​Nothing introduces their "Ear Stick"

It’s been an eventful year for Nothing. After debuting their Ear 1 wireless headphones last year, it followed up with its first smartphone, the Nothing Phone 1, which has even competed some more established competitors. Now, they are testing the wireless buds area again with the $99 Ear Stick.

Instead of the slim, square like design case of the Ear 1, Nothing has created a charging case for the buds inspired by tubes of lipstick. It’s not the first set of wireless headphones to feature a twisting cylinder, but it ensures the Ear Stick won’t be confused with other earbuds.

At $99, the Ear Stick is reasonably priced but lacks some of the great features of Nothing’s first wireless buds like active noise cancellation (ANC).

Nothing says the buds went through over 200 rounds of modifications to make them comfortable. They Weigh 4.4 grams (0.15 ounces) each, they’re lighter than the Ear 1 buds.

Nothing’s seven-hour rating seems roughly accurate. We Expect to get 29 hours of total playback with the case, which is almost a week of listening for me. There’s a fast-charge function that can boost the buds with two hours of playback with only 10 minutes of charge time, which is convenient during long trips.

The software

Nothing has addressed some of the connectivity issues that were on the Ear 1. It’s moved the antenna further down the buds, which it says minimizes signal blockage. In use, the Ear Stick connects and pairs more consistently than Nothing’s other headphones. They’re less likely to drop connection when I move around my apartment and get farther away from my phone.

Many would happily take the audio and signal improvements of the Stick. But yet again, many need noise cancellation and silicone tips. We are looking forward to Ear 2, or whatever Nothing decides to call its third generation of earbuds, and it hopefully combines the best features of both buds.

The buds are still, IP54 dust, water and sweat resistant. One of the problems of Nothing’s Ear 1 was occasionally on and off connectivity, both when pairing with your device and talking on calls. With the Ear Stick, the company has redesigned the antenna and that has improved sound quality, both listening and speaking.

There are now three high-definition mics (increased from two mics on the Ear 1) that work with algorithms to filter out louder background noises and what it says is “wind-proof and crowd-proof.”

There’s a new 12.6mm custom dynamic driver inside each bud. A new feature called Bass Lock Technology will detect how much bass is lost during wear and adjust the equalizer automatically. You can also tweak the equalizer settings from a new companion app.

There are gesture controls on each headphone's tips, which can also be reassigned in the app.

If you already own the see-thru Nothing Phone 1, many of these settings and features are already in the device, all can be accessed by a widget in the Android phone’s drop-down menu. For other devices, a new Nothing X app will act as the settings for all of the company’s peripherals.

In conclusion, these well designed futuristic earbuds have a list of amazing features and if you’re interested in transparent tech but still want good quality earbuds they are definitely the way to go.