Nothing has announced an updated pair of completely wireless noise-cancelling earbuds called the Nothing Ear 2. They’re the successor to the company’s debut product, the Ear 1 earbuds, and both earbuds and charging cases feature a near-identical design, complete with the company’s signature mix of transparent plastic combined with a white, black and red color scheme. You can read my full impressions in my review of the Nothing Ear 2 earbuds.
On paper, the Ear 2s don’t look like a huge upgrade over their predecessors. There are some extra nice features, like multipoint connectivity, which lets you connect to two devices (such as a phone and laptop) at the same time, and a fit-test feature to help you find the right size earbud to use. But key specs like battery life and driver size are very similar.
Still, in practice, the Ear 2s are a much more refined accessory. Their sound is much clearer and sharper, and their active noise cancellation is much better in noisy environments – not to mention there are far fewer bugs this time around.
In the US, the Nothing Ear 2 earbuds will retail for $149, the same as the Ear 1 earbuds after last year’s $50 price increase. In the UK, however, they’re slightly cheaper than their predecessors at £129 versus £149. Either way, it seems the Ear 1’s $99/£99 launch price seems to be a thing of the past. The Ear 2 earbuds can be purchased directly from Nothing’s online store starting today and will go on general sale from Nothing’s partners on March 28.