It’s been a busy year for Nothing. After debuting its Ear 1 wireless headphones last year, it followed up with its first smartphone, the Phone 1, daring to compete in a field that has actually lost some more established competitors. Now, tackle the wireless buds again with the $99 Ear Stick. Not a great name, but at least it’s descriptive. Instead of the slim, square case of the Ear 1, Nothing has taken inspiration from the design of cosmetic products, creating a charging case for buds inspired by lipstick tubes. It’s not the first set of wireless headphones to feature a rotating cylinder, but it ensures the Ear Stick won’t be confused with rival headphones.
At $99, the Ear Stick is reasonably priced, but it lacks some of the significant features of Nothing’s early wireless buds, most importantly, active noise cancellation (ANC). However, there are a lot of improvements here, especially when it comes to connectivity.
The hardware
Nothing Ear Sticks pretty much
It’s hard to stop twirling and nibbling on the Ear Stick’s attractive case. The micro-dotted surface of the charger, exposed when the buds are locked and charging, feels nice. On top of the charger, there’s a USB-C charging port and a chrome button for pairing the buds with devices. Given the form factor, there’s no wireless charging this time around, but it also ensures the Ear Stick is cheaper to manufacture. (As it stands, Nothing recently raised the price of its Ear One pods.) There’s quite a bit of room in the case, though, so pocket fluff can easily get caught and rolled into the case. crack, which is annoying. Judging by my other transparent gadgets, this could only get worse.
The Ear Stick heads themselves continue this Nothing design language, with a transparent casing around the tips and a dot matrix font labeling each stem. There’s a red dot on the right bud to help users make sure they’re in the right ears. However, compared to the Ear 1, they don’t have silicone tips, so they rest smoothly in the ear. This means that regardless of any noise-canceling technology, a fair amount of noise will leak through.
The story continues
Nothing says the buds went through more than 200 rounds of modifications, and I think it was worth it – they’re comfortable. Weighing in at 4.4 grams (0.15 ounces) each, they’re also lighter than the Ear Buds 1. I know a lot of people (and several Engadget editors) prefer this kind of looser fit, since the AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds and many others put some pressure on your ear canals. The Ear Stick is aimed at these people, but is it enough?
1/5
Nothing Ear Sticks pretty much
Nothing Ear Sticks pretty much
In noisy environments, for example when traveling on public transport or working out, I am forced to turn up the volume to the max to compete with all the ambient noise. That said, they are comfortable and, for buds without removable tips, comfortable enough that you don’t have to worry about losing them when moving around. I still wasn’t completely comfortable running or jumping in them, but they didn’t fall off during regular use.
I haven’t tested battery life extensively yet, but Nothing’s seven-hour rating seems about accurate. Expect to get 29 hours of total playback from the case, which is almost a week of non-stop listening for me. There’s a quick charge feature that can squeeze out two hours of playback with just 10 minutes of charging time, which has already come in handy on long trips around London, where I’m based.
Res also created a new custom-designed dynamic controller in this generation of buds. The company claims it’s the most sensitive wireless on the market, and while I can’t vouch for that, I found the Ear Stick to work best when I’m listening to words or phone calls; they’re noticeably clearer and crisper than the Ear 1. Also, there’s nothing said to be included in a Bass Lock feature that tries to measure the sound escaping from the half-open design, but I have a hard time hearing it enough to at full volume loss
However, there’s not much you can do with a mid-ear design like this to maintain bass levels compared to the competition. The music and sounds have a dullness that I don’t think any algorithm can fix, given the half-open bud design.
The software
You can kick it up a notch with the companion app’s customizable equalizer, and if you’re already a Nothing Phone 1 user, you’ll get useful shortcuts from the Android dropdown menu. It’s a nice touch, matching the reliability you get when using Samsung headphones with a Galaxy phone, etc.
Nothing Ear Sticks pretty much
Nothing has also addressed some of the connectivity issues that plagued the Ear 1. It’s moved the antenna further down the buds, which it says minimizes signal blocking. In use, the Ear Stick connects and docks more consistently than Nothing’s other headphones. They’re less likely to drop when I move around my apartment and get further away from my phone. The Stick is also much less demanding when it comes to pairing with phones, laptops and other devices. While I was initially impressed with the Ear 1, its inconsistency with iPhones, laptops, and even Android phones meant I eventually went back to my AirPods Pro. Nothing has thankfully learned this lesson with its second pair of wireless pods.
I’d like to get the audio and signal enhancements from the Stick, but unfortunately I’m not as enamored with the Ear Stick as I am with the Ear 1. I need my noise canceling and silicone tips. However, I’m looking forward to Ear 2, or whatever Nothing decides to call its third attempt, when it will hopefully combine the best of both buds.