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HIGHLIGHTS
* Nothing CEO Carl Pei’s latest review is on the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
* Pei talks about what he likes and doesn’t like about the earbuds and also compares it with the Nothing Ear (2).
* Pei also gives his verdict on which wireless earbuds you should go for.
* Carl Pei has now added an Apple AirPods Pro 2 review to his sporadic line of YouTube tech review videos.
* Pei admits that he loves nearly everything about the latest Pro-level AirPods.
* He also says the Nothing Ear 2 offer a compelling alternative to Apple’s genre-defining products.
Carl Pei is