Tested Nothing Ear Stick

Pairy tale of new stalks

Nothing’s distinctive in-ear buds are cheaper than the last-gen AirPods – but with more limited features, is this style over substance?

Nothing’s unique-looking new in-ears adopt the bold AirPods tactic of having no silicone tips to keep them locked in place. They will stay put when you walk to the shops, but finishing a 5K without one popping loose will be a taller order. On the other hand, because they don’t place pressure on your ear canals, we could wear them all day with no discomfort.

Passive isolation is basically non-existent, which can help songs feel airier and less enclosed but also means you’ll need to crank the volume to block out background distractions. There’s no active noise-cancellation.

Sound quality depends heavily on finding the right angle: with the stems pointed directly downward we lost all low end, yet a 45° angle gave a far better performance. These are warm and energetic earbuds that will entertain casual listeners, but with less definition at both ends of the frequency range than Nothing’s pricier Ear 1s.

An app handles fine-grain EQ tuning, which is able to claw back an impressive amount of bass presence but can make some tracks sound boomier than they should. You can also customise the stem-squeezing touch controls.

You’ll get about 7hrs of listening from the buds before they’ll need a trip to the charging case, which is good for three full top-ups plus a teensy bit more. There’s no wireless charging, just USB-C.

Lock and roll We didn’t have any dropouts, even when walking through a busy station, and the buds stayed connected on different floors of a house.

Fool for a pretty case

The tubular charging case slips easily into a pocket and takes up less room than the Ear 1s’ case while it’s in there. A button on top starts the pairing process for any gadgets that don’t do Google Fast Pair or Microsoft Swift Pair. £99 / go.stuff.tv/EarStick

Can I click it?

Twisting the cover to open and close it is really satisfying – think flipping the top of a Zippo lighter or clicking a ballpoint pen, only less irritating for those around you – with internal magnets that snap it fully open or shut. Techspecs

Drivers 12.6mm dynamic ANC No Connectivity Bluetooth 5.2 (AAC, SBC) Durability IP54 Battery life 7hrs + 22hrs case Weight 4.4g each, 46.3g case

STUFF SAYS A distinctly comfy option, but cheaper rivals offer more features

Lipstick-looking in-ears major on comfort but lose out on ANC

Tom Morgan-Freelander By ditching silicone tips, the Ear Stick is sure to find its fans, and Nothing’s design is as snappy as ever. But styling aside, we’re not convinced there’s enough here to justify the buy. The EQ settings can’t reproduce the sound quality of proper in-ears, and at £100 there are plenty of alternatives that offer more features: active noise-cancelling and wireless charging are both within budget if you don’t mind a snugger fit.