Remember me
Follow us on Google Discover
Add us as preferred sourceTL;DR
Nothing has launched the Nothing Ear 3a wireless earbuds priced at $99. They are equipped with built-in storage for Audio Snapshot and Call Recording, allowing users to record audio directly from the earbuds before syncing it to the Nothing X app. Other upgrades include a larger 12mm driver, 45dB wideband ANC, Bluetooth 6.0, advanced EQ, and up to 42 hours of battery life.After a hiatus of about two years, Nothing has finally launched a new set of affordable a-series earbuds succeeding the Ear a. Interestingly, the company has skipped the Ear 2a branding altogether, jumping straight to the Nothing Ear 3a. While the new earbuds retain the $99 price tag, they carry several notable upgrades, including a feature rarely seen on wireless earbuds. Let’s dive in.
Audio recording steals the show, but there are plenty of other upgrades
Nothing says the Ear a was one of its bestselling audio products and a major volume driver. The Ear 3a build on that foundation with a focus on younger users and personalization.
The biggest new addition to the Ear 3a is a unique Audio Snapshot feature, which lets users capture up to 60 seconds of audio directly from the earbuds. Instead of reaching for the phone, users can simply pinch the earbuds to save snapshots of lectures, podcasts, music, voice notes, or any other media. To support the feature, the Nothing Ear 3a come equipped with 32MB of built-in flash storage (16MB per earbud). This helps the buds first store audio recording locally before automatically syncing to the Nothing X app when connected.
One clever aspect of Audio Snapshot is its configurable pre-recording buffer. Users can choose to save audio from 0, 15, or 30 seconds before the trigger, and from 15, 30, 45, or 60 seconds afterward, with the total clip capped at 60 seconds. Once synced, recordings can be replayed, edited, deleted, transcribed, or shared as quote cards from the Nothing X app.
Nothing offers three processing modes for transcription.
The earbuds can also record calls without users having to pull out their phones. Recordings can last up to around two hours before syncing to the Nothing X app. As is the case with Audio Snapshots, these recorded calls can be replayed, edited, transcribed, or summarized using AI in the Nothing X app. The company says participants in the call receive a privacy notification whenever a recording is activated.
For transcription, Nothing offers three processing modes. Two free on-device models prioritize either speed or accuracy, while a cloud-powered Pro model promises the highest accuracy, along with summaries, topic tracking, and speaker identification.
Nothing Ear 3a buyers will receive three months of Pro transcription, including 120 minutes per month, after which a subscription will be required. Unfortunately, Nothing hasn’t revealed the price for the Pro subscription just yet.
The company says recordings are stored locally by default, and cloud processing is used only when users enable transcription or summarization. It also reassures that user recordings are not used to train AI models, although relevant data may be sent to Nothing or its service providers when cloud features are enabled.
Bigger drivers, stronger ANC, and longer battery life
Beyond the audio recording features, the Nothing Ear 3a bring some welcome hardware upgrades over the Ear a. The earbuds now feature a 12mm dynamic driver, up from 11mm previously, using the same PMI diaphragm material found in the flagship Ear 3.
Nothing claims the buds deliver bass that’s up to 5dB stronger than the previous generation, while maintaining clearer highs. The earbuds support Hi-Res Audio Wireless, LDAC, and introduce Static Spatial Audio for the first time on the a-series, though LHDC support is absent.
Nothing is also bringing advanced audio controls to its affordable earbuds for the first time. The Nothing X app now includes an eight-band Advanced EQ, allowing Ear 3a users to create custom EQ presets that can be named and shared with friends, or uploaded to the new Playground community for others to download.
ANC (Active noise cancelation) is also getting a boost this time around. The Nothing Ear 3a now offers up to 45dB of Wideband ANC, compared to the standard ANC on the Ear a. Nothing says improvements to its acoustic architecture and ear canal modeling, increasing overall noise cancelation coverage by 17.1%.
Call quality has been improved as well, with a three-microphone AI noise-reduction system consisting of feedforward, feedback, and talk microphones in each bud. Nothing says the system analyzes all three microphone feeds in real time to produce more natural voices and better suppress background noise.
Over on the battery and charging side of things, Nothing’s charging case is now rounder for a better hand feel. There’s also a new 1×3 LED status light system on the buds to indicate battery status, charging, Bluetooth pairing, firmware updates, factory resets, and error conditions.
Battery life has increased thanks to larger 55mAh batteries in each earbud, up from 46mAh on the Ear a, while the case remains at 500mAh. The company promises up to 10 hours of playback on the earbuds with ANC off and 42 hours with the charging case. With ANC enabled, users can expect six hours of playback on the buds and 25 hours with the charging case. A five-minute charge provides about one hour of playback. Connectivity has also been updated to Bluetooth 6.0, alongside dual-device connection, Fast Pair, and low-latency mode.
Both the earbuds and charging case now carry an IP54 rating, improving on the Ear a’s IP52 protection.
Nothing Ear 3a price and availabilityThe Nothing Ear 3a are available in Black, White, Yellow, and a new Pink finish starting today. They cost $99 / £99 / €99 and can be picked up from Nothing’s website.
Nothing Ear 3a
Nothing Ear 3aImproved ANC • Advanced EQ • Built-in storage • Affordable price
The Nothing Ear 3a are a pair of affordable wireless earbuds that can take notes, record calls, and
Nothing's $99 Ear 3a add built-in audio and call recording, AI transcription, bigger 12mm drivers, 45dB ANC, and up to 42 hours of battery life.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.