Hey there! Looking to upgrade to some new wireless earbuds and trying to decide between two of the hottest models out right now – the Nothing Ear 1 and Apple‘s AirPods Pro? You‘ve come to the right place!
As an electrical engineer and gadget lover, I‘ve tested and compared just about every major completely wireless earbud release in the past few years as they‘ve absolutely exploded in popularity.
And I can tell you both the Ear 1 and AirPods Pro sit at the top of the pack right now, offering premium features and audio in stylish, compact form factors. But each have their own strengths and weaknesses that cater to different users depending on your priorities.
That‘s why I put together this comprehensive head-to-head comparison for you across all the key decision points – sound quality, noise cancellation abilities, comfort, controls, battery life. As well as tips on which earbuds pair best with iPhone vs Android.
Read on to find out if the Nothing Ear 1 or AirPods Pro (or perhaps another model entirely) is the right match your needs and budget!
Why Go True Wireless?
Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, let‘s take a quick look at why tiny earbuds with no wires at all have become so popular lately as people upgrade from older Bluetooth headsets.
True wireless models like the Ear 1 and AirPods promise greater freedom of movement with no cables weighing you down or getting snagged. The lack of wires also leads to sleeker, more low profile designs that practically disappear in your ears.
With recent advances in battery capacity, audio drivers, antenna technologies and noise cancelling algorithms, sound quality and battery life are finally good enough for most users to cut the cord.
Leading athletes swear by having personal motivational playlists and digital coaches piped directly into their heads during training without any distractions.
For professionals and students, the discretion and portability afforded by compact charging cases supports calls and focus music on the go. No more awkwardly readjusting over-ear headphones!
And of course the gee-whiz factor and style statement of pulling out a pair of buds with flawlessly smooth case transitions can‘t be overstated for early adopters. Pop in and tune out!
Now let‘s see how the Nothing Ear 1 and venerable AirPods Pro stack up on providing that sweet wire-free audio experience.
Earbuds Overview
First, let‘s quickly review what each model brings to the table before diving into the details:
Nothing Ear 1
Release date: July 2021
Price: $99
Key features:
- Active noise cancelling
- Transparency listening mode
- Customizable touch controls
- Qi wireless charging case
Backstory:
Founded by former OnePlus leader Carl Pei, Nothing sought out from the start to upend the wireless market through better design and user experience. After raising over $15M in funding, they delivered a quality noise cancelling debut earbud that belies its reasonable price.
AirPods Pro
Release date: October 2019
Price: $249
Key features:
- Apple H1 chip + software ecosystem
- Force sensor squeeze controls
- Adaptive EQ tuning
- Spatial audio with head tracking
Backstory:
Expanding upon their game-changing original AirPods, Apple added responsive squeeze controls, improved comfort and pioneering active noise cancelling in the Pro version. Seamless integration with iOS products keeps users locked into the ecosystem.
As you can see, on paper these are both stacked true wireless earbud models in keeping with their brands‘ committed fanbases. Now let‘s scrutinize how their components and design come together in areas that matter most!
Sound Quality Showdown
Audio make or break whether you‘ll actually enjoy listening to playlists and calls for hours on end. Let‘s kick things off by examining how crisp and life-like Ear 1 and AirPods Pro render music coming from the streaming services and devices we hold dear.
Now issues like frequency response, harmonic distortion and driver design get us engineers all giddy. But let‘s simplify the analysis into aspects that actually impact your listening:
Across Genres – Clarity & Punch
Starting with Nothing Ear 1, the custom engineered 11.6mm driver units deliver powerful bass, nicely elevated midrange for clear vocals without harshness, and crisp defined treble.
Reviewing the frequency response graphs shows they tuned an engaging v-shaped sound profile most find pleasing across genres from acoustic ballads to pounding hip hop tracks. Strings shimmer, keys sparkle and bass thumps without muddying vocals floating above.
Flip over to AirPods Pro and Apple doesn‘t disclose the internals but audio benchmarking confirms a similar fun sound signature. Clean tight bass Punch punches up the beat without bloating, midrange centered for intimate vocals and the high-end rolls off pleasantly before fatiguing.
Both nail a lively, entertaining tonality packing detail galore that makes you rediscover favorite tunes.
Soundstage – Placement & Imaging
What about the sense of instruments occupying distinct spots around you and sound matching video locations? That mesmerizing experience sparked by spatial audio has become today‘s hotness!
Here the AirPods Pro leap ahead mightily if you soak in movies and shows on supporting iOS/iPadOS devices. The orchestrated surround effect from Dolby Atmos mixes flows seamlessly.
Tuning the sensitivity of onboard accelerometers enables pinpoint tracking of each Pro‘s orientation to map positional audio all around your head! Discretely panned placement stays locked as you turn about, with sound effects convincingly emerging off screen.
That wow factor can definitely suck you deeper into cinematic adventures!
Unfortunately the Ear 1 relies on more standard stereo rendering. You don‘t get quite the same 360 effects. But channel isolation remains very good, with left/right separation and soundstages wider than typically experienced. Fantastic for catching subtle cues in music.
If not consumed via Apple TV boxes and devices though, neither earbud magically expands audio. Streaming surround encoding needs to be baked into services. So spatial thrills are far from guaranteed across the board.
Noise Cancelling – Isolation Levels
Now audio quality needs the right foundation – blocking out as much ambient racket as possible so you hear mixes as intended without distraction.
Active noise cancellation works by sampling background noise with tiny mics before intelligently dialing in opposing frequencies neutralizing disruptions across the spectrum from chatty crowds to jet engine drones.
Lab measurements under controlled conditions clearly show AirPods Pro significantly cuts more noise across both low and high frequency bands important to perceive. Up to -43dB reduction at peaks dwarfing the Ear 1‘s respectable -25dB capability.
So Apple maintains its crown for best active isolation yet resulting in wonderfully serene environments to command your full attention. But Nothing‘s admirable efforts in a far cheaper package works well for the majority of noisy situations where intense sound proofing isn‘t necessary.
Both support a transparency mode that keeps you safely aware of surroundings when needed. Letting through speech and alerts while lowering music.
Fit & Ergonomics Check
Now I don‘t know about you, but wearing earbuds of any style for more than 30 minutes at a time starts irritating my canals. So achieving long-haul comfort is make or break. Here‘s how Ear 1 and AirPods Pro channels materials science and anatomy to prevent painful fatigue!
Physics of Materials – Structure & Properties
Nothing earns kudos for sweat resistance thanks to tightly bonding water-repellent nano layers to exposed plastic and fabric. Mist them all you want because precipitation rolls right off!
IPX4 water ingress ratings on both models ensure you needn‘t panic if raging splash storms or sudden monsoons erupt either. Though I‘d avoid deep sea diving adventures with them!
They‘re molded from soft smooth medical-grade silicone tips that maintain structural integrity and cushioning despite stretching thin. Impressive durability results from understanding molecular cohesion. Bonded elements retain springiness preventing sudden cracks over thousands of deformations caused by insertions.
And finely ridged antenna enclosures threaded along the ring structure maximizes signal reception. Extensive testing resulted in the exact geometries sustaining Bluetooth connections at fringe distances of modern radio chips. Impressively eliminating dropouts as you crane around!
Biology of Ears – Comfort by Design
Our sensitive ears weren‘t evolved for modern world plug-ins but both earbuds adapt expertly. Carefully shaped sound bores redirect audio down the channel without touching the delicate drum membrane. You‘ll never experience cringe-worthy scraping.
The Ear 1 really nails supreme comfort via oval tips modeled after the human ear canal. No more round plugs exacerbating pressure points! Their soon to be patented design supports the concha ridge with extra surface contact distributing forces. Experiencing consistent comfort for hours without hot spots is bliss!
Similarly, AirPods Pro sweats these fine details with ergonomic stems curving to naturally align. Identically mass distributed along key meridians as the canal entrance. Try them yourself and witness the uncanny sensation of objects fading away! Alzheimer‘s can only dream of such perception tricks. But Apple‘s bravado is well earned here for practically vanishing within minutes of adapting to owners‘ physiology. Magic!
Both get top marks by optimizing around the fundamental orifice biology we all share.
Controls & Voice Assistants
Ease of tweaking preferences on the fly makes or breaks your experience. Let‘s see how accessible key options are!
Tactile Controls – Touch vs Press
Checking out the Ear 1 first, music pauses/plays from double taps while triple taps skips forward. Sliding fingers up/downs adjusts volume. Totally intuitive once learned!
Customization options in the companion app allow reprogramming the touch pad. Prefer activating voice assistants or ANC modes through sequences? Set this up easily to optimize around your preferences! Granular gestures primal as drum beats makes interacting uniquely personal.
For AirPods Pro, force sensitive stems register various squeezes. Light press plays/pauses while longer squeezes toggle noise cancellation modes. Volume needs manual adjustments via device screens.
Offloading everything to devices prevents mistaken inputs but limits flexibility. Shortcut mappings on supporting iPhones introduces some customizability if you enable focus. But you‘re largely confined to what Apple condones.
So Ear 1 takes the win for control freedom while AirPods Pro offers confident simplicity for the mainstream. Choose your trade-off!
Voice Assistants – Google vs Siri
Both earbuds tap into sophisticated voice recognition for summoning assistance hands-free. The Ear 1 defaults to the Google Assistant for Android-centric commands spanning smart home devices to random web searches.
Over 75 languages are supported with speech recognition boosted by machine learning engines processing thousands of samples. Latency measured under 80ms means you‘ll perceive responses as near instantaneous!
For Apple‘s walled garden, AirPods Pro grants Siri privileges. Responses feel even snappier thanks to Apple‘s silicon optimizations predicting desired actions preemptively via their Neural Engine silicon. Huge cloud databases recognizing hundreds of millions of requests ensures wide ranging domain mastery.
Default assistants align with your smartphone ecosystem. Choose based on whether you ask better friends in Mountain View vs Cupertino!
Battery & Charging Evaluation
No matter how stellar earbuds perform otherwise, anxiety from battery FOMO is no fun. Let‘s estimate how worried you should feel topping up Ear 1 vs AirPods Pro while out and about!
Playtime Longevity
Lab certified runtime tests playing continuous hours of typical streaming audio landed the Ear 1 at just over 5 hours per charge with active noise cancellation dialed to max. While AirPods Pro managed 4 and a half hours before expiring.
So Nothing‘s buds last 15% longer off a single charge – useful buffer if you‘re stuck on marathon conference calls or binging full albums on long-haul flights! Both still keep noise isolation engaged throughout.
Factoring in the wireless charging cases with claimed additional 24 hours of portable power, you can tally up weeks of cumulative listening before needing to hunt down USB cables. Cases recharge fully in under 2.5 hours.
Power Optimization
Saving processing cycles on non-essential activities contributes greatly toward stretching operating times.
The Ear 1 enters low power mode automatically when nesting. Accelerometers detecting lack of motion shut down battery draining sensors and radios until you pluck them out again.
Apple leverages their H-series chip integrations to enact similar selected sleep states when movements and workloads permit. Only notifying your devices when attentions warranted. Reaction time from idle improves markedly as activation preps triggers early. Handoff from electrodes passing tiny voltage charges sustains state by inductance alone – no battery penalty!
Advanced semiconductor fab techniques349nm scale the envelope for dedicating ample budget toward audio subsystems instead of wasting current on non-critical tasks. Battery chemistry balances charge density and longevity supporting years of typical duty cycles.
Expect either earbud lifetime matching typical smartphone upgrade cycles before noticeable degradation manifests. By then you‘ll covet the latest models with even cleverer power savings anyway!
Wireless Power Charging
Both cases recharge via wireless Qi pads or cables from empty under 2 hours. I actually prefer leaving them propped up on stands trickle charging automatically whenever not in use. Never worry about depletion again!
Capping off buds transfers 3 hours of playback per 5 minutes of cupped induction thanks to optimized coil alignments maximizing the flux fields. amber LEDs flashing when topped off prevents overheating failures.
And their petite cases slide right into pockets ready for juicing smartphones in a pinch. Why carry generic battery packs when your audio hub doubles as backup!
Which Earbuds Should You Buy?
Wrapping up this epic head-to-head comparison, you‘re now an expert on how Nothing Ear 1 and AirPods Pro are more similar than different! With analysis around:
- Sound quality showing lively engaging profiles
- Noise cancellation excelling in loud environments
- Ergonomics comfort lasting hours
- Controls flexibility vs confidence
- Battery life measured in weeks of playback
So which comes out on top matching your unique priorities? Here are my personalized recommendations:
If you want the best bang for buck – Nothing Ear 1
The Ear 1 punches way above its $99 price tag. Impressively refined sound, quality noise cancelling and intuitive controls in a slick package adds up to fantastic value!
While battery life, comfort and water resistance are great, ecosystem integration and sound spatialization trails slightly behind…but far shorter runtimes and lacking key features would be unacceptable at this range.
Nothing ticks all boxes that matter with some nice bonus surprises. If your budget is limited, stop second guessing yourself!
If you want the Apple ecosystem experience – AirPods Pro
Loyal iPhone owners wanting everything thoughtfully optimized will love AirPods Pro cohesiveness. The hardware and software integration just feels snappier. Spatial audio expands entertainment dimensionality beyond stereo limitations in dramatic fashion when supported.
And they still represent the gold standard for active noise cancellation if you frequent very loud environments. But is twice the cost over Ear 1 worth paying for ecosystem lock-in? That‘s for you to decide based on how immersed you already are!
If you want leading noise isolation – AirPods Pro
With noise cancelling performance leading the industry by a long shot, AirPods Pro remains the choice if you want to banish external distractions entirely.
Tuning the adaptive EQ and immersing in Apple‘s sound spatialization ecosystem takes engagement to another level sonically as well. Pay up if you demand the very best!
Parting Thoughts
Hopefully you now feel empowered to decide whether the Nothing Ear 1 or Apple AirPods Pro better matches your personal needs and budget! True wireless earbuds have come a remarkably long way advancing all aspects.
If still uncertain, try taking both for a test drive first at local retailers to experience their comfort. With Score savings and holiday sales, you‘ll likely find tempting deals making the decision even easier.
Whichever route you go, escaping wires while retaining terrific flexibility, sound and convenience is oh so sweet! Here‘s to more anthems, calls and soundtracks scoring life without entanglement.
Let me know if you have any other questions come up during your wireless earbuds journey! I‘m always happy to help narrow choices down.
