Nothing Ear (stick) in the test: stylish half-in-ear headphones with one big flaw

NOTHING EAR (STICK)

Nov 03, 2022 at 5:51pm

The half-in-ear headphones Nothing Ear (stick) should reignite the fun of technology, says the manufacturer. In the test we put this to the test.

The British company Nothing, founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, is about to play in the big technology circus in the long term and offer alternatives to products from Samsung, Sony, Apple, Xiaomi and Co. that stand out from the rest.

The first two products Nothing Ear (1) and the Nothing Phone (1) show this clearly with individual designs that are now easily identifiable with Nothing. This is no different with the new Earbuds Nothing Ear (stick).

They offer the partially transparent design language of Nothing Ear (1) and are still different. Probably the biggest difference is the construction, because these are half-in-ear headphones. Customers should prefer that the earbuds are not so deep in the ear canal and that’s why Nothing decided to take this step. However, due to the design, there is no active noise suppression (“ANC”) as in Ear (1).

Nothing Ear (stick) im Test

Here you can take a closer look at Nothing Ear (stick).

When we unpack the earbuds, the cylindrical charging case naturally catches our eye. By turning, the open side moves towards the earbuds, there is a confirming clicking sound – according to the manufacturer it should be “satisfactory”. We find it more cute and playful. Yes, we would like to shoot again.

Otherwise, we find instructions and a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging the battery, a power adapter is not included. Either you buy it, or you charge it on another device with a USB-C connection – the charging process works on a PS5, for example.

battery life

Speaking of power, the battery life is 7 hours for music and 3 hours for calls. If the earbuds run out of energy, you can charge them in the charging case for 10 minutes and use them for another 2 hours. According to the manufacturer, you should be able to count on a total of up to 29 hours of playback time with the charging case.

setup and feel

Connecting to a smartphone (iOS or Android) works as expected without any problems: just press the pairing button on the cylinder and select Nothing Ear (stick) on the mobile device – done.

In fact, the Ear (stick) feel softer in the auricle than the Ear (1), there is no feeling of pressure, everything seems more airy. However, this is the biggest shortcoming of this product for us. The earbuds are a bit too loose in our ears and tilting your head can cause them to fall out. Unfortunately, this has happened to us a number of times. If we sit upright, they stay in our ears.

Therefore, they disqualify themselves as headphones for use in sports. You don’t want your new earbuds to fall down the drain while jogging. After all, they offer protection against water, dust and sweat according to IP54.

Physical buttons for operation

Instead of a normal touch control on the pen as with the Ear (1), there are physical buttons here. A clear press makes a clicking sound, so you stop or continue playback. If you take the buds out of your ear while the music is playing, the playback will also be interrupted.

Whatever we hear, be it classic, jazz, rock or pop: the sound is pleasing. He looks balanced and clear. The bass isn’t as powerful as the Ear (1), but we think it’s good enough.

If you want more focus on bass or treble, you can use the equalizer in the Nothing X app. This is set up quickly and really makes a difference. If you have a Nothing Phone, you don’t need the app, because several functions have been integrated directly into the quick settings on the smartphone.

Nothing Ear (stick) is already available at a price of 119 dollars.