As promised, Nothing has finally unveiled the Nothing Ear (2) today. These earbuds leaked extensively in the past, so we knew almost everything about the new buds, but there are some nice additions here, and you are still getting that cool design that the original was known for.
The Nothing Ear (2) features the same design, but the company has made several improvements to make the experience even better
The Nothing Ear (2) come with a transparent design, and although they look largely identical, most of the changes have happened under the hood. The earbuds bring active noise cancellation capable of up to 40 decibels of noise reduction. At the same time, this might disappoint some as it has not changed from its predecessor.
The good news is that you can still tune this via available modes. Each earbud also has a squeeze control, which does what the name suggests. Pressing once will play/pause the music or answer or hang up the call. Double pressing will skip the track forward or reject the call, and triple pressing will skip the track backward. Pressing and holding the earbud will allow you to go from ANC to Transparency mode or vice-versa.
The Nothing Ear (2) also improves upon the audio of the predecessor. The new earbuds bring what Nothing is calling “Personal Sound Profile,” this is a mode that runs an ear tip fit test to figure out how good the audio seal is and then adjusts the profile accordingly. This mode can be a hit-and-miss based on how well it is tuned.
The Nothing Ear (2) also have 11.6mm dynamic audio drivers. However, this time around, the internal cavity has been expanded. Nothing says that this aids in improving the “richness” of the audio. Given how sound and acoustics work, this change does seem like it would work. You also find LHDC 5.0 codec for better audio technology, and each bud can transmit up to 24-bit/192kHz.
The Nothing Ear (2) also supports a multi-point connection, allowing you to connect the buds to two devices. Handling the connectivity is Bluetooth 5.3. You also get Google’s gift to us in the name of Fast Pair, which allows the instant connection.
The Nothing Ear (2) is also really good in other places. For instance, you are getting an IP54 rating against dust and water, and the case itself is IP55 rated. The case is smaller this time, and the earbuds are lighter. The company has stated that each earbud has a 33mAh battery that can last up to four hours when ANC is turned on or 6 hours and 20 minutes when it is turned off. The charging case has a 485 mAh battery which will offer additional 22.5 hours with ANC and 36 hours without ANC. Fast charging at 10W and wireless charging at 2.5W are also available.
Regarding the pricing and availability, the Nothing Ear (2) will cost you $149, £129, or €149. The Nothing Ear (2) is up for preorder from nothing.tech. You can also get them from Nothing Store Soho in London and Kith stores in the U.S., France, and Japan. The earbuds will go on sale on March 28 at select offline and online retailers.