconsistent audio delivery.
The Nothing Ear (1) are only compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs and other devices. While their default latency is likely too high to be suitable for gaming, they have a low latency mode that brings their audio lag within acceptable levels. That said, their continuous battery life of five hours may not be enough for long gaming sessions.
The Nothing Ear (1) are wireless-only, so they aren't suitable for wired gaming.
The Nothing Ear (1) are fair for phone calls. Their integrated mic can separate your voice from moderate ambient noise around you, although speech takes a dive in quality in the process. However, the mic has a disappointing recording quality, and your voice sounds thin and somewhat distorted. Luckily, they have an ANC system that helps block out a good amount of ambient noise around you.
- Comfortable and well-built design.
- Disappointing recording quality.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 10, 2025:
We mentioned the Nothing Headphone (1) in the Noise Handling section of this review.
- Updated Sep 25, 2023: Compared their battery performance with the newly-reviewed JBL Tune Flex True Wireless.
- Updated May 03, 2023: Added a comparison to the Nothing Ear (2) Truly Wireless in the App Supportbox.
- Updated May 01, 2023: Our method of activating the "wear" sensor has changed between testing these headphones and their successor, the Nothing Ear (2) Truly Wireless. As such, we've added a note in the Frequency Response Consistency box explaining how our previous test method provided inaccurate results.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Nothing Ear (1) come in one variant: 'Black/White', and you can see our model's label here. If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Nothing Ear (1) are the debut product by this manufacturer and have a retro-futuristic look that sets them apart from the crowd. They're often compared to other in-ears like the Apple AirPods Pro Truly Wireless and Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro Truly Wireless due to their ANC and neutral sound profile. However, while their noise isolation is good overall, it still falls a bit short compared to that of their competitors. Their continuous battery life of roughly five hours is less than headphones like the Jabra Elite 3 True Wireless, which have over seven hours of continuous playback time.
Check out our recommendations for the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds under $100, the best sounding wireless earbuds, and the best noise cancelling earbuds and in-ear headphones.
The Nothing Ear (1) are slightly better headphones than the Beats Studio Buds True Wireless. While both headphones are comfortable and well-built, the Nothing have better ANC and a more neutral default sound profile, which some users may prefer. The Nothing also have more extra charges in their carrying case and their companion app offers EQ presets. However, the Beats can deliver sound more consistently.
The Nothing Ear (2) are very similar to their predecessor, the Nothing Ear (1). Both have similar designs, build quality, stability, and comfort. While the Ear (2) have slightly worse-performing ANC than the Ear (1), their mic has improved significantly, making your voice sound more natural and better isolated from background noise during a call. While the Ear (2) now feature multi-device pairing, you can't use the buds to control the volume by default, which isn't ideal for quick inputs while on the go. We used different methods for activating 'on-ear' detection with the Ear (1) and Ear (2), which affected our frequency response consistency measurements. You can find more info in each product's test text. Although the graphs differ, both buds deliver consistent bass and treble as they both have the same in-ear fit.
The Apple AirPods Pro are better in-ears than the Nothing Ear (1). While both earbuds are comfortable, the Apple are better built, have a more stable in-ear fit, and have more consistent audio delivery. Their sound profile is more neutral, their ANC can block out a superior amount of ambient noise, and their battery performance is better. However, the Nothing have a few EQ presets you can select to customize their sound.
The Nothing Ear (1) are slightly better in-ears than the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. The Nothing are more comfortable, have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer, and can isolate you from more ambient noise. The Samsung have a more stable in-ear fit, and their battery performance is better.
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Test Results
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