These earphones deliver pleasing audio without an overly tangy tone.
The Nothing Ear (Open) aren't exactly subtle. Luckily, this applies to more than just their unique aesthetic. The sound they produce is likewise far from discreet, playing out directly in front of your ear rather than inside it.
While many prefer earphones that create a tight seal for optimal noise cancellation and bass, there's a significant group of people who can't stand earplugs in their ear canals. As a result, manufacturers are offering more and more open-ear options, like the Nothing Ear (Open), which will hit the market for around 150 euros starting in October.
Attractive design and comfortable fit
The creators of the "flashing smartphones" have opted for a design that doesn't dangle from the ear like Apple's AirPods 4. Instead, the Nothing Ear (Open) wrap around the ear with flexible hooks, positioning the large 14.2-millimeter drivers close to the ear canal. Additional technology is housed in cylindrical modules at the other end of the earbuds, which also serve as counterweights.
Despite their radically different appearance from the company's in-ear headphones, the open-ear Ear (Open) share the same transparent aesthetic. They're certainly not inconspicuous, but they're definitely stylish enough to show off.
The design has the advantage of keeping you aware of your surroundings. Since the earbuds sit in front of the ear canal instead of in it, they're also more hygienic and typically don't need frequent cleaning from earwax.
Weighing in at around 8 grams each, the Ear (Open) are comfortable to wear, as long as you don't wear glasses. Depending on the design of your glasses, they might press uncomfortably. Otherwise, the Nothing Ear (Open), which are dust and water-resistant to IP54, stay put securely and make great workout companions.
Easy control with various functions
The Ear (Open) lack a wear detection feature, so music doesn't pause when you remove one. However, you won't miss this feature because the Ear (Open) are easy to control: just grab the case in front of the drivers between your thumb and index finger and press once, twice, three times, or hold for longer. This allows you to adjust everything, including volume, without having to grab your smartphone.
You can customize various functions, such as volume control and voice assistant activation, in the well-designed manufacturer's app. This includes the option to activate ChatGPT instead of Google Assistant (Gemini), Alexa, or Siri with a long press and communicate with the AI bot via voice. However, this requires that you have both the Ear (Open) and a Nothing Phone.
This works well, but you can't access navigation, send messages, or make calls with this setup. That's not a problem: you can assign different assistants to each earbud.
Superb app with detailed equalizer
Besides talking to ChatGPT, you won't lose out on anything with other Android smartphones or an iPhone. The well-organized app offers an equalizer that allows for both simple and advanced adjustments.
Now, onto the most important feature: the sound. Despite their open design, the Ear (Open) manage to produce a decent amount of bass. The overall sound image is impressive with widely spaced, accurately positioned mids and clear highs. The soundstage is wide and pleasantly spacious thanks to the design.
Good sound, excellent battery life
While they don't deliver the same dynamics or precision as high-quality, isolating in-ears, the Ear (Open) still belong to the best open headphones we've heard so far. But everyone's ears are different, so your experience may vary based on the placement of the drivers.
Nothing has done a great job shielding the sound from the outside, so people around you won't hear your music as long as they're not up close. The same goes for phone calls, where your own voice is well-isolated from background noise.
Since they don't have active noise cancellation and don't require a transparency mode, they have excellent battery life. They last for about eight hours, with the charging case providing an additional 22 hours. If the batteries of the Ear (Open) run out, ten minutes in the case will give you another two hours of battery life. They can't be charged wirelessly.
Conclusion
If you're looking for well-sounding open headphones with an attractive design and a solid app, you'll love the Nothing Ear (Open). For around 150 euros, they offer a good price-to-performance ratio. For a bit more money, you can find interesting alternatives like the Shokz Openfit and the Huawei FreeClip.
The Nothing Ear (Open) are not only stylish, with their transparent aesthetic being a continuation of the company's design philosophy, but they also provide a comfortable fit for many users, thanks to their wrap-around design and positioning of large drivers near the ear canal.
Furthermore, the open design of the Nothing Ear (Open) allows for better sound awareness and hygiene, as earwax doesn't get trapped inside the ear canal due to the buds sitting in front of it.
