Nothing Ear (Stick) Review: Design Over Sound?

When Nothing launched its first product, the Nothing Ear (1), I was amazed by its design language. The transparent industrial design and overall feel was different from what we had seen before, thanks to Carl Pei’s collaboration with Teenage Engineering, a Swedish electronics company known for its quirky designs.

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With the company’s third product, the Nothing Ear (Stick), their focus on design seems to have redoubled. However, the focus on design may have forced Nothing to compromise on sound quality and fit.

During my few weeks of testing, I found Nothing Ear (Stick) to be a balanced product. It is certainly eye-catching and pleasant to use when the case opens by twisting. However, if you’re looking for the best-sounding in-ear headphones, you may have to look elsewhere, as design takes precedence over sound. Here is our review of Nothing Ear (Stick). Continue reading.

Design and fit

When I first opened the Nothing Ear (Stick) box a couple of weeks ago, I was amazed at how good the Nothing Ear (Stick) looks and feels. It’s quite the eye candy, really! But the immediate realization of what the transparent would look like in a few months also worried me. The case is made of transparent plastic and will definitely attract scratches and a lot of dust if you keep it outdoors. So as good as it looks, you might need to touch it up a bit – if you want it to look good and scratch-free.

The headphones themselves also look phenomenal, with great plastic materials on offer. And let’s be honest, the whole see-through, see-through aesthetic looks cool. But what’s not cool is the fit of the headphones, at least for some people. For example, I’m happy with the fit of the Nothing Ear (Stick), but when I handed the studs to my brother, who has bigger ears than me, he complained that the buds didn’t fit him well and came loose every time. for a while, and he even experienced an earache.

Therefore, it is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution here, which also applies to popular headphones such as the second and third generation AirPods. My understanding is that you’ll do better if you have a smaller ear canal, like me, and may suffer if you have larger ears.

Now let’s take a look at the elephant in the room – the semi-ear design. Yes, these aren’t in-ear like the Nothing Ear (1), opting instead for a more traditional half-ear design, reminiscent of the original AirPods. While this may be a deal breaker for many, people who want to enjoy their sound while being aware of their surroundings, or those who don’t like the seal that in-ear buds create on the ear canal, may appreciate the Nothing Ear (Stick) headphones.

This is why it comes down to preference, and to be fair, more and more people are preferring the in-ear type these days due to the increasing demand for features like noise cancellation and better bass.

Sound quality and pairing process

Like most TWS earbuds these days, the Nothing Ear (Stick) is relatively easy to pair with an Android phone. When I twisted the Nothing Ear (Stick) case for the first time, I was prompted to pair with the Samsung Galaxy S23 earbuds – similar to the first-party Samsung Galaxy Buds. There was no delay in pairing, and once I installed the Nothing X app, controlling the buds was a breeze. Once paired, all I had to do was twist the case to open, and the headphones automatically connected to my Android device – pretty quickly. In fact, I’d say it’s as fast as the AirPods and iPhone experiences, so that’s a solid plus for me.

As for the sound, simply put, for Rs 8,499, there are better sounding options available in the market with a more practical (and sought after) in-ear style design. But the long answer is that the Nothing Stick might not offer the best sound for the money, but it does have certain features that remind me of the original AirPods. The sound is not too bass-heavy and offers clear vocals and balanced mids and highs. Don’t get me wrong, the clarity is there, and the Nothing Ear (Stick) offers larger sound drivers than the Nothing Ear (1). However, the half-ear design does not allow the headphones to produce strong bass and possibly attract the average consumer.

But if calls are a priority, I rate the Nothing Ear (Stick) highly. After receiving a fair share of calls with headphones, the other party never once complained that I sounded muffled, and the sound from their end was also quite clear.

Battery life and connectivity

There’s nothing that says earbuds should offer up to 7 hours of playback time, and while achieving that duration was no problem, we were able to use the in-ear (Stick) for nearly 6 hours before the battery died. This usage included receiving calls, listening to music and audiobooks, and even playing games on the Nintendo Switch. Thus, you can expect really good battery life when using the Nothing Stick. In addition, the case can fully charge the headphones about four times. Plus, you can quickly charge in a few minutes and get about two hours of listening time, so they charge quickly.

Nothing Ear (Stick) supports SBC and AAC codecs via Bluetooth 5.2 and has a simple pairing process. It is recommended to download the Nothing X app from the Play Store for a better experience. Unlike the Nothing Ear (1), the Stick had no glitches and maintained a stable Bluetooth connection with considerable range. The app has been updated with a fresh design and additional features such as a three-band custom EQ and presets that you can choose based on your preferences.

Verdict: Planning instead of action?

I really like the Nothing Ear (Stick) and would happily pay Rs 8,499 for them just for their eye-catching design. It’s a beautiful piece of hardware, but I can’t say the same for the average consumer, like gym-goers who want punchy bass and a durable (and more practical) case design, or audio purists who might not like the way the Nothing Stick represents the overall sound field. So yes, the Nothing Ear (Stick) is one of the growing list of tech products that fall flat, making it hard to recommend to most people. However, if you like pretty gadgets, you should be all in on these headphones. I rate them 7/10.

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