Nothing’s newest partially see-through noise-cancelling earbuds include a novel innovation: a premium mic built into the case that enables you to press a control to speak into it.
This dubbed Super Mic is engineered for users who want a handheld mic setup for improved calls, recordings, and voice recordings in loud environments. For those who frequently talk into the bottom of their smartphone while holding it out, these earbuds are an ideal option.
However, this charging case enhancement has likewise increased the price, with the Ear 3 priced at £179 – which is a £50 jump over their predecessors at release. They continue to undercut top competitors but have edged much closer to options like the Pixel Buds Pro 2 and Apple AirPods Pro 3.
The magnets and other elements seen via the casing of the earbuds add a touch of uniqueness to the design.
The Ear 3 retain the brand’s distinctive partially clear style, with numerous small design elements that set them apart from rather plain buds, but portions of the polymer have been replaced with aluminium for a glossier appearance.
The shape of the earbuds has been adjusted to be somewhat easier to wear over extended listening sessions. They are lightweight, stay in place well, and form a effective seal in the ear. The stems have press controls for playback, noise cancelling, volume, or activating your voice assistant. They are somewhat basic but can be personalised and function well enough.
The earbuds fit into the square flip-top case for charging, which is quite compact but quite weighty in this iteration. The power provides a solid six hours of music, with ANC per charges in the case for a total of up to 22h. The case charges via USB-C in a just over an 60 minutes or about two via inductive charging.
Push and hold the ‘Talk’ control on the charging case to use the Ear 3’s Super Mic feature, emitting a short sound in the earphones as the mic activates.
The earbuds have reasonable microphones in them, which sound a little artificial at times but are effective of cutting out background noise. The Super Mic performs superior, with more body and reduced distortion, making it ideal for voice notes, transcription, or phone conversations. But the sound performance isn’t fully good enough for use as a lapel mic or similar equipment for creating recordings.
Technical Details
- Water resistance: IP54 rated (splash resistant)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 (SBC codec, AAC, LDAC)
- Battery life: 5.5 hours with active noise cancellation (22 hours with case)
- Earbud size: 30.5mm by 21.5mm by 20.8mm
- Earbud mass: 5.2 grams each
- Driver size: 12mm
- Charging case dimensions: 56mm by 55.5mm by 22.3mm
- Charging case weight: 61g
- Charging method: USB-C port
Solid Sound and Respectable ANC
The earbuds come with multiple sizes of silicone tips for a secure seal and good isolation.
The earphones support Bluetooth standard version 5.4 with the standard SBC and AAC audio formats, as well as the higher-quality LDAC for those devices that support it. They can additionally pair to multiple devices at once, but doing so caused the Case Microphone to be slower to activate.
The brand’s previous models have consistently sounded great for the money, with a good easy-listening sound, ample clarity, and good separation of tones. The Ear 3 continue the trend but have a bigger soundstage in general with quite a lot of bass out of the box. It is well and tight without overpowering the rest of the frequency spectrum, but the outstanding mobile application on your phone has plenty of adjustment settings for users who want something a little more subtle.
The noise cancelling does a decent job reducing the general background noise and low-frequency hum of the commute, and handles the troublesome higher tones such as keyboard taps or chatter more effectively than previous Nothing earphones. But they can’t muster the equivalent performance of ANC of the top-tier models, such as the somewhat higher-priced AirPods Pro 3.
The transparency mode is likewise pretty good, sounding quite natural, but neither mode can handle wind noise very well.
Sustainability
One of the mics in the charging case is adjacent to the USB-C port, with an LED that lights up in green when the microphone is in use.
The manufacturer states the batteries in the earphones and case will maintain at least 80 percent of their original capacity for 500 charge cycles. The earbuds are not repairable but separate post-warranty substitutions are offered through service.
The charging case uses recycled aluminium and metal, but the company does not provide trade-in. It estimates the earbuds’ carbon footprint to be 2.87kg.
Price
The Ear 3 are priced at £179.
By comparison, the Ear were priced at €119/$119/A$199, the Headphone 1 costs £299, the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are priced at £219, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro are priced at £219, and the AirPods Pro 3 are priced at £219.
Conclusion
Nothing has tried something I’ve never seen before in a pair of earbuds, placing a microphone and press-to-talk button into the case. It is a innovative concept and would be ideal for an recording or video microphone replacement. Unfortunately, the mic doesn’t quite meet such expectations.
But for those of us who are not primarily content creators, it works well for calls, making audio notes, or speaking to your phone’s virtual assistant, somewhat like a modern equivalent of a dictaphone for your smartphone. Personally, I don’t envision utilizing it frequently.
The earbuds themselves are yet another great offering from Nothing, which blend solid audio, reasonable noise cancelling, solid battery life, and a secure fit into something much more interesting to look at than your typical boring buds.
The increase in cost into the £180 bracket places them perilously near to some of the very best earphones in the business, to which they can’t quite compare. And like numerous others, the devices cannot be fixed, costing them a point in sustainability.
Advantages: Super Mic, distinctive design, good sound and ANC, comfortable {fit|
