Nothing Ear 2 in the test: The good & cheap AirPods Pro alternative

But Nothing dares to enter the ring again and, after the Nothing Ear 1 (test report), which has now been reduced to around 100 euros, now offers the Nothing Ear 2 for around 150 euros.

The design of the Nothing Ear 2 is almost the same as the Ear 1. Both models are made of transparent plastic, which is still reminiscent of the retro look of the Game Boy. The housing of the Ear 2 is made of transparent, white plastic. In contrast, the Ear 1 had an opaque case; i.e. black-transparent. The Ear 2 are slightly lighter and more comfortable to wear than the Ear 1. Both models have USB-C as the charging standard. Microphones for telephoning are located on both sides of the underside of the headphones.

The headphones themselves are visually reminiscent of the Apple Airpods Pro, but are more angular on the outside. They feel high-quality processed and fit comfortably in our ears. Even when lying on your side on a pillow, they don’t press uncomfortably into your ear.

What is really new about the Nothing Ear 2 is the LHDC codec, which enables high-res music to be played. It can only be used with a few Android smartphones. In addition to the exotic codec, there is also AAC for Hi-Res on iPhones. Other Android devices, however, get nothing – there is no aptX or Ldac.

In terms of sound quality, the Ear 2s have improved slightly over the Ear 1s. The Ear 2 felt a more balanced sound with a stronger bass. The Ear 2 supports active noise cancellation, which reduces ambient noise and enables a better audio experience. In practice, the Ear 2, like the Ear 1, primarily filter monotonous noises – such as aircraft or street noise.

This basically sets the Nothing Ear 2 and Nothing Ear 1 apart from the cheap Nothing Ear Stick (test report), which have neither silicone plugs nor ANC.

The Nothing Ear 2 convinced us in terms of voice quality. Sure, you shouldn’t expect a crystal-clear voice compared to an office headset, but the Ear 2 are easy to use for making calls, even in wind and street noise. In a direct comparison to the Apple Airpods 3, Airpods Pro and JBL Live Flex, we were able to grow fond of the Nothing Ear 2, especially for team calls and telephony via smartphone.

Setup takes less than a minute on both Android and iOS. The headphones are then ready for use and connect within just under a second after removing them from the charging case. In contrast to the JBL Flex Live, by the way, without any voice comments like “connected”. As with the Apple Airpods, there is only a short beep – we find it very pleasant.

The Nothing Ear 2 offer more battery life than the Ear 1. The Ear 2 can play music for up to 5 hours on a single charge, while the Ear 1 only had a runtime of 4 hours in our test. The included charging case can extend the Ear 2’s runtime by an additional 34 hours, while the Ear 1’s charging case only provides 24 hours of additional runtime. Like their predecessors, the new Nothing headphones also support wireless charging using the Qi standard.

The Ear 2 supports Bluetooth 5.3, while the Ear 1 only supports Bluetooth 5.2. Both models have touch controls that allow users to pause music, skip tracks, and answer calls. The associated app also offers the same functions.

What is new, however, is the support for Bluetooth multipoint. This allows you to connect the headphones to two devices in parallel. This simplifies switching between cell phones and laptops, for example.

You pay around 145 euros for the Nothing Ear 2. If you wait a little, you can expect a price of around 100 euros in a few months. At least that is what the price history of the Nothing Ear 1 (test report) shows. At Amazon you can currently find the headphones of the first generation for around 100 euros.

Compared to the Nothing Ear 1 (test report), the Nothing Ear 2 should be classified more as a mini update and less as a new product. Apart from the LHDC codec, a different device color and a little more battery, there are largely no differences.

Nevertheless: sound, ANC and design can convince us. In principle, the in-ears are even suitable for telephone calls.

However, if you can still get hold of the almost sold-out Nothing Ear 1, you save almost 50 euros on the newer Ear 2.