Imagine this: you want to enjoy music or listen to a podcast without completely isolating yourself from the world around you. You desire the convenience of headphones but don’t want to miss out on important sounds like traffic or announcements. This is where open-ear earbuds, like the Nothing Ear Open, come in. They offer a unique approach to listening, allowing you to stay aware of your surroundings while enjoying your audio.
The Nothing Ear Open embodies Nothing’s commitment to transparency and minimalist design. These sleek earbuds, weighing a mere 8.1 grams each, boast a transparent casing, showcasing the intricate components inside. They are a testament to Nothing’s signature black-and-white color scheme, lending them a modern and minimalist aesthetic. Inside, a 14.2mm driver with a titanium diaphragm delivers the sound. The Ear Open’s charging case is equally distinctive, featuring a long and flat design with a flip-up top to reveal the earbuds. Each earbud rests in its designated cradle, ensuring proper left and right orientation, making it a breeze to insert and remove them.
When it comes to audio, the Ear Open certainly lives up to its open-ear promise. You can clearly hear your environment while listening to music, ensuring you’re not completely cut off from the world. This makes them ideal for situations where awareness is crucial, like running or cycling in urban areas. While the Ear Open does offer a decent bass response at lower volumes, it tends to become harsh and bright at higher volumes. The accompanying app provides an equalizer and various listening modes, allowing you to tailor the audio to your liking. While the Ear Open performs admirably for spoken word, it’s not the ideal choice for bass-heavy music.
However, the Ear Open faces stiff competition from other open-ear offerings like the Shokz OpenFit Air, Soundcore C30i, and Bose Ultra Open, all of which serve a similar purpose. But for me, the Ear Open’s true challenger emerged from an unexpected source: the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. While the Ray-Ban Meta glasses are a distinct product, they share an uncanny overlap in functionality with the Ear Open. They also prioritize open-ear listening, offering a similar experience with a twist.
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses offer a unique advantage in terms of controls. The Ear Open utilizes touch-sensitive buttons on the case for music playback, whereas the Ray-Ban Meta has a touch panel integrated into the right arm of the glasses. While the Ear Open’s controls require a firm press, the Ray-Ban Meta’s touch controls are significantly faster and more responsive. The Ray-Ban Meta’s swipe-based volume control is lightning fast, outperforming the Ear Open’s long-press method. While the Ear Open delivers superior sound quality for music, the difference in audio quality for spoken word is negligible in my experience. Both options excel at providing situational awareness, but the Ray-Ban Meta possesses an undeniable advantage in subtlety. They seamlessly blend into your look, making them less noticeable than the Ear Open, which stick out at an angle, especially when viewed from the front.
Both the Ear Open and Ray-Ban Meta offer AI assistant integration, but the Ear Open requires a Nothing phone for ChatGPT functionality, unlike Meta’s AI, which is universally accessible. The Ray-Ban Meta’s camera adds another layer of functionality, further solidifying its position as a more multi-faceted device.
The Ear Open, priced at $149 or 129 British pounds, seems to have replaced the similar Ear Stick earbuds in Nothing’s headphone lineup. This makes them more expensive than the Shokz OpenFit Air, half the price of the Bose Ultra Open, and comparable to the Apple AirPods. However, they’re also half the price of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. While the Ray-Ban Meta is more expensive, consider the additional functionality it offers. If you aren’t an avid music listener, the Ray-Ban Meta might be a more compelling long-term investment.
The Ear Open boasts an impressive eight hours of battery life on a single charge, with the case extending that to 30 hours total. A quick 10-minute charge delivers two hours of use. Other features include dual connection, AI-enhanced voice clarity for calls, low lag mode for gaming, IP54 dust and water resistance for both earbuds and case, and support for AAC and SBC codecs.
Despite my fondness for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, I found myself enjoying the Nothing Ear Open, especially when listening to spoken word. I wish Nothing had matched the Ear Stick’s price point, as it would have made the Ear Open instantly more compelling compared to rivals. Nevertheless, the Ear Open’s design, build quality, exceptional battery life, and comfortable fit make it an appealing option, particularly for those seeking a comfortable and secure listening experience while remaining aware of their surroundings.
