AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1 | Which One Should You Buy?

With the newly launched and much-anticipated Ear 1 buds from Nothing, it’s time to face it off against one of the best AirPods from the industry specialist, Apple. Follow through for an epic battle of the AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1 wireless buds.

Led by OnePlus co-founder, Carl Pei, Nothing is a startup backed by investments from GV and tuned by Teenage Engineering. The company is following OnePlus’ footprints to make its own space in the tech universe by delivering its products with premium features at competitive prices.  

The Ear 1s are not just Nothing’s debut earbuds but also the first products from the company. So, how great are these new earbuds? Well, that’s what we’re going to discover in this AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1 face-off including rounds such as design, battery life, sound quality among others. 

With the sales set to go off on August 17th, you can try and make a pre-purchase of the buds from Nothing’s website. But before buying, read along to check out how well these perform against one of the industries’ best AirPods.

AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1 | A 7-Round Battle 

Without further ado, let’s head over to the main section of the battle starting with one of the most obvious aspects before buying a product, the Price.

1. Price

The price point of the battle is one of the most important factors to decide which one you should go for among the two earbuds. At a highly competitive price of $99, the Nothing Ear 1 takes the win here. It’s not just about a lower price tag but the premium-like features that the Ear 1 buds offer at the sub-$100 price range.

Compared to Pods Pro’s asking price of $250, you can buy two pairs of Nothing’s debut earbuds and still be left with $50 in that budget. Overall, the Ear 1s are great value-for-money taking the tag of the winner in this round of AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1. 

2. Design

Now, for the design part, both earbuds have a similar design with an obvious and noticeable distinction of Nothing’s transparency virtues. Had the Ear 1s’ stem been white opaque instead of the clear transparent one, it’d have resembled just like Apple’s AirPods Pro.

This decision of the unconventional and unique design style came with Nothing’s idea to “own” transparency in order to strip down the aesthetic features and expose the raw beauty of technology. And we can’t say we don’t like the outcome. The Ear 1s look pretty cool and different and that bags them a point in this battle of AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1. 

3. Comfort and Fit 

Not only do they look similar, but the Ear 1 buds also give the same in-ear feel to the Apple Pods Pro as well. Both earbuds offer a snug fit with their three sizes of soft and flexible silicone tips that come delivered with the buds.

While both buds are ideal for exercising, running or just the usual daily tasks with their reduced risks of coming loose and falling out, the Ear 1s come out as superior due to their ultra-lightweight of 4.7g compared to the 5.4g AirPods Pro which gives the Ear 1 buds an airy feel and a point in this round of the AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1. 

4. Sound Quality

Moving onto the other most important aspect of selecting an earbud, that is the sound quality. Despite featuring the large 11-mm drivers, the Ear 1s sound quality is a no-match for the premium and superior AirPods Pros. 

While the Ear 1 buds deliver good clarity and strong bass for a $99 wireless earbud, the $250 ranged Pods Pro easily takes this round of the ‘AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1’ home with their overall detailed and balanced sound performance and quality. 

5. ANC Experience

Both Pods Pro and Ear 1s come with ANC and transparency modes. While the Ear 1 buds eliminate low-end frequencies quite effectively and offer a solid active noise cancellation at its max setting, the experience is still not up to the mark of the Pods Pro.

As far as ANC support tech is concerned, even though the Ear 1s board three microphones to power ANC with light, maximum and transparency modes, the call quality of the AirPods Pro is far ahead with its two mic system that provides better noise cancellation and isolation. 

6. Battery Life

You might assume that the higher-priced Apple Pods Pro will have better battery life. Think again as the Ear 1s’ battery life outperforms that on the AirPods Pro. The Ear 1s come with continuous playback of about 5.7 hours with its ANC turned OFF and 4 hours with ANC turned ON.

With the ANC mode at OFF, while the Apple AirPods Pro runs for about 24 hours, the Ear 1 buds pack a total of 34 hours which drops down to 24h, if the ANC is toggled ON. A better battery life clearly makes Nothing Ear 1 a clear winner in this round of the AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1. 

7. Other Features

There are some great features that the new Nothing Ear 1s boast such as the color-coded dots in the charging case to help you identify which earbud belongs in which charging spot. This is a big deal as there are times when you can’t figure out which side is which as in the case of the Pods Pro.

Along with that, the ear 1 buds also feature a “Find my Earbud” support which makes each bud emit a high-pitched tone to help you find your lost earbud(s). This is an excellent feature provided you’re in the same room as the buds. 

While the Pods Pro are feature-loaded as well, the addition of these amazing features in the Ear 1s helps give them a little advantage over their expensive Apple competitors in this round of AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1.

Wrapping Up

Now, it’s time to wrap up the battle of AirPods Pro vs Nothing Ear 1 buds. If you want to spend on the brand name, we can’t really tell you much other than to go for the Apple pods. But if you’re looking for an affordable alternative, the Ear 1s are a great buy that comes loaded with high-end features.

If you liked the article, share it with your friends and comment down below which is your pick between the two. For more such daily interesting content on Technology, Lifestyle and Entertainment, keep visiting Path of Ex.

Feature Image Credit: Gizmodo