The Nothing Ear (a) Truly Wireless are a value-driven set of buds that supply the brand's signature design and flat frequency response with active noise cancellation (ANC) while thinning out the extras found in the top-tier Nothing Ear Truly Wireless. So, let's see if these balance most of what you need without too much additional fluff.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are very good for neutral listening. If you like a mostly flat frequency response with a warmer treble, these deliver your music accurately, except for veiling harmonic details. The bass has a good amount of thump and boom without overwhelming other frequencies. The mid-range sounds very slightly forward and full-bodied for leads. Meanwhile, trebly content comes across as slightly subdued overall without much sharpness. If you prefer a different tuning, you can use the app's custom EQ, presets, and the Enhance Bass mode. Like most earbuds, their passive soundstage sounds closed-off and like it's coming from inside of your head.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are very good for commutes and travel. They feel comfortable to wear and fit easily into your pocket. Their isolation and ANC help filter out the rumbling of bus engines and chit-chat, and though it's not the best, it's still effective. They don't leak much audio, so they won't bother neighbors during your travels. The app provides you with different listening modes if you need to toggle on transparency modes to catch announcements, and you can also access these on the fly through the controls. Also, the IP-rated buds and case offer a degree of protection from different climates like rainy bus transfers. That said, their continuous battery life can require a recharge during intercontinental flights.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are great for sports and fitness. Both the case and buds are IP-rated; the case is protected against water, and the buds are protected against water and dust. Onboard ANC helps you to focus at the gym, and the transparency mode lets you stay aware when exercising outdoors. Their light weight and small size mean they can fit in tiny pockets without adding much bulk at all. That said, if your workout requires a lot of dynamic movements, their lack of stabilizers and slightly looser fit means they can fall out. Similarly, the pinch controls are great for avoiding misfires, but if you're moving around a lot, they can dislodge the earbuds mid-stride if you're performing multiple successive pinches.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are decent for office use. They're comfortable, and their multi-device pairing lets you move between your phone and work laptop easily. Your colleagues won't be able to hear your favorite podcast or guilty-pleasure pop playlist leaking into the space, either. That said, while their overall noise isolation is decent, it's not as effective with lower frequencies, and in the mid-range where ambient din and chit-chat reside, still, it's enough to help with focus, even if it's not the best. However, if you need the microphone system for calls and meetings, it sounds quite thin, and the continuous battery life won't make it through a full shift without needing a recharge.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds aren't meant for wireless gaming. They can only pair via Bluetooth and while they have a Low Lag mode, the latency is high enough that you'll still experience significant mismatches between the visuals and audio.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are Bluetooth-only and can't be used over a wired connection.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are mediocre for phone calls. Their microphone sounds thin and compromises your voice's clarity when rejecting background noise. That said, their controls are good, and they isolate out distracting environmental noise so you can hear the caller.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds come in three colors: 'Black,' 'White,' and 'Yellow.' You can see the label for our unit in 'White.' We expect these to all perform similarly. If you come across a different variant, let us know in the comments, and we'll add it to our review.
If microphone quality isn't your priority, the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are a value-driven alternative to their big brother, the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless. In an otherwise similar design and sounding set of buds, minor differences include a pared-back codec suite, no customized sound profiles based on your hearing, and the case's lesser IP rating against water and dust for the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds. If you need more battery juice and a bit more ANC coverage with a better mic, the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Truly Wireless are a solid alternative, though, unlike the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds, these have more Android and Samsung-exclusive features like high-quality codecs.
For more options, check out the best sounding wireless earbuds, the best noise cancelling earbuds, and the best wireless earbuds for Android.
Overall, the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless are better than the Nothing Ear (a) Truly Wireless but only incrementally. These have more in common than they have differences, but the Ear Truly Wireless have a greater IP rating, custom sound based on your hearing, a longer battery life, LHDC codec support, and a slightly better mic. On the other hand, the Ear (a) Truly Wireless boast similar ANC performance and sound, which is appealing if you don't use the mic or need a long battery.
Depending on your use preferences, there are good reasons to choose either the Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC Truly Wireless or the Nothing Ear (a) Truly Wireless. The Anker have a longer battery life and use touch controls. They have a more bassy sound by default, and you can EQ their frequency response, if you want something different. They isolate out noise better, too. However, the Nothing have a flatter sound by default, which you may prefer, alongside an in-depth EQ and greater overall dust and water resistance. If you accidentally trigger commands frequently, the pinch controls can help, too. However, their battery is shorter.
The Nothing Ear (a) Truly Wireless and the Nothing Ear (2) Truly Wireless are so similar that you may prefer whichever you can find at a better price. That said, the Ear (2) have a better mic and a higher IP-rated case. Meanwhile, the Ear (a) integrate ChatGPT and have a more balanced mid-range by default, which you may prefer.
