Nothing Ear (Stick) TWS headphones review - Transparent sound

The design of the headphones is strongly reminiscent of the transparent devices from the 90s. You can see details like the antennas or the small chips on the circuit board through the polycarbonate. However, the batteries and speakers are hidden in the white part of the case. The charging case also has a large amount of transparent plastic. However, you can only see design elements here and no technical components.

As in the Ear (1), Nothing has also integrated a fidget toy in the Ear (Stick) charging case. The rotating opening mechanism locks into the closed or open position with a pleasantly quiet click. Again and again, you catch yourself playing with the rotating case cover. The color coding indicates where Earbud belongs in the case: the right earbud with a red dot belongs to the red end of the charging case, which reminds of lipstick.

In terms of workmanship, Nothing does not allow itself any mistakes. The Ear (Stick) headphones have practically no gaps. There is a perfectly fitting and smooth transition at the connection between the individual housing parts. This also increases the wearing comfort. The white plastic has a microtexture, which improves the fit in the ear and at the same time somewhat ensures that sweat does not stick to the Earbuds. However, the case concept has its drawbacks. Dust collects between the rotating cover and the white center part after only a short time. With the best will in the world, you cannot get to it without disassembling the case.

In Nothing OS 1.1.6, all controls for the ear (stick) are integrated. Various settings can be set and the status of the headphones can be queried via the settings. The controls can be accessed via a long press on the Bluetooth icon in the drop-down menu. The charging status of all batteries is also displayed here. The integrated equalizer is admittedly quite simple. Trebles, mids, and basses can be adjusted, but a graphic equalizer is not available.

The key assignment can also be changed in the device details. Press once, twice, and three times as well as press and hold and press and hold twice can distinguish the TWS headphones. Wear detection can also be set here and the low-latency mode can be selected. Without Nothing Phone (1), all settings can still be accessed via the Nothing X app. The app is graphically based on the look of Nothing OS.

Nothing describes the buttons on the speakers as press controls. Here, slight pressure with the grip of tweezers must be applied to the side surfaces of the Earbuds. Operating errors are thus significantly reduced, especially compared to the Ear (1), which are touch-sensitive. Only when holding the earbuds by the stick do we sporadically notice that a button press is registered.

The charging case has a button that activates Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Quick Switch. Thus, the TWS headphones are quickly connected to a device. The silver button fits well into the design of the charging case. However, you have to do without wireless charging with these Bluetooth headphones. They have an IP54 rating, which protects the headphones from dust and splashing water.

With SBC and AAC, the Nothing Ear (Stick) support two not really up-to-date audio codecs. SBC is included in almost all Bluetooth audio devices as the lowest common denominator. However, the lossy codec can be better than its reputation under good conditions. 16-bit sound resolution at up to 48 kHz sample rate can be transmitted by SBC. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), which is the audio codec of choice at Apple, supports up to 24-bit at 96 kHz. The Amazon Music app indicates exactly which transmission quality is possible with the current playback device. The maximum we determined here is a sound resolution of 24 bits at 48 kHz. This value was achieved with the Nothing Phone (1) as well as with a Google Pixel 6a.

Nothing has made full use of the speakers, which are important for the sound quality. With a diameter of 12.6 mm, the drivers in the slim Earbuds are particularly large. According to Nothing, the membranes are provided with a stabilizing coating and are thus extremely dimensionally stable. In addition, the Bass-Lock technology ensures a full sound. This detects when playing music with the Ear (Stick) a bass loss via the built-in microphones and adjusts the equalizer curve to the optimum level. Thus, the best possible sound spectrum should always arrive at the eardrum, even if part of the sound passes the ear canal.

Nothing specifies the Ear (stick)'s battery life at seven hours for music playback and three hours for calling. If the wireless headphones are charged via the charging case, a total of 29 hours of music playback and 12 hours of telephony should be possible. These values were reproducible in the test. The Earbuds could be recharged more than four times in the charging case until it was drained to one percent battery charge.

When playing an audiobook, the TWS headphones achieved a playback time of just under eight hours. During the course of the day, the Nothing Ear (stick) were loaded with five hours of stand-by in the ear, one hour of telephony, and three hours of music playback. The remaining charge in both earbuds was nine percent.

Within ten minutes, the case on the charger should absorb enough energy for another nine hours of playback. Our measuring device determined an energy consumption of 594 mWh within ten minutes. The Earbuds and the case were fully charged within 55 minutes, whereby the case absorbed 1,647 mWh.

The Nothing Ear (stick) offer plenty of sound and an impressive design without trying to exhaust all the technical possibilities. They limit themselves to the essentials.

The fact that the headphones do not support wireless charging, unlike the Ear (1), is a bit of a nuisance here. It is also noticeable at the end of the review period that the charging case has a small weakness. Dust collects in the rotating element, which is difficult or impossible to remove. Those who absolutely need codecs like aptX or LC3 can chalk that up negatively to the Ear (stick) as well. Otherwise, the Bluetooth earphones' looks are of course disputable. Technology from Nothing is not to everyone's taste.