Purchased a Nothing Ear (a) this month. Best decision made.
It’s priced 6290 Philippine pesos and is honestly overqualified for such a price point. Such overqualification means top quality sound. I watched how you responded to the Nothing Ear (1) criticism from before and actually delivered something great with the (a). Y’all really took the criticisms very seriously, kudos to Carl and the rest of the team.
Though it comes with tradeoffs, especially with the provided USB-C to C cable, and if you’re used to earbuds with USB-A on one end, you may be baffled, so be warned. Wireless charging from the Ear (2024) is not in the (a), but frankly, it’s not really concerning. You could just literally plug it in for 10 minutes and it’ll be ready for a long playback time, just remember you need to use the cable provided in the box.
Packaging wise really feels nostalgic. Remember those tin cans that opened via a key and opens the same way as a Nothing box would? It’s honestly perfect, y’all kept consistent with your products.
The Nothing X app is so beautiful and straight to the point. I’ve yet to test the ChatGPT integration, since apparently it needs an account before interacting with the buds through voice.
Functionally, the Adaptive NC works as intended based on the following situation: I put that setting on as I was walking on a noisy public road, and it really kept adapting. Nice job. You’ll be missing out on the advanced equalizer that the Ear (2024) has, but if you’re not an audiophile like I am, the (a) EQs are at least great, for me at least.
The widgets are also very helpful.
Yeah it sounds like praising too much, but that’s because I’ve been using it for a day just yet on my Phone (2a). Will have to update this after two weeks. For now, 8/10. Can’t wait for the next iteration of the Ear (a) in the future.
Edit 13 June: It’s great that the sound levels don’t need to be max just to experience loud audio on the Ear (a), even with LQ sound from say a 360p video on a crappy data on YouTube, although I suppose it depends on the person’s hearing capabilities. Also, I’d like to add how solid the earbuds fit in my ear, no need to shove it in deep to allow for deep audio to come through. Coming from a Galaxy Buds Pro, this is a huge plus for the Ear (a). In-ear detection works as intended but be careful not to cover the bud tip with your finger…
