Nothing Ear (stick) vs Nothing Ear (1): What’s the difference?

Nothing, the company founded by former OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, has launched its second pair of true wireless earphones. And this pair is a little different to the first, although it might look very similar. 

Nothing’s latest Ear (stick) combines a familiar design approach and an affordable price tag, but how is it different to the Nothing Ear (1)? We’ll explain the differences and similarities in this guide. 

Design

Ear (stick): 29.8 x 28.8 x 18.4mm – 4.4g per budEar (1): 28.9 x 21.5 x 23.5mm – 4.7g per budEar (stick): Cylindrical case – IP54 rating – WhiteEar (1): Square case – White and Black models

If you were to look at just the earbuds themselves side by side, you wouldn’t see a massive amount of difference in styling between the Nothing Ear (1) and the Nothing Ear (stick). 

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The two products both have that distinctive transparent look that was introduced on the Nothing Ear (1). The stem of the bud is covered in a completely clear plastic with the dotted branding on it, and black internals with a red or white dot on each bud to denote which ear is which. 

Like the first model, the rounded part that fits in the ear is made from a white plastic, although the Ear (1) also comes in black. It’s the ear tip, or the part that delivers the audio to your ear that’s different. 

The Ear (1) features a silicone tip that seals the entry of the ear canal and aids the noise cancelling. The Ear (stick) is designed to rest in the ear, without creating that seal. It’s similar to the entry level AirPods in that it sits quite loosely and just directs the sound into the canal, without being invasive. It’s designed this way to be more comfortable.

The charging case is a different story. The first Nothing buds ship with a square case with a transparent lid that opens up as you’d expect it to. It’s also equipped with wireless charging. 

Ear (stick) has a cylindrical case that rotates to open and – unlike the Ear (1) – it can’t just open up if you drop it. It has to be a purposeful action. So you can rest assured that it won’t just open and fling your earbuds out if you let go of it, or it hits the ground. There’s no wireless charging on this one. 

Both cases, again, feature that transparent look with the white internals and red accents. It’s become something of a Nothing trademark. 

Audio and noise cancelling

Ear (stick): 12.6mm dynamic driver – no ANCEar (1): 11.6mm dynamic driver – Hybrid ANC

Both pairs of buds feature a large dynamic driver to deliver loud, bassy sound: Ear (1) has an 11.6mm driver, the Ear (stick) has a 12.6mm driver. The first pair had its tuning done by iconic audio/design company, Teenage Engineering. The Ear (stick) was tuned by Nothing in-house. Whether that makes a difference to sound quality is yet to be heard. 

What does make a difference is the noise cancelling. The Ear (1) is equipped with a hybrid ANC system which uses a filter to block out ambient noise, which combines with the passive seal offered by the silicone tip that fits in the ear. 

The Ear (stick) doesn’t feature ANC at all, but it does have an algorithm which analyses noise using external mics and then adjusts the bass levels to compensate, so you should get a consistent, full sound in most environments. Each uses a similar microphone system to ensure that your voice is clear during calls. 

Hardware, features and battery life

Ear (stick): 7 hours music playback – 29 hours total inc. caseEar (1): 5.7 hours music playback – 34 hours total inc. case (ANC off)Ear (1): 4 hours music playback – 23 hours total inc.case (ANC on)Ear (stick): Google Fast Pair support – wired USB-C chargingEar (1): Google Fast Pair support – wired and wireless charging

The difference in battery performance only really comes in to play when you use the active noise cancelling on the Ear (1). Otherwise, the two pairs offer very similar performance in that regard. 

Ear (1) can play music for nearly six hours outside the case on a full charge with ANC disabled. Ear (stick) can do seven hours, meaning it has a bit more longevity out of the case. However, if you want noise cancelling, the Ear (1) can only go for about four hours before needing to be placed back in the charging case. 

As for total battery life, the Nothing Ear (1) can – with ANC disabled – go 34 hours total including the battery in the case. That drops to about 23 hours with ANC enabled. Nothing Ear (stick) does 29 hours total. 

When it comes to charging, the Ear (1) offers the flexibility of having wireless charging support built into its case, as well as the USB-C port. Ear (stick) – due to that narrow cylindrical design – is wired charging through USB-C only. 

Otherwise, both share similar features. The two pairs offer Google Fast Pair support, so you can quickly and easily pair them with an Android phone and see individual battery levels for each bud in the Bluetooth settings. If you have a Nothing Phone (1), that integration is highlighted more clearly in the quick settings shade. 

Price

Ear (stick): £99Ear (1): £149 (can be found at £99)

With the launch of the Ear (stick), Nothing made the decision to put the price of its Ear (1) upwards. Like the Ear (stick), the Ear (1) launched at a £99 price point, and can still be found at that price if you buy from Amazon (at time of writing). 

Realistically then, despite now having an official retail price of £149, you don’t actually have to choose between them based on price if you decided not to purchase direct through the Nothing store. 

Conclusion

We think the decision between these two pairs of earphones will likely be an easy one for most buyers. If you want noise cancelling and a seal that blocks out some ambient noise on a busy commute, or when you’re travelling, the Ear (1) is the one to get.

If you don’t want that, and want a light, non-invasive pair of buds to use at home or in quieter environments, the Ear (stick) will be the best pair for you.