The Nothing Ear (2) is launching next week on the 22nd of March and this will be the successor to the very first Ear (1) wireless earbuds which were released in late 2021. Ahead of the global unveiling, the design of the Nothing Ear (2) has been revealed thanks to serial leakster @Onleaks via TheTechOutlook. If you’re expecting a brand new radical redesign, you might be disappointed.
What you’re seeing here is the new Nothing Ear (2) in white which looks virtually identical to the first-generation model. It still retains a flat rectangular case with a semi-transparent design and even the earbuds with removable rubber ear tips look pretty much the same as before. Despite recycling the same old design, the Ear (2) still looks pretty good and there’s nothing like it. If you look closely, the case seems to be less rounded around the edges with a flatter surface at the bottom and the top of the case.
The only clear visual detail that tells this is a newer version is the label “NOTHING ear (2)” on the sides of the stem. Since the “new” charging case has the same “ear (case)” label, it won’t be surprising if the Ear (2) is able to charge on the older case. As teased by Nothing, the new Ear (2) promises to offer better sound and clarity.
According to information from @onleaks, the Ear (2) still retains 11.6mm audio drivers as before but they have added a “Personalised ANC” feature which allows users to adjust the strength of the active noise cancellation. At the moment, the current Ear (1) only lets you toggle between Low and High for noise cancellation.
On top of that, Nothing is also offering an Advanced EQ which allows users to tweak the audio settings according to their preference which possibly provides users more flexibility to customise their own sound profile. Another welcomed upgrade is increased battery life with the Ear (2) claiming to offer up to 36 hours of listening time with the case or 6 hours standalone on the earbuds on a single charge. At the moment, the current Ear (1) boasts up to 4 hours with ANC on and up to 5.7 hours with ANC turned off. With the case included, the Ear (1) offers up to 24 hours of playback with ANC or 34 hours without.
The new Ear (2) also has IP54 dust and water resistance, Qi wireless charging and it still charges via USB-C. In terms of weight, each Ear (2) earbud is slightly lighter at 4.5 grams, versus 4.7 grams on the current model.
More details will be revealed next week during the live stream of the Nothing Ear (2) event that’s happening at 11:00pm Malaysian time next Wednesday evening.
