Nothing ear (sticks) review, price in India, performance

Can you really innovate more on a form factor as common as wireless earbuds? When Apple launched its first AirPods years back, they were very innovative for the time and triggered a new segment in itself. But versions of the EarPods have been done to death. Nothing can change what they look like.  And that’s exactly the thought that Nothing seems to be working on with their new ear (sticks).
The Nothing ear (sticks) are an attempt to rethink wireless earphones or at least their charging cases. For one, Nothing’s trademark transparent design ethic is being incorporated into a lipstick-inspired tubular charging case that tws up to let you access the earpods. The earphones have a slightly different shape than what we are used to — the large 12.6mm drivers get an opening towards your ear canal and there is a grille at the back to sort of let them breathe. It is akin to an open-design headphone.
With the ear (sticks), Nothing is once again focusing on design. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
The new Nothing X app on the Nothing phone 1 wakes up on its own as you tw to open the case of the ear (sticks) in a good native integration that reminds you of how the AirPods work with iPhones. Tap on this alert and the app lets you select equaliser presets or customise your own. The app can also be used to locate the earphones, individually, with a beeping sound if they are misplaced which is a pretty good feature.
Wearing the ear (sticks) for the first time, I was again reminded of my first experience with the AirPods. Even though these are lightweight and fit reasonably well, the ear (sticks) feel as if they will pop out of my ears if I do anything. I think my ears are too big to be used with anything that doesn’t have a silicone tip that seals them into my ear canals. I wouldn’t be too confident wearing these on the treadmill, especially given my hory of having trampled over at least one pair of AirPods.
The charging case for the Nothing ear (sticks) resembles a lipstick, given the tubular design. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
The audio profile of the ear (sticks) is more on the balanced side. The music comes out as sharp and layered. Even with the ‘More Bass’ option in the equaliser, this is no bass boost type of earphone.
Lening to Ponni Nadhi from PS1, I could feel the background chorus shift from left to right with Rahman’s vocals one level ahead of it. But I could not help but notice that the feel was a bit tinny, so much so that I checked the Nothing X app to see if I had clicked the treble preset make. I am someone who loves more treble, but this is a bit too sharp for me.
The details of the device can be seen on the Nothing X app. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
Lening to something way richer like Pala Palli, I was missing a bit of richness. This is the sort of song that lights up around you with the heavy choir and percussions, but on the ear (sticks) it becomes a more focused note. When I lened to some test albums I have on the iPhone, the experience was quite good, especially with the binaural compositions. I could suddenly feel more space and richness. The Apple Music files were giving a better experience in sync with the rich drivers than on Android phones.
The Nothing X app and the equaliser option on it. The Nothing ear sticks are placed next to the Nothing phone (1). (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
Though it is not advised to len to music using earphones at high volumes, I felt the ear (sticks) need to be a bit louder to rise to occasions when you are in noisy surroundings and need to hear the dialogues a bit louder. Remember, unlike the Ear (1) these don’t come with noise cancelling and in fact have an open design and don’t have silicone tips to seal off the noise.
The same sharpness works to your benefit when you are on calls thanks to the Clear Voice technology. The battery life is good for up to 30 hours depending on how and for what you are using these. In fact, the quick charge works well and juices up the ear (sticks) in about 10 minutes to last another two hours.
Nothing ear (stick) when connected to an Android phone. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan/Indian Express)
At Rs 8,499, Nothing’s ear (sticks) are certainly priced on the higher side in what is a very competitive segment now. In fact, for lovers of Nothing, the Ear (1) might suddenly seem like a better proposition post the launch of the ear (sticks). That said, the ear (sticks) might be a better fashion statement and you pay the extra dollar for that edge.