Choosing between the Nothing Ear (a) Truly Wireless and the Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Truly Wireless depends on how much you like to tweak your audio and which mobile device you own. The Nothing have nearly the same functionality regardless of your OS and a much more nuanced and comprehensive custom EQ. They also let you pair to two devices simultaneously. On the other hand, the Samsung have a broadly similar sound profile, but only EQ presets are accessible through the Android-only app, and their better quality codecs are exclusive to Samsung devices. That said, their mic, noise isolation, and battery life are a bit better than the Nothing's, but they can only connect to one device at a time.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds look extremely similar to the rest of the line-up. The clear-plastic housing and stem of our 'White' unit is also white, unlike the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless's white unit, which retains a contrasting stem. This varies depending on which colorway you choose; the 'Yellow' model, for example, has a contrasting black stem. The 'Black' variant is the most under-the-radar visually, with translucent plastic covering the mostly dark mode buds. Each bud has a colored dot to help you differentiate them: white for the left and red for the right. Otherwise, they retain the signature shape and pinch controls we've come to expect and the dot matrix style branding running down the stems.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds feel comfortable. They're oblong-shaped, so they sit securely without additional stabilizers, and like other buds by the manufacturer, the fit isn't too deep. The included suite of oblong silicone ear tips is similar to the flagship model Nothing Ear Truly Wireless'. You get three sizes to pick from.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds have good controls. They use pinch controls, like those found across the Nothing range, requiring you to hold the stem between two fingers and squeeze. The sensor is located on the stem at the front-facing edge, which you can find by feeling for the indent. Like conventional touch controls, you rely on the buds emitting a sound to know the command registers. These emit a chimey-sounding click for most commands and a subtle breathy sound for ANC listening mode. The pinch controls are helpful for mitigating accidental misfires, but by the same token, they require a little more effort, especially if you're performing gestures like a double pinch and hold. That's totally fine unless you're running, then it's a bit more distracting.
Speaking of double pinch and hold, that gesture is left unassigned by default. Since there's no volume control out of the box, that would be a reasonable reassignment. You can check out a video of the default control scheme and the options you can reassign within the companion app. The only gesture you can't alter is a single pinch for pause and play audio or accept/end a call.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds' case is great. Its rectangular footprint is the most obvious difference from the squared cases of the Nothing Ear (2) Truly Wireless and the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless. It's marginally longer and narrower than the cases of both of those models. The top and bottom are domed see-through plastic, with solid color accents. Inside, color dots help you match the L/R buds to their spot in the case. The Bluetooth pairing button is on the inside, and the case charges via USB-C or wirelessly. A small light indicates the pairing and charging statuses. The case has an IPX2 against light water exposure, which isn't as robust as the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless' IP55 rating, but considering many cases don't have an IP rating, it's not unusual.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds have great build quality. The buds' housings are made of solid quality plastic without rough edges and seams. They're certified as IP54 against dust and water splashes, so you don't need to shield them from the rain either. The case's clear plastic design looks a bit cheap, but its hinge and magnetic lid are decent and functional. The case has an IPX2 rating against light water exposure.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds output a flat sound profile with a warm top-end in their default settings, which includes the Enhance Bass mode set to +3. With a mostly even and slightly subdued bass, you get a pleasant amount of rumble and punch, but not enough to be considered bass-heavy. Similarly, their mid-range closely follows our target, and the buds reproduce a natural and full-bodied mid-range that's a little forward in the mix. If you like a warmer high-end at the expense of losing a bit of overall clarity, these slightly under-emphasize the low-treble and roll off the high registers after a small, slightly piercing peak. This frequency response works well for most genres like rock, jazz, and pop.
If you want more low-end thump or prefer to hear more breathy details in the vocals of your favorite chanteuse, you can use their custom EQ or check out their EQ presets. In addition to EQ, they have an Enhance Bass mode, which elevates the entire low-end response in five incremental strengths. The earbuds also sound nearly the same in every listening mode.
Their frequency response consistency is amazing. Your audio is delivered with bass through low-treble, sounding virtually the same between wears. A small amount of variation in the higher treble region can happen between wears and different people, but once you've selected the right ear tip size, it shouldn't pose an issue.
Their bass is quite flat and follows our target very well. It conveys a good amount of thump, punch, and boom across the range without over- or under-emphasizing any region. It's not overly bass-heavy, but it's even and doesn't sound weak. If you prefer a bassier sound, the EQ can alter the tuning to your taste.
The mid-range adheres closely to our target, so lead instruments and speech come across as present, full, and clear. The busy mix of guitar, samples, and vocals in songs like Groove Is in the Heart by Deee-Lite come across with presence and body.
Their treble follows our target well from the low-treble through about halfway through the mid-treble before a bit of a dip and a minor peak that tapers off. As a result, harmonics from vocals and cymbals come across as sounding natural, if a little bit warm and slightly veiled in detail. If you want a brighter sound, the app's EQ can adjust the treble frequencies to your taste.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds have excellent peaks and dips performance. They control their sound profile with very even bass that provides a balance of thump and punch. A minor dip where the bass transitions to low-mids declutters the sound slightly by pushing down bass harmonics in the mix a bit. Most of the mids are fairly even, with minor peaks and dips that would be hard to notice with real-world content, though they can push leads a bit up or down in the mix, depending on the pitch. The treble has three peaks that exaggerate detail somewhat, while the tallest one causes cymbal hits to sound relatively piercing.
