We’ve beenhearing whispersfor weeks, but Nothing has now officially launched its new Ear (2) true wireless noise-cancelling headphones - the young company’s first second-generation product.
While they might look very similar to theirEar (1)predecessors, almost everything has changed on the inside, from sound quality to feature set.
For a start, they now offer full and complete touch controls, using a variety of squeezes on the stem of the earbuds to control music playback and phone calls.
From a performance perspective, they make use of a new dual-chamber design, which Nothing says should deliver better clarity. There’s a new custom diaphragm too, with an 11.6mm dynamic driver in each earbud, promising richer high frequencies and deeper, softer bass.
Not just that, but sound can now be personalised on the Ear (2) and tweaked to suit your own individual listening requirements.
Users can create a Personal Sound Profile by taking a hearing test at varying frequencies, and the Ear (2) will create an EQ to best suit your hearing capabilities. This can be toggled on and off as well as tweaked further, via the Nothing X app (Android/iOS) or from within the menus in the Nothing Phone (1).
The Ear (2) are also now Hi-Res Audio certified, using the LHDC 5.0 codec that can transmit music up to 24 bit/192kHz wirelessly when using compatible Android devices.
Of course, these are noise cancelling buds and improvements have been made here too. They now offer up to 40dB of noise reduction, while Nothing’s Clear Voice Technology should do its bit to keep you easily heard on phone calls. A new AI noise reduction algorithm, which has been tested against 20 million sound samples, works in tandem with three external microphones to cancel out background noise.
Battery life has been boosted, just slightly, for those listening without ANC on, and you’ll now get just over six hours and 36 hours total of music playback including the case. That drops to four hours and 22.5 hour total when you turn ANC on.
Fast charging is on board here, for eight hours of non-ANC playback from 10 minutes on charge, plus support for Qi wireless charging and reverse charging through compatible devices too.
Ear (2) supports Google Fast Pair on Android devices and Microsoft Swift Pair on Windows devices, and offers Dual Connection between two devices at the same time.
Finally, you may expect IP54 water resistance from the buds, while the charging case takes things a little higher with IP55 protection.
TheEar (2) will be priced at £129/$149and are available on nothing.tech from today, as well as in the Nothing Store Soho and select Kith store worldwide. General sales will begin on 28th March.
