Nothing ear (1) – Wireless Earbuds ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Black

The media could not be loaded. These earbuds were massively, massively over-hyped before launch. So when they came out (and had a few bugs / didn't match that hype) the reviews were naturally disappointing. But months later (and some software updates later) I decided to test them fully and review them from a neutral perspective, to see how they 'really' compare to the competition and...I was pleasantly surprised. Are these on the level of the flagships from Sony/Bose etc? No. And the hype suggested they would be. But are they amazing value for money at £100? Absolutely.I reviewed these on YouTube as part of a 'best earbuds under $100' video, and they performed really well. Since I bought them on here I decided to share with you all the review and also the clip from that video featuring the ear(1)s. So that's what the video is and below is the written form of the review in case you'd rather read instead:[Review below]:What the tech world has reached a consensus on is the design, with many (including myself) calling these the best looking earbuds on the market. This transparent design looks awesome - the craftsmanship is second to none, and I personally love this minimal design that, as they say, highlights the beauty of tech.It’s not just for the earbuds, but the charging case too…and I think these look especially good in this new black colour. You’re not gonna be mistaking this unique design for any other earbuds.The touch controls here are great, they’re responsive and the contact area is surprisingly wide. They’re one of only a few earbuds to support a swipe gesture for volume - and this time…it actually works. I had close control over each volume increment, and the glossy outer surface meant I could swipe without knocking these from my ears (though this is still possible if you aren’t careful). These also have wearing detection and customisation in the app - so the controls are almost perfect. But customisation is limited and there’s sadly no single tap option.Comfort is another thing they’ve nailed, I’m talking…forget you’re wearing them, kind of comfortable. They’re lightweight and form a gentle seal in the ear, so I can easily wear these all day. I can just about run with them as well, and they have IPX4 protection, but I wouldn’t trust them to stay in place for most other workouts.The gentle seal means the passive noise isolation isn’t amazing, even with the larger eartips. However the active noise cancellation was surprisingly good. Obviously it’s not flagship level performance, but you can clearly hear the reduction in noise turning this on. The transparency mode though, is very good, clearly amplifying your surroundings. There’s still a bug here though where there’s a faint hiss that seems to fade in and out sometimes in transparency mode. Inaudible with music playing, but still a bug - so for all the firmware update improvements we’ve seen since their launch, that minor annoyance still exists.The main improvements have been to connectivity, these are now very reliable, offer single earbud use, fast pairing and show no noticeable latency with videos. There is a dedicated low-latency mode here as well, which gamers may be interested in, but otherwise it’s not really necessary. On one day I did have one earbud randomly disconnect - but a quick power off and on with the case seemed to fix it. So maybe not 100% of the issues are fixed, but on the whole…my experience has been pretty consistent.Battery life is a big weakness though, you only get 5 hours on a single charge with up to 34 in the case. They do support wireless charging though, which is nice, and actually these are the only earbuds in this video to offer ANC, transparency, wearing detection and wireless charging - so these actually have the most complete feature set.The mic quality was really decent as well. My voice sounded really clear and the earbuds isolate my voice well from the background noise - so phone call performance was very good.As for the audio quality…it’s good, better than I expected actually. These have good clarity, are well-detailed and are leaning slightly towards a bright sound signature. The bass is tight and punchy, but I’m sure some will find this lacking. EQ options unfortunately are very limited - you’ve only got these 4 options. There’s a distinct difference with each mode, but I’d love to be able to customise this myself.The overall sound quality should be good enough to please most - but some of our other entries like Lypertek and Sennheiser’s are a step up.Having tested these throughly myself, I can understand why the initial reviews were so underwhelming. As the flagship killing phenomenon these earbuds were touted to be, sure, they leave a lot to be desired. But as a $99 pair of earbuds, as they should be viewed, they’re actually exceptional value for money. I was left genuinely shocked by just how good these turned out to be for the price.

These are excellent value at more than half the price of competitors. They look very stylish, managing to look retro and futuristic at the same time. They are very comfortable and light. I was surprised, given the mixed reviews out there, to find that they sound very good. Perhaps the “v-shape” sound curve suits me (and I listen to mainly guitar music) but I didn’t think they lack bass, and the top end is pleasing and detailed. I have a pair of Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 and I wouldn’t say there is a huge difference (the Melomania has a little too much bass but a much more detailed midrange - the treble range is better on the Ear 1).The noise cancellation is fantastic. These are my first ever true wireless ANC earbuds so I am hardly an expert, but again I was expecting something a bit half baked given the reviews out there. Not so. Within 5 mins of getting these I was marvelling at standing next to the kettle and turning the sound off (ANC mode) and on (transparent mode). It’s very well executed and effective.The app is simple and nice looking. The case can be charged wirelessly. They’re less than £100. What more do we want?

These are really good headphones for the money. Really good. They sound amazing, fit in my ear easily and the battery life is good (not amazing).But the problem is they feel like a beta product. Occasionally.... note, occasionally, they may lose connection to my OnePlus phone or not connect properly when removed from the case.Another thing I dislike if the fact you can't buy a replacement case. If anything was to happen to my case, such as it being lost, I'd have to buy another pair. Not an issue with standard wired Bluetooth headphones.Apart from that, great product.Update: May 2022.I still love them, but still feels like a beta product.For the money, the sound is very, very good. I love the design, though wish the black version was released along with the white version. I would have gone for that, though that is.a personal design choice.The issue I have is that it when I remove both buds from the case, there is a 50/50 chance both will understand they have been removed from the cade. This lead me to have to put the one that is not responding back in the case and remove it again in the hope it understands I want it to be active.As a company that is trying to establish itself in the market, I want it to do it's best. I'm excited for it's upcoming phone, but for the fact I can't rely on it to work on time, every time, is making me feel that I should go for more established brands (a la Google Pixel Bud and a Pixel Phone).I would say, yes, these are great headphones, but it still feels like a beta.Update: October 2022Still having connection issues to my devices. If I touch the headphones even slightly in a WhatsApp call they hang up. No software updates in a good few months. Long and short of it, I wish I went for the Pixel Buds A series.Update: January 2024I have sold these to a popular second hand tech store and got just over £30 for them. Not bad for having them for 2 years. Honestly, I would not buy these again. It wasn't a great experience, being my first Nothing product, and although they are the first product from Nothing, the connection issues were a major factor for not keeping them.