Nothing Ear (Stick) Review: These Budget Earbuds Prioritise Form Over Function

If you judge a book by its cover, then the Nothing Ear (stick) passes the test. If you're looking at the sticker price, the Nothing Ear (stick) feels a little out of place. At Rs 8,499, the Nothing Ear (stick) is priced on the higher side. Increase your budget a little bit and you can get the excellent OPPO Enco X2. For a couple of thousand less, one can opt for the OnePlus Buds Z2 or the Jabra Elite 3. 

When I first unboxed the Nothing Ear (stick), I thought the earbuds were caught in no man’s land. I wanted to take my time to use them and see if they outdid the company’s first product from 2021, the Nothing Ear (1), and how they placed against the competition. Let’s dive in. 

Design: Innovation First 

The Nothing Ear (stick) is all about innovative design. Just like its predecessor, the Ear (stick) is reusing the same design aesthetics. The company knows how to make a product stand out from the crowd, and with the Ear (stick), it has knocked it out of the park. The Ear (stick) has a see-through stalk design, giving you a view of the internals. Basically, it’s a see-through Apple AirPod, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  

The earbuds of the Ear (stick) are almost identical to the Ear (1) from last year. The only immediate difference is that the former has a more elongated stalk. While they’ve got the same matte white finish, the Ear (stick) has a wider shell. The L and R indicators (for which bud goes into which ear) are still there. 

The major difference in design is that of the case. Nothing has gone cylindrical design. Just twist the end and the earbuds will surface. It’s super fun, and kind of addictive. There’s good tactile feedback as well when twisting.  

The case has a USB-C connector at one end with a red accent around it. The case’s design  means that it isn’t as pocketable as the nothing ear (1). Also, the cylindrical design means that the Nothing Ear (stick) has to forgo wireless charging. 

It may be flashy, but there’s a lot to like here. The one downside I found is that the fit differs from ear to ear. For some, the Ear (stick) won’t stay in place. Others say they can wear it for hours on end without getting tired. If the Ear (stick) doesn’t fit you as well, then you’re out of luck.  

Features: Where’s The Active Noise Cancellation? 

The Ear (stick) uses Bluetooth 5.2 and pairs instantly (thanks to Fast Pair) with your Android smartphone. During my month-long usage, I had zero connectivity issues. The earbuds have in-ear detection for pausing music upon taking an earbud out. 

The biggest omission for the Ear (stick) is that of active noise cancellation (ANC). Lots of competitors offer ANC in this price range and it’s a shame that the Ear (stick) misses out. Furthermore, the half in-ear design doesn’t provide a tight seal. Hence you miss out on good noise isolation. People talking next to me, the sound of a clicky keyboard, and the whirr of a fan—I could hear it all while I had the Ear (stick) playing music. 

There’s a new Nothing X app, that debuted alongside the Ear (stick) and will be used for controlling all of Nothing’s audio products going forward. There’s a new equaliser baked into the app and you also get four standard options—Balanced, More Bass, More Treble, and Voice. Lastly, you can also customise gestures within the app. 

Sound Quality: Do These Live Up To The Hype? 

Lacking a good bass. That practically sums up the Ear (stick) for me. The lower frequencies are drowned out by the outside noise and that means you miss out on any good bass. To compensate for the lost bass, the company has come up with what they call “Bass Lock”. The buds will measure your ear canal, and using some software wizardry, compensate for the bass loss. To an extent, this works, but in reality, it’s not something to write home about. Still, it’s worth nothing that Nothing thought of this and tried to deliver a workable solution.  

There’s something warm about the Ear (stick) and its soundstage. It’s strong and there’s a certain clarity to the vocals. You won’t get the instrument separation that you do on earbuds like the OPPO Enco X2 or many more expensive ones, but they are far better than a lot of the cheaper buds that dial down the sound. There’s natural tonality, crisp highs and good, detailed character to the vocalists. I listened to a number of genres ranging from jazz to pop and my only real issue with the sound quality was the lack of good instrument separation. If you’re into heavy metal or jazz, then there are better earbuds on the market. For everything else in between, the Ear (stick) does the job. 

They’re three mics embedded into each earbud and they filter out background noise during phone calls. This is good for those long zoom calls or when you have to step outside the office for a phone call. Furthermore, the earbuds are IP54 rated for dust and moisture resistance. 

Should You Buy The Ear (Stick) Earbuds? 

Unlike the Ear (1), the Ear (stick) isn’t a knockout success. It’s good, but the lack of ANC, the fit not suiting many pairs of ears, and the lack of any good bass, might be a dealbreaker for some. Couple that with the price being in no man’s land, and the Ear (stick) is a hard sell.  

Nothing’s Ear (stick) has good battery life, a new and well-designed software experience and decent call quality. The half in-ear design is what kept the earbuds from being truly great. Couple that with the average sound quality and you have a pair of earbuds truly in no man’s land. 

The Ear (stick) has a distinctive look, and honestly, that’s what is most appealing about this pair of wireless earbuds. The Ear (stick) is a pretty standard pair of earbuds. They aren’t the kind of revolution Nothing was hoping for, but they’re a pretty solid pair of mid-range earbuds. Just be sure to buy them at discount, if you’re eyeing them.