- ‘Elevated’ recycled aluminum case (machined from one block – ie. no glue)
- Total Radiated Power (TRP) up 15%; Total Isotropic Sensitivity (TIS) up 20% against Nothing Ear
- ‘First of its kind Super Mic’ built into the charging case
Let’s get one thing clear: Nothing fully admits its earbuds naming strategy to date “may not have been the smartest” choice, but hopefully we’re back on track with the new Nothing Ear (3) – launched today, September 18, 2025.
The Ear (3) is an update on the flagship Nothing Ear primarily, but also on the Nothing Ear (a) which both launched in April 2024 on the self-same day – and the latter of the pair still sits happily at the very top of our best budget earbuds guide.
Of course, neither of those excellent propositions have a ‘2’ or ‘2nd gen’ within their respective monikers – Nothing Ear (2) actually launched in March 2023 – but it’s best to just put all of that to one side and accept that ‘3’ is the number we’re on for this latest version. Why? Because judging purely on my time so far with these earbuds, three is the magic number.
Building a case for content creation
I’ll get into the fine-tuning of the app, the less obvious but important design tweaks, and minutiae of software upgrades later, but first, we need to talk about Super Mic. It’s the shiny new button directly under the snappy case magnet labelled ‘TALK’ and it’s a lot of fun.
Nothing calls Super Mic a “first of its kind” breakthrough, and although it initially struck me as very similar to the ‘record’ button on the Viaiam RecDot earbuds, there are differences.
It’s best to think of Nothing’s Super Mic as very much like those little clip-on wireless mics content creators hold very close to their mouths on social media – you know the ones; almost like little makeup applicators. Where once these influential souls held a tiny mic, now, they might hold an earbuds case to their lips to add voiceovers.
Nothing calls Super Mic a “breakthrough dual-microphone system driven by ambient-filtering technology.” Essentially, the dual MEMS beamforming mics built into the case focus on your voice, cutting through surrounding noise (up to 95dB is the claim) for clearer calls and voice notes.
How do you engage it? Press and hold the Talk button when the charging case is near your mouth, or double-press to lock it in, then single-press to switch back to the earbuds’ built-in microphones (yes, you still get those).
Nothing explains that with Super Mic, your voice is sent to the case antenna, relayed to the antenna in the earbud over Bluetooth, then passed to the phone. Oh, and the company assures us that the antenna inside the case is positioned to remain clear of your hand when you’re holding it.
So better WhatsApp voice notes from now on then, right? Not so fast. Super Mic, says Nothing, is designed primarily for voice and video calls. Used in this way it works across most major apps – including system calling, Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, WeChat and more.
For voice recordings, it’s supported in native voice memo apps (iOS Voice Memos is onboard, for interviews – hurrah!) and in third-party video apps such as Blackmagic.
However, it is not optimized for certain heavy-hitter in-app voice messages, including WhatsApp, WeChat and Snapchat, or for native video recording on Android/iOS (where your phone’s microphones will still be prioritized instead). Got it? Good.
That said, if you own a Nothing phone running the latest software (Nothing tells us all of its smartphones will work here), you can take voice notes with it and they’ll sync to ‘Essential Space’ and are transcribed automatically, which is a neat trick for us journo types – and when I can get my hands on a Nothing phone, I’ll let you know how accurate Nothing’s transcription chops are.
How good is Super Mic purely as a way to capture your dulcet tones? This should not be considered a full review, I need to test it much further, but when switching between using it and the three directional microphones (with a bone-conduction element to help) in each earpiece during a voice call, callers said the experience was “definitely better” when hearing me talk via Super Mic.
I’ll be honest, I performed TechRadar’s mic test (by recording myself speaking the opening to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities) first using the onboard mics in the Nothing Ear (3) earpieces, then using the Super Mic, and couldn’t detect a notable difference in quality, but clearly I need to go out during a blustery day and in a busy and noisy environment, to perform these tests again.
Nothing Ear, ‘elevated’
‘Elevated’ is very much the watch-word with Nothing’s Ear (3), kicking off with the new custom Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) antenna, engineered to just 0.35 mm thick, that now runs along the still-see-through stems of the earbuds to keep connections stronger than ever.
