$99 buys you more bass than your eardrums bargained for

Nothing may be best known for its smartphones, but you would be wise to pay attention to its audio products too.

The Nothing Ear (3a) are its latest budget in-ear earbuds, which promise top spec features and some unexpected additions at a reasonable price.

I’ve been finding out if they’re successful. Nothing strong points are on display, but odd feature additions and slightly disappointing performance from a key feature threaten to spoil them.

8/10

Wired/Wireless

Wireless

Noise Cancellation

Y / 45db

IP Rating

IP54

Microphones

3 mics per earbud

The Nothing Ear (3a) give you a modern design, desirable features like Active Noise Cancelation, and an excellent app for a reasonable price.

Pros & Cons

• Comfortable and lightweight earbuds
• Feature-packed, easy to use app
• Long battery life

• Niche audio recording features with stealth subscription
• ANC is weak

Price, specs, and availability

The Nothing Ear (3a) costs $99 and are available from Nothing’s online store, Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers. It comes in four colors: black, white, yellow, and pink.

There is a lot of competition, and spending a little more gets you some great headphones. The Nothing’s Ear (3) are normally $150 but can often be found for less. The Apple AirPods 4 are $130, and both EarFun and Anker’s Soundcore brand have a host of options around the same price.

Even the excellent Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (now discontinued) and the $200 over-ear Nothing Headphone (a) are both frequently on offer for around $160.

Nothing Ear (3a) design

Typically Nothing, and very cool

Nothing hasn’t strayed far from its established design path here. There’s little to separate the Ear (3a) from the Nothing Ear (a), with a stadium-shaped case containing a pair of compact earbuds which continue Nothing’s mostly transparent design ethos.

Open the case, and you’ll spot a small three-stage LED, which shows charge level and other information, including an indicator showing software update progress. It’s bright and noticeable and is surprisingly useful.

The earbuds are tiny and weigh just over four grams. They fit comfortably, but I have struggled to get a truly tight seal in my ears regardless of which ear tip (there are four pairs in total included) I use. It means I’m always stuffing one back in my ear when moving around or exercising.

I find the touch controls finicky. The touch panel is quite small, and I find myself pressing it too hard as I’m not entirely sure if I’ve located it correctly. There’s no swipe to adjust the volume either, which I really miss from the Apple AirPods Pro 3.

I’ve tried the black pair, but they also come in a very bright pink or yellow, which join a basic white. Apparently inspired by something called Finish Fetish (which is a far less risky Google search than you may expect), the colors certainly stand out.

Nothing Ear (3a) sound and features

If you want a strong, bombastic sound, you’re going to love the Nothing Ear (3a). Just like its Nothing Ear (a) over-ears, the amount of bass you can extract from the Ear (3a) borders on the obscene. The earbuds contain 12mm dynamic drivers and support LDAC Hi-Res audio, plus Google Fast Pair.

Listening to current K-pop darlings Rescene’s Love Attack and the bass drop ahead of the chorus is really pronounced, while Illit’s Mamihlapinatapia has just the right amount of bass thump to the simple backing track. I really enjoy listening to music with the Ear (3a), but find it almost essential to change the sound profile to the Vocal option for spoken word due to the amount of bass available.

Like the original Nothing Ear (a) earbuds, the Ear (3a)’s sound is lively and fun. Best of all is the amount of tuning that’s available in the Nothing X app. The EQ’s standard Balanced mode is perhaps even a bit much on the low-end side, but you can easily get the sound just right using the Custom setting. There are even Nothing Curated EQ profiles to try out.

There’s a special Nothing feature that makes the Ear (3a) different to the competition. The Audio Snapshot feature records up to 60 seconds of whatever you’re listening to, plus you can record your calls too.

It’s a fairly niche feature. Recording is activated by pressing the buttons on both earbuds at the same time, and the earbuds understand if you’re on a call or just clipping music or a video. Recordings sound fine, if a little low in volume.

There’s a transcription feature available, which has some free options, and a Pro option for more accurate results. Nothing pushes you into taking up a free trial, but does not tell you how much the feature will cost after it expires.

Pricing should always be transparent and upfront, so this is unacceptable, and even worse, there’s no indication anywhere on Nothing’s website how much Pro will cost either. Android Police has contacted Nothing for clarification and will update here when we hear back.

I really like Nothing’s sound profile, and the Ear (3a) continues the brand’s tradition of producing enjoyable, exciting, and bass-heavy earbuds. The Nothing X app is excellent, with plenty of customization and features available, but the Audio Clippings and call recording feature is a niche addition.

Nothing Ear (3a) noise cancelation

Don’t expect much

The Adaptive Active Noise Cancelation (ANC) on the Nothing Ear (3a) has a 45db depth and uses three microphones in each earbud, plus there’s the option to choose an adaptive, low, medium, or high ANC strength in the app.

The ANC is not the Ear (3a)’s strong point. It’s not bad, but don’t expect much more than a gentle dulling of ambient sound around you.

I’ve used it on public transport, cafés, and out walking. Even with the ANC set to high in the app, I’m still very aware of my surroundings when listening to spoken word. Crank the music up and you hear less, obviously.

There’s a transparency mode which is natural-sounding and useful, plus I never tire of the “sigh” sound when you activate it.

Nothing Ear (3a) battery life and charging

Lots of time to enjoy them on a single charge

The earbuds contain a 55mAh battery each, and the case has a 500mAh battery inside. It’s recharged using a USB-C cable which plugs into the back of the case.

Nothing claims up to six hours playback with ANC and 10 hours without. The case should charge the earbuds three times over, giving a total of up to 25 hours use with ANC and 42 hours without.

This all seems to fit with my experience, and may actually be on the conservative side. With ANC on, an hour of use takes around 10% of the battery. The case recharges in about an hour.

Should you buy the Nothing Ear (3a)?

Yes, you should definitely consider the Nothing Ear (3a) earbuds. If you like a serious amount of bass, but with plenty of control over how your music sounds, plus good comfort, a sleek design, and excellent battery life, they’re a great choice.

I’ll stop short of making a full recommendation because the ANC isn’t as effective as I like, the Audio Snapshot and call recording is a niche extra feature, and the prospect of a subscription to get the best transcription mode is unpleasant.

However, when you consider they cost $99, the Nothing Ear (3a) represent very good value, and it’s hard to find another pair of earbuds with such a modern design, excellent app, and a decent spread of features for the same cost.

8/10

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 6.0

Microphones

3 mics per earbud

IP Rating

IP54

Supported codecs

LDAC Hi-Res

The Nothing Ear (3a) will win plenty of fans with its strong bass response, easy custom tuning in the excellent app, and modern, comfortable design. The ANC can’t compete with more expensive models, and the audio recording features will be too niche to add much appeal. They’re still great value though.