Nothing Ear 1 True wireless review
The Nothing Ear 1 is priced at Rs. 5,999 in India, and is among the better options you can buy in this price range.
With active noise cancellation, wireless charging, and a decent, balanced sound, the first product from Carl Pei's Nothing is an impressive one on debut. The true wireless earphones are also among the best looking options around right now, putting transparent build quality and design to excellent use.
Although comparisons to more expensive options will see the Nothing Ear 1 fall short, sound quality and ANC performance are very good for the price. Battery life is good as well, making the Nothing Ear 1 an all-rounder that ticks all the boxes for Rs. 5,999.
Nothing has gone with in-canal ear tips for a snug and noise isolating fit. You can see the internal components, the microphones, and the Nothing Ear 1 logo inside the stalks. Each earpiece weighs a convenient 4.7g, while the charging case weighs 57.4g.
While most earphones have distinct ‘L' and ‘R' markings to point out which earpiece goes where, the Nothing Ear 1 uses colour coding instead. A red dot signifies the right earpiece, while a white dot signifies the left. This might take a bit to get used to, but I eventually got accustomed to the design and colour coding system.
The outer sides of the stalks on each earpiece are flat and touch-sensitive for controls. The upper part – the area surrounding the colour dot – is sensitive to taps to control playback as well as ANC and hear-through modes. Swiping up and down on the long part of the stalk on either earpiece controls the volume. While the volume and play/ pause/ call answer controls are not changeable, triple-tap and long-press gestures can be customised through the app.
The Nothing Ear 1 app, available for iOS and Android, lets you customise and control certain settings and features of the headset, as well as update its firmware.
You can switch between ANC and transparency modes, choose either of two noise cancellation intensity levels, and adjust the equaliser preset for the sound.
The Nothing Ear 1 has 11.6m dynamic drivers, and uses Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity with support for the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs. The earpieces are IPX4 rated for water resistance. Nothing claims up to 40db of noise level reduction using the active noise cancellation. Google Fast Pair is claimed to be supported.
