This is the only thing I want from the new Nothing Ear

Nothing has teased the launch of two new audio products in a couple of weeks: the high-end Ear and more affordable Ear (a) wireless buds. As someone who has used and loved the first-generation Ear 1 and the follow-up Ear 2, I have one wish and one wish only: Do not mess with comfort, Nothing!

Nothing good would come from that — see what I did there?

In my review of the Nothing Ear 2, I praised the company for not changing its winning formula. All these months later, I still stand by my word. Although not perfect in every sense, the Ear and Ear 2 perfected one aspect of true wireless earbuds that few other brands and models have: comfort and fit. I have yet to meet a single person who complained about the long-term wearability of Nothing’s earbuds. I’m their first champion, too.

Almost every other earbud I’ve tried, from brands across the price and feature spectrum, has caused some pain and pressure in my ears. If they’re lucky, I can wear them for an hour before the shooting pain starts, but usually, it’s much less than that. 30 minutes, 10 minutes even — looking at you, Sennheiser buds.

There’s something magical about Nothing’s design, though, that keeps my ears happy. I noticed it with the Ear 1 first, and it remained true with the Ear 2. They both slip right in, they don’t exert pressure on my ear’s tragus, and they sit comfortably for hours on end. I’ve had my battery run out before feeling any discomfort with these buds — a problem other earbuds didn’t stick long enough to see.

And that’s really it. Nothing has found the holy grail of earbud ergonomics and comfort if you ask me — a design so universally loved that it should not be messed with under any circumstance. The only thing I would improve on is the slippery material. But that’s quite secondary to comfort; I need to be able to wear my earbuds first before worrying about them slipping out when I’m sweaty.

Besides the hardware design, I feel that Nothing has a lot of room for improvement to work on for its third-generation buds. Better sound quality, more effective noise cancelation, longer battery life, and better plastic case durability; these are all areas where the new Nothing Ear and (a) could take a leap forward. Just leave the fit alone, please, Nothing?