Nothing Ear Stick Review: Stylish but not practical
| Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
Being a new entrant, the Nothing brand has gathered a lot of attention with its smartphone and earbud offerings. Marking its third product launch, the company has introduced the new wireless earbuds, naming it the Nothing Ear Stick. The new earbuds come with the company’s trademark transparent design. Yet, this time, the company has added a twist.
Let’s find out what the latest Nothing Ear Stick has to offer.
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Design
The new Nothing Ear Stick comes with an intriguing design. Rather, it is more precise to say that the earbuds’ case has something new to offer. The Ear Stick case is modelled on a typical tube of lipstick. The earbuds swing into view when you turn the tube’s base while holding up the top. The casing can be spun endlessly in either direction to open and close the case. However, one disadvantage is that the case can accumulate dust if not completely sealed.
A red plastic module that holds the USB-C charging connector is housed at the bottom of the case, which is likewise made of transparent plastic. There is a silver button next to it that clearly protrudes from the case’s main body. This allows the earbuds to pair with your smartphone.
The case’s tubular design lets it stand upright. At the same time, there is a risk of the case rolling away when kept horizontally.
Despite having a smaller volume than, for instance, the Ear 1 case, it is bulkier and protrudes further from your pocket. We thought this would be a little uncomfortable for travellers.
Nothing Ear Stick Review: Stylish but not practical
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
Earbuds
The new Ear Stick takes over from the previously launched Nothing Ear 1. The Ear Stick uses the older half-in-ear style similar to the AirPods, whilst the Ear 1 had a more typical in-ear design. This means that they are external to your ear canal rather than pressing inside. In present times, this is odd – especially when looking at the competition. While reviewing the earbuds we found that the half-in-ear style makes it inconvenient to wear when you are running or working out, as they feel a little loose.
Both the left and right earbuds come with a touch sensor that lets you skip tracks forward and backward, adjust the volume up and down, and activate the voice assistant on the phone.
Connectivity
The new Nothing Ear Stick comes with SBC and AAC codecs over Bluetooth 5.2 and is easy to pair by switching on the Bluetooth mode on your phone. To make the earbuds visible, one needs to hold down the silver power button. For better connectivity and features, one can install the Nothing X app from the Play Store.
The company has improved the Nothing X app as it now comes with a slightly revised look and some extra functions. One can view the battery percentage for the case and the earbuds on the main screen. Additionally, one can access the control settings or the equaliser mode. The Ear Stick’s equaliser option offers a three-band custom EQ in addition to four presets. There is no option to entirely turn off the EQ and one needs to select one of the presets available.
Sound Quality
After using in-ear earbuds, switching to a half-in-ear design feels a little offbeat. The Ear Stick has a midrange frequency, and the sound quality feels overly bright and forceful. This causes the overall tone to occasionally seem rather shrill and reedy, along with the absence of a fleshed-out low-end. The bass level can be considered average as it does not impress us. Considering the price of the earbuds, we could say that the sound quality is lively and detailed.
While listening to music, there are constant disturbances from the outside environment. This is good when you are walking on the road but overall, it is very distracting.
Nothing Ear Stick Review: Stylish but not practical
| Photo Credit:
Haider Ali Khan
Call Quality
The voice quality is fairly good for phone calls as the new Nothing Ear Stick comes with a decent microphone. The earbuds struggle to maintain voice clarity in noisy locations, such as next to a running faucet, and a considerable amount of background sound leaks through.
Battery
The Nothing Ear Stick is reported to have seven hours of nonstop audio playback. During our review, we were able to use it for five to six hours on a single charge. The company also claims that a 10-minute charge will allow for two hours of playback. This claim turned out to be fairly accurate during our review period, as the earbuds played for almost two hours.
Verdict
Other than the new rotational design to open and close the case, there is nothing very impressive in the new Nothing Ear Stick. The half-in-ear design seems outdated, especially when considering the competition. One can opt for the fancy look of the earbuds but speaking practically, it won’t be a smart buy.
