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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Profile: Target Compliance
    5. Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
    6. Treble Profile: Target Compliance
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation - Full Range
    2. Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
    3. Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
    4. ANC Wind Handling
    5. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Nothing Ear

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Nothing Ear

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Feb 14, 2025 09:02 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.8

Updated Feb 13, 2025 12:29 AM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Picture
Nothing Ear Picture

Variants

  • AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (White)
  • AirPods Pro (2nd generation) (USB‑C) (White)
  • Ear (Black)
  • Ear (White)

Our Verdict

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Nothing Ear

The Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and the Nothing Ear are both capable stemmed earbud designs. The Apple use touch and slide controls compared to the Nothing's pinch controls. You get Spatial Audio and the H2 chip with the Apple buds but a shorter continuous battery life and fewer app features to customize the sound profile. Their noise isolation is more effective, too. Both the Apple and Nothing have generally flat mid-ranges that suit a wide variety of audio, though the Nothing app provides more control that is available for both Android and iOS, unlike the Apple. While both are well-built with IP ratings for the case and buds, the Nothing have a slightly higher rating for their case. If you have iOS devices, the Apple headphones provide a more seamless experience with better ANC but less tweakability and a shorter battery life. However, the Nothing make more sense for Android users because you can use all the features.

0

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.4
7.4

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.6
6.8

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.9
9.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Design Picture 2
Nothing Ear Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Truly Wireless
Truly Wireless

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Comfort Picture
Nothing Ear Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.02 lbs
0.02 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

8.2
7.7

Controls Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Controls Picture
Nothing Ear Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Good

Feedback  

Great
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

Mute/Unmute
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
On/Off

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

9.6
9.5

Portability Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Portability Picture
Nothing Ear Portability Picture

 

1.2" (3.0 cm)
1.3" (3.2 cm)

 

0.9" (2.3 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)

 

0.9" (2.3 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)

Volume  

0.99 in³ (16.20 cm³)
1.22 in³ (20.00 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

9.0
8.0

Case Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Case Picture
Nothing Ear Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

1.8" (4.5 cm)
2.2" (5.6 cm)

 

2.4" (6.1 cm)
2.2" (5.6 cm)

 

0.9" (2.2 cm)
0.9" (2.2 cm)

Volume  

3.67 in³ (60.10 cm³)
4.21 in³ (69.00 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Build Quality Picture
Nothing Ear Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Stability Picture
Nothing Ear Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Angled Picture
Nothing Ear Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Side Picture
Nothing Ear Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Front Picture
Nothing Ear Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Rear Picture
Nothing Ear Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Top Picture
Nothing Ear Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) In The Box Picture
Nothing Ear In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Sound Profile  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Normalization Frequency 
 

600 Hz
1,100 Hz

Bass Amount 
 

0.1 dB
2.3 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-5.2 dB
-1.9 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.3
8.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.15 dB
0.34 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Profile: Target Compliance 
 

9.9
9.4

Bass Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

0.4 dB
2.3 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

20 Hz
20 Hz

Low Bass 
 

0.23 dB
2.19 dB

Mid Bass 
 

-0.55 dB
2.45 dB

High Bass 
 

0.41 dB
2.41 dB

Show text

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance 
 

8.4
8.4

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

1.56 dB
1.62 dB

Low Mid 
 

1.04 dB
2.19 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.43 dB
-0.27 dB

High Mid 
 

-2.26 dB
0.98 dB

Show text

Treble Profile: Target Compliance 
 

4.6
6.8

Treble Profile: Target Compliance  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

RMS Deviation From Target 
 

5.4 dB
3.43 dB

Low Treble 
 

-5.55 dB
-0.92 dB

Mid Treble 
 

-4.73 dB
-3.13 dB

High Treble 
 

-8.22 dB
-6.69 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.5
7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph 
 

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

0.93 dB
1.21 dB

Dips 
 

1.04 dB
1.56 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

9.3
8.5

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.08
0.51

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.65
1.99

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.44
0.91

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.03
1.55

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.8
1.1

PRTF  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) PRTF
Nothing Ear PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

0.9
2.7

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.9
1.9

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

5.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Virtual Soundstage
Nothing Ear Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

On/Off
No

Virtual Surround 
 

Personalized Spatial Audio
No

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.1
7.3

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.224
0.479

WHD @ 100 
 

0.086
0.163

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

7B21
1.0.1.54

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Bluetooth
Bluetooth

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 44.1kHz

Test Instrument  

Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B

EQ 
 

Adaptive EQ
Balanced

ANC 
 

On
High

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range 
 

9.1
7.4

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.48 dB
-18.97 dB

Bass 
 

-20.83 dB
-16.40 dB

Mid 
 

-26.68 dB
-18.25 dB

Treble 
 

-26.47 dB
-22.89 dB

Show text

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios 
 

9.6
7.4

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Airplane Noise Attenuation 
 

-23.48 dB
-17.84 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Office Noise Attenuation 
 

-21.63 dB
-17.62 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Street Noise Attenuation 
 

-25.52 dB
-18.93 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio 
 

Show text

Noise Isolation - Voice Handling 
 

Female Voice 1 
 

Male Voice 1 
 

Female Voice 2 
 

Male Voice 2 
 

ANC Wind Handling 
 

ANC Wind Handling Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

ANC Wind Noise 
 

Show text

Leakage 
 

8.3
8.3

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

31.85 dB
31.76 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Recording Quality 
 

5.3
6.2

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

216.68 Hz
783.39 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

4.98 dB
3.6 dB

HFE 
 

3,466.89 Hz
6,736.4 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

57.033
0.368

Gain 
 

-4.91 dB
-11.56 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.4
7.7

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

10.15 dB
26.21 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
Always On

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

7.0
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

5.5
8.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.0
6.6

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

5.9 hrs
7.5 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

4.0
3.7

Total Battery Life 
 

29.5 hrs
35.3 hrs

Charge Time 
 

0.9 hrs
0.8 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Standby mode
No

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

No
No

Charging Port  

Lightning
USB-C

Show text

App Support 
 

6.5
7.5

App Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) App Picture
Nothing Ear App Picture

App Name  

iOS Interface
Nothing X

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

No
Yes

macOS  

Yes
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
Graphic + Presets

ANC Control 
 

On/Off
Adjustable

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

Yes
Yes

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

0.0
0.0

Cable Picture  

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) Cable Picture
Nothing Ear Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

No
No

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable 
 

No
No

Length 
 

N/A
N/A

Connector 
 

No Wired Option
No Wired Option

Latency - Analog 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - USB 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency Connection  

No Wired Audio
No Wired Audio

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

8.0
8.7

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.3+H2 chip
5.3

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

Yes (Apple Ecosystem)
2 Devices

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

No
Yes

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

Yes
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

334.65 ft (102.00 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

160 ms
207 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency) 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - LDAC 
 

N/A
366 ms

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Codec  

SBC
SBC

AAC Support 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Wireless Connection (Dongle) 
 

0.0
0.0

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Latency - Dongle 
 

N/A
N/A

Recorded Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

No
No

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

No
No

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

No
No

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Base/Dock 
 

2.2
2.2

Type 
 

Charging Case
Charging Case

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Power Supply 
 

Lightning
USB-C

Show text

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation)

Nothing Ear

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Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) vs Nothing Ear: Main Discussion

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