Nothing's first open-ear buds are here, and they truly wow me for fit and bespoke sound quality

Is there nothing this plucky brand can't turn its hand to?

Features By Becky Scarrott published 24 September 2024

This is not a full review of the new Nothing Ear Open: the product just launched today (Tuesday, September 24) and, while I've had my unit for a few days, TechRadar's earbuds review process is both in-depth and reassuringly time consuming. 

That said, I cannot help but share my initial verdict about Ear Open now, on the day of their big reveal. I've mentioned before that I think this is the best idea Nothing's had in some time (questionable moniker aside), and having tried them, I stand by that statement. They're so very Nothing, and so very likeable. Also, the design has been really well done – they're more malleable and comfortable that any 'ear-hook' design I've tried. 

Just as the company's Nothing Ear (a) impressed for a lowly fee, I predict a huge hit here in the open-ear space. Why? Firstly, the Nothing Ear Open cost just £129, which is the same price as the flagship Nothing Ear and means your US and Australian prices are almost certainly $149 / AU$249. Compare that to the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds at $299 / £299 / AU$449.95 and you'll see it's a much more palatable fee. 

Secondly, they fit the bill for the safety-conscious music lover. To explain: 'open-ear' as a category is becoming something of a gray area – Apple's been calling its new AirPods 4 duo open-ear, because the driver housing does not go all the way into your ear canal or require tips to create a full seal there. But I prefer to think of an open-ear design as a set of earbuds that don't enter the ear proper at all, so one can hear their immediate surroundings without mic processing to get to it, and with an arm that slinks around the back of your ear to keep the driver close to your concha – see the Shokz OpenFit Air, Oladance OWS or the Bose option above for reference. 

Slip 'em on – they feel like Nothing

And that is what we have here. First, the fit: it's excellent. They're the easiest open-ear design I've ever tried on. In fact, even putting both on at the same time is a doddle. The trademark transparent-meets-white-meets-black-meets-titanium Nothing design language is here, but I feel a little more like an extra in Björk's All is Full of Love video with every Nothing earbuds iteration, and I do of course mean that as high praise. 

Nothing tells me that the driver is tilted at 50 degrees to position the speaker both directly over the ear and at the point of most comfort. If you want to get granular, the company says "sits right between the helix root and the tragus of the ear. The result is a feeling of wearing nothing at all." 

Having worn them for several hours now I can tell you that yes, they feel like that. They feel like Nothing. There's nothing to extend, nothing to 'snap' into place, just the brushed plastic bodywork that bends happily and momentarily, to accommodate the curve of my ear. 

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