The world of budget noise-cancelling earbuds is a crowded one and manufacturers have to go some to get noticed. Nokia has joined the party with Clarity Earbuds 2+ and look just the part.
They come in three colours – purple, pink and grey – that do mark them out from the rest and at £79.99 they are priced competitively. But how do they stand up technically?
First off, Nokia has been leaning on its green credentials in recent times and the Clarity are no exception. They are made with 60% recycled plastic, while the packaging matches that ambition.
The pebble-shaped case is a little bulkier than others but can still fit in your pocket no problem. The buds are also not too svelte but they stay in your ears fine and are a comfortable fit.
There’s nothing to complain about when it comes to audio quality as they use the Qualcomm S3 Sound platform and Qualcomm aptX technology, and thanks to the Low Latency Mode and Bluetooth 5.3 they make a very decent choice if you’re a gamer.
Battery life is also well up to the challenge and can power seven hours of noise-cancelled listening on a single charge. And with the charging carry case, you can recharge on the fly, which offers up to 35 hours of ANC playtime. The buds are also splash-resistant with an IPX4 rating, which means they will hold up just fine in the rain and during workouts.
Pairing is super easy, especially if you can use Google Fast Pair, and multipoint connectivity means you can switch between two devices with relative ease.
I’d say the ANC is decent, blocking out a lot of ambient sound and performing very well when compared to similar-priced rivals. Unfortunately, like most of the Clarity’s rivals you are shackled somewhat by the touch controls which are… inconsistent would be the kindest word.
I found the call quality excellent thanks to the dual mics and the Qualcomm cVc technology to reduce background noise. All in all the Clarity is an attractive product at an attractive price and while the controls can be an issue you are going to find that on ANC buds a lot pricier than the Nokias.
The Nokia Clarity Earbuds 2 + are available via Nokia for £79.99.