And when it comes to elevation in the Nothing Ear (3), the case is undoubtedly the component that’s risen the most. This charging nest is now crafted from a block of 100% recycled aluminum and CNC machine finished through 27 processes.
Nano injection moulding, says Nothing, “fuses the metal and transparent plastic without glue, achieving tight ±0.03mm tolerances for a seamless, compact body”.
In terms of the earpieces themselves, Nothing says the company “scanned hundreds of ear shapes and ran more than 40 rounds of testing to refine the fit”. So what’s changed? There’s now a more natural stem angle and added internal venting to relieve pressure, along with a new larger 12mm custom driver.
I’ll put a close-up image of the white Nothing Ear (3) (also available in black) next to my yellow Nothing Ear (a). Can you spot any of that? I find the changes here very subtle indeed, although there is something slightly altered concerning the angles – a more acute pitching of the stem in relation to the earpiece, if you will.
For me, it’s a case of “they were comfy before; they’re comfy now” although if really pushed to expand on the fit, at this early stage I think the Ear (3) feel just a tiny bit fuller and more bulbous in my ear – although there’s very (very) little in it.
Personal Sound, ANC and all the rest
Active noise cancellation? Of course there is: you can select between low, mid, high and adaptive in the app, and Nothing tells me it is the same multi-channel AI environmental noise-cancellation system that was used in the recent Headphone (1) release. Here, Nothing explains that the software updates every 600 milliseconds and monitors fit-related leakage every 1,875 milliseconds to nix noise.
In calls, the algorithm fuses inputs from the microphones and bone-conduction with “deep-neural beamforming technology trained on over 20 million hours of real-world audio” to hone in on your voice and reduce external noise, especially wind, by over 25dB.
What about that bigger driver? A new patterned diaphragm surface has apparently lowered total harmonic distortion from 0.6% to 0.2% versus the previous Ear and Ear (a).
With a radiating area roughly 20% larger, Nothing says the bass response has risen by 4dB to 6dB, and treble by up to 4dB. Impressive, and something I need to investigate fully.
What I can tell you for sure is that the personal sound profile is back with a new look and slightly different audible-to-inaudible tones for you to run your ears through. It makes a lot of difference, and certainly adds value.
Also on the menu: static spatial audio, irrespective of your source material. My brief testing of it drops me into the mix, but do note that there’s no dynamic head-tracked spatial option.
And the sound? Nothing clearly listened to some users complaining its buds were sometimes a little quiet and fixed it. The audio profile here is zealous, full-bodied, energetic and never backwards at coming forwards – and that’s without deploying Dynamic Bass Enhancement (I’m not sure my molars can handle it right now).
LDAC support is back, and while I need to test it further, if you like your playlist full-on with feeling to your back teeth, these could be the buds for you.
Early verdict? Stamina may be the only sticking point
Any flies in the ointment? The one I see is the battery pack. Although Nothing will draw your attention to the “upgraded 55mAh battery in each bud”, a claim of up to 5.5 hours of listening with Adaptive Noise Cancellation on, plus a case that can only extend that to a 22-hour total before it too must be charged, is far from impressive.
As a comparison, the Sony WF-C710N can go for 8.5 hours (earbuds) + 21.5 hours (charging case), for a total of 30 hours – and yes, that is when using ANC.
The good thing is that no plug is required, thanks to built-in wireless charging – and if you’re short on time, a quick 10-minute USB-C charge promises up to 10 hours of playback.
Final thought: Nothing Ear (3)’s price may surprise you
Elevated design comes at a cost. The Nothing Ear (3) are available from today (September 18, 2025) priced at $179 / £179 / AU$299.
The keen-eyed will remember that Nothing’s previous flagship earbuds, the Nothing Ear arrived in April 2024, priced at $149 / £129 / AU$249.
So, it’s fair to say that Nothing thinks we’ll pay a little more for its top-tier earbuds now. Should you though – especially when the splendid older models will likely be heavily discounted (see below for those prices)?
My full review is coming soon, but there’s a lot to like in the Nothing Ear (3) so far…
