As it did for its Ear 1 and Phone 1, Nothing has drip-fed some tidbits in recent weeks to try and hype up its latest product – the Ear Stick. Unlike the Ear 1 earbuds, the Ear Stick sports a ‘stick' design instead of being a ‘bud' and comes in a cylindrical case that twists open like lipstick. While the Ear Stick benefits from larger drivers and press-based gestures they do lack the all-important Active Noise Cancelation function.
Besides the switch to press-based gesture controls, the Ear Stick also features larger 12.6mm drivers than the Ear 1 as well as Bass Lock technology that Nothing claims will measure and adjust depending on how much bass is lost to the fit of the Ear Stick in your ear. Battery life is also improved from 5-6 hours of usage to 7 hours although the charging case only packs in 29 hours of charge as opposed to the 34 hours offered by the older model.
Features such as Fast Pair, Microsoft's Swift Pair, and improved clear voice tech that reduces background noise are present. You can also manually adjust the EQ to suit your music and personal preferences via your smartphone.
Besides overall battery life being slightly reduced, the other thing to consider is the omission of Active Noise Cancelation in the Ear Stick which means the decision between buying them or the Ear 1 buds isn't an open and shut case. If you want ANC or longer overall battery life then the Ear 1 buds are the way to go if you are insistent on buying something from Nothing. If not, and you prefer the stick design, the Ear Stick is certainly cheaper at $99, giving you a $50 saving over the Ear 1.
If the Ear Stick ticks your boxes, you can preorder them in the US and Europe via the link below for $99/€119/£99, so long as you want them in white.