Their imaging performance is very good. This aligns with the imaging in other products we've tested by the manufacturer, indicating solid ergonomics and quality control. Their group delay lands below the audibility threshold, so bass sounds tight, and treble is transparent. They have a slight weighted phase mismatch in the mids and narrow spikes in the treble, but it's not audible with real-world content. Their weighted frequency and amplitude mismatch are within good values for a stable stereo image without holes. Imaging varies between units, so keep in mind that these results are valid for only our unit.
Like most closed-back earbuds, they have a bad passive soundstage. The earbud design doesn't meaningfully interact with your outer ear or with the space you're in, which creates a focused soundstage that sounds like it's coming from inside your head.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds have good weighted harmonic distortion performance. It's pretty low in the bass and mids and slightly more elevated in the treble, but the measurements land within good values. Your audio will sound pure and clean.
These are the settings used to test these earbuds, except for medium ear tips, which were used for the noise isolation tests. The default EQ settings include Enhance Bass set to +3. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.
Their full-range noise isolation performance is satisfactory. The ANC significantly filters out lower-pitched noise, like the engines on lawnmowers or rumbling bus engines. However, it's a bit uneven when handling mid-range sounds like conversation nearby. So, although it still filters out sounds like chit-chat, the ANC isn't as effective as it is with lower mid-range sounds like ambient din, which are tackled more effectively. Shrill and piercing sounds aren't blocked as strongly as earbuds with a more passive isolating design.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds are decent at noise isolation in common scenarios. They reduce ambient din in airplane cabins and traffic on the street well. They're slightly less effective at filtering the lower-range frequencies in offices. Their isolation and ANC perform similarly to the step-up model, the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds don't include a wind reduction mode. The ANC system creates 'Anti-noise' sounds when gusts of wind make contact with the mic, and without a wind reduction mode, this makes a bothersome 'popping' sound. That said, these handle wind noise a bit better than the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless, though they're both sensitive to the angle of the wind.
Their leakage performance is good. The bulk of bass and mid-range sounds don't escape into your space. A portion of trebly content is audible at close proximity if you're in a rather quiet space, producing a thin and bright version of your audio. That said, it's not enough to even register for most people in a hushed library unless they're seated next to you.
The mic system's recording quality is poor. Captured speech sounds brighter than in real life and lacks full body. Your voice is intelligible, but the mic isn't a strength of these earbuds. That said, the total harmonic distortion wasn't calculated because the file's recorded output from the mic was too low in quality for the testing rig to calculate. Subjectively, though, the distortion is relatively mild.
Their mic system's noise handling is satisfactory. It manages to remove constant background noise but at the cost of your voice's clarity. With intermittent and sudden background noises like people talking, the mic struggles to differentiate your voice from the background chatter. It can filter out background noise like subway trains with decent success, but your voice is harder to make out.
Their battery performance is passable. The manufacturer advertises they last 5.5 hours with ANC on, with an extra 3.5 charges in the case. Unfortunately, they're not compatible with our battery testing rig and prematurely shut off, even though we can confirm when worn, they last longer than the period after which they shut off on our rig. However, the advertised battery life matches up well with other battery results we've yielded from the rest of the line, like the Nothing Ear (2) Truly Wireless. It's long enough for most commutes and jaunts to the gym, but if you need all-day audio without breaks to top up the battery, it falls short.
The Nothing X companion app is good, and you can check out a preview of it. It supplies you with EQ presets and a custom EQ, alongside an Enhance Bass mode that slightly elevates the whole low-end. With the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds, the app doesn't include customized EQ based on your unique hearing, which is available on the Nothing Ear Truly Wireless, though you can still check if the ear tips fit using the Fit Test. You can change preset listening modes like ANC. You get options for connectivity, too, like a Low Lag mode for streaming video, dual device pairing, and codec selection. Besides that, you can track your earbuds with the Find My feature and remap the controls to your preferences. A novel addition is its integration with ChatGPT, letting you directly use the AI by asking questions aloud.
The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds have amazing Bluetooth connectivity. They have multi-device pairing with up to two devices, which is enabled through their app's Dual Connection option. The figures shown are their latency with the Low Lag mode on, which significantly cuts down on latency. That said, you may still experience lip-sync mismatch, although different devices and apps compensate for latency differently. They include support for the high-quality LDAC codec, but unlike the step-up Nothing Ear Truly Wireless model, they lack the lower latency LHDC codec support. While they lack quick pairing for iOS, they have it for Android and Microsoft's Swift Pair for compatible devices.
These earbuds can only connect wirelessly via Bluetooth to compatible PCs.