Nothing Ear (2)

Nothing Ear (2) Overview:

Transparent Design

On the design part, the Nothing Ear (2) is clearly similar to Nothing's first product on TWS, Ear (1). The company decided to stick with the same design. The only differences are minor physical changes, such as the relocation of the noise-canceling microphones. Other than that, you wouldn't be able to tell two of them apart if the name tag was hidden.

Besides, for portability, I think there are three things that matter the most: weight, IP rating, and the battery. Each earbud of Ear (2) weighs around 4.5 grams, and the case adds up to 51.9 grams. Additionally, these buds have an IP54 rating, and the case has an IP55 rating for occasional rain, sweat, and water splashes. And the last one, we will talk about later. One thing to note is that Nothing switched from touch control to press control to prevent accidental touches. And, the Ear (2) comes in the same color variations: Black and White with a transparent stem.

Audio

On audio too, the same 11.6mm dynamic drivers power the Nothing's 2^nd Ear iteration. That's with a refined diaphragm, which is made of graphene and polyurethane materials. Similarly, the new addition here is the support of the LHDC 5.0 codec for Hi-Res audio, along with standard AAC and SBC.

Repeating myself, Ear (2) is much similar to Ear (1)—in how much noise it can cancel too. You'll even get the same 3-mic setup here. Nevertheless, it improves on the subtle things. For this instance, it shifts to adaptive ANC, which switches between profiles based on ambient noise and your ear's shape. Plus, how can we forget about the Transparency Mode?

Features

The Nothing Ear (2) has simple yet useful features that make life easier. For starters, in-ear detection helps control the flow of music depending on whether the buds are in the ears or not. The same TWS can connect to two different devices using "Dual Connection". Besides, it supports Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, making the pairing process easier. Additional features include Find My Earbuds, Low Lag Mode (exclusive to Nothing phones), LED charging status, Clear Voice Technology, etc.

Battery and Charging

Talking about the battery, the earpieces get fueled by the 33mAh cell that comes within. This makes Ear (2) last 6.3 hours (4 hours with ANC) without any support. Nonetheless, the charging case backs it up for 36 hours. With ANC enabled every time, though, you can expect 22.5 hours of playback with the case. The wired Type-C charging is built with fast charging, which tops Nothing Ear (2) off with 8 hours of playtime in just 10 minutes. There is a wireless option too, with up to 2.5W charging at max.