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Nothing is gold with the fourth iteration of its earplugs. The new Nothing Ear — no serial number to add to the confusion — and Ear A are just as comfortable as their predecessors, but sound better and have more features than ever before. I’ve been using both models for a few weeks now, and my verdict is clear: these are the true mid-range, budget wireless headphones that I recommend to anyone who asks.

Nothing won me over with the Ear 1 in 2021. The company’s first truly wireless headphones had something I’ve yet to find in other headphones: comfort. In fact, unparalleled comfort. While other buds would cause increasing pressure in my ears in less than an hour (sometimes even 10-20 minutes), the Ear 1s were so comfortable that I could wear them for three or four hours — until their battery died, really.

Comfort is subjective, of course, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who would call the Nothing’s headphone design uncomfortable. Maybe it’s slippery if you’re listening while exercising or in humid weather, but it’s not uncomfortable. To me, this is the most important factor in any headphone recommendation. All the features and sound quality don’t matter if a headphone causes you physical pain after 30 minutes.

With the Ear 2, nothing has changed this winning formula. It kept the same design, improved the materials and added a lot of audio and feature enhancements. Don’t fix what isn’t broken is a mantra that other companies should follow.

Now the new Ear and Ear A essentially do the same thing, keeping that comfortable design and making positive improvements all around.

Let’s start with the Ear A. Just like it did with the Phone 2a, Nothing is creating a more affordable A-series version of its flagship product. The Ear A gets most of the features of the higher-end model at 66% of the price – or $100. Nothing says this is a good upgrade for Ear 1 or Ear Stick users — although personally I think the Stick is in a whole other category and the Ear A doesn’t really replace it.

The best improvement here is in battery life. Gone are the three to four hours of listening. Instead, we’re looking at six or more, depending on ANC volume and usage. Personally, the first time I got tired of listening to music was before the battery of a Nothing earphone ran out.

Noise cancellation isn’t the best in the business, but it’s good enough for public transport and working from home. And it’s par for the course at this price. Sound quality is great, so is the microphone. It doesn’t sound as sharp and raspy on this as on the Ear 2. Having pinch controls is an improvement over the touch controls on other headphones; they are better for people with long hair like me. Plus, I don’t end up putting the earpiece further into my ear by tapping it repeatedly.

The dual connection feature is still a welcome bonus compared to the older Ear 1. Being able to connect two devices at once and save more on the app means I only have to pair them once with my many phones, Android tablets, iMacs , MacBook and Chromecast , then turn on or off the devices I want to enable at any given time.

There are also countless other improvements over the Ear 1 and Stick, such as bass enhancement modes, an equalizer and support for the high-quality Bluetooth LDAC codec. The only downside to the Ear A is that the case is only IPX2 rated, so it can take some minor water splashes, but it’s not dustproof at all, and it lacks wireless charging. I’m afraid only USB-C is supported.

Oh, and did I mention it now comes in bright yellow? Forget black and white – the bumble bee is where it’s at! I would really love to see anything play with more colors. Pure red, similar to the company’s logo and branding, would also look great.

The higher-end Nothing Ear takes it up a notch in both price and features. At $150, this is what you can get if you’re on a budget and want the absolute best sound quality in a headphone-shaped Nothing form factor.

All the Ear 2 and Ear A features are here — pinch controls, active noise cancellation, dual link, bass boost, LDAC support, and more. However, the case is IP55 rated, so it can withstand water jets and more dust. It also supports wireless charging. Also, the battery life is improved compared to the Ear 2. I haven’t been able to dry them out for a single listening session yet.

Nothing has upped its game with audio quality and features either. The new 11mm driver is fantastic and if you don’t believe me, check out what people are saying on our partner site SoundGuys I should have said the Nothing Ear. (Spoiler: it scored very high on their MDAQS score.) I’m not as much of an audiophile as they are, but I can say that I really enjoy listening to music on these headphones.

On top of that, there’s now a fully customizable equalizer, personal sound profile and LHDC codec support if you have a compatible Xiaomi, Nothing, HONOR or OnePlus phone.

Basically, Nothing Ear tips take everything about Ear 2 or Ear A and make them better. It’s a shame that the custom EQ hasn’t made its way to the A series yet, or that the bumble bee color scheme isn’t available on the more expensive Ear model. Still arbitrary restrictions if you ask me.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here, but let me deconstruct my reasoning into three scenarios that I’ll use whenever someone asks me about my wireless headphone recommendation.

If you’re a Nothing Ear 2 owner, I don’t think it’s worth the upgrade unless you’re on a budget and want better battery life and sound quality. In this case, only the ear makes sense, as going to the A ear will be more of a side step than an upgrade.

If you own a Nothing Ear 1, both the Ear A and Ear will be fantastic upgrades for you. Longer battery life, pinch controls, dual connection, better sound, better microphones, better noise cancellation; you get all the upgrades. However, the choice between the two depends on several factors, which I will explain in the next scenario.

If you don’t have an Ear 1 or 2, but I’ve convinced you to get a pair of these new buds, then the Nothing Ear A will be good enough for most people. They have most of the features at a fraction of the price, and you really can’t ask for a better pair of headphones for $100. But if wireless charging matters to you, if you’re an audiophile, and/or if you’re out in the rain a lot, the Ears are the best buy because they solve those problems.