Nothing Ear (open): Open headphones for sports and the office

With the Ear (open), Nothing presents open headphones for the first time. They are worn over the ear and do not block the ear canal. The Ear (open) consist of a cylindrical element that houses the battery and the actual earphones. The latter delivers the sound to the ear via a 14.2 millimeter diameter driver with a titanium coating. The two elements are connected by a white plastic headband. One earphone weighs a good eight grams, which is light compared to other open-ears. The Ear (open) transmit via Bluetooth 5.3 to Android devices from version 5.0 and iPhones with iOS 13 or later.

The perceived wearing comfort of headphones is always different for each individual. The Nothing Ear (open) were well received by our test subjects across the board, whether with or without glasses. Thanks to their low weight, the earphones do not get in the way even when worn for long periods. During high-movement sports such as running, they moved minimally without being annoying. They did not fall off our ears during training. Like the case, they are IP54-protected against splashing water and can remain on your ears even in the rain, but they should not be submerged.

Podcast rather than orchestral sound

Due to their design, the sound of the Ear (open) is less full and bass-heavy than that of in-ears, which close off the ear canal, or large over-ears. They are less suitable for high-end music enjoyment, but cut a good figure when listening on the side. Voices are easy to understand. On the bike, wind noise penetrates comparatively strongly to the ear, here one would wish for a little more volume. The voice quality when making calls with the Nothing Ear (open) is very good and they filter out ambient noise very efficiently. Together with the wearing comfort, this also makes them interesting for use in the office. As with all headphones built in this way, there is no active noise suppression.

As with all current Nothing products, ChatGPT is also integrated in the Ear (open). The function must be activated in the Nothing-X app, which is used to manage the headphones.

Once the earbuds are fully charged, they can last for around eight hours on a single charge, depending on the volume. This means that the Nothing Ear (open) pretty much fulfill the manufacturer's battery life specification. They can be fully charged three times in the case until the charging case itself asks for the power cable. The case has a transparent lid, the bottom part is white.

The Nothing Ear (open) are available immediately at a price of 149 euros. They are only available in white.

(sht)