ZDNET90
Recommended to nearly everyone as a fun, well-priced earbud whose sound and features rival pricier models, with only the design and some subscription features as caveats.
Nothing Ear (3a)
7 expert reviews#17 of 29 wireless earbuds
Image: Nothing5/7critics
recommend
recommend
Best stylish budget earbuds
Critics’ consensus
7 professional reviewers tested the Nothing Ear (3a), and 5 recommend it. Most praised: design and sound quality. Most common complaint: battery life.
Reviewed by ZDNET, WIRED, Expert Reviews and 4 more
The catch: The call recording feature raises privacy concerns, and noise cancelling is mid-tier.
Broad agreement
Scores run from 70 to 90All 7 scores printed by the outlets
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What do critics say about the Nothing Ear (3a)?
WIRED80
A stylish, comfortable and fun budget earbud with enjoyable sound and a great app, held back by mid-tier noise cancelling and a subscription for transcription.
Expert Reviews80
Stylish, comfortable and tweakable earbuds that beat Nothing's flagship on key points, though cheaper rivals offer better all-round value and noise cancelling.
TechRadar80
They sound good for the money, but the reviewer is uneasy about the heavily marketed call-recording feature and its privacy implications, and finds stamina a little disappointing.
Trusted Reviews80
A well-judged upgrade with good fit, improved noise cancelling and rich app features, easy to recommend for style fans though stronger-value rivals exist.
Tom's Guide80
Impressive, good-value earbuds with great design and EQ-fixable sound, though the reviewer is seriously troubled by call recording that can run without the other person being alerted.
The Verge70
Great-looking, tunable $99 earbuds that sound good enough, but sudden adaptive noise cancelling shifts and poor call behavior in noise show the usual Nothing bugginess.
Scores are converted to 0–100. "est." means the outlet gave no number, so we estimated one from its verdict and checked our estimates against ratings outlets print. How we check estimates
What critics praise most
Design5 of 7
Sound quality4 of 7
Value for money3 of 7
What critics dislike most
Battery life3 of 7
Call quality3 of 7
Alternatives
Not sure about the Nothing Ear (3a)?
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Common questions
Is the Nothing Ear (3a) worth it?
Most critics think so: 5 of 7 recommend it. The call recording feature raises privacy concerns, and noise cancelling is mid-tier.
Do critics agree about the Nothing Ear (3a)?
Broad agreement: scores range from 70 (The Verge) to 90 (ZDNET), a spread of 20 points across 7 reviews. Most reviewers land fairly close together.
What do critics dislike about the Nothing Ear (3a)?
Battery life (3 of 7 reviews), Call quality (3 of 7 reviews).
What is the best alternative to the Nothing Ear (3a)?
The Sony WF-C710N (critic score 94), top pick, narrowly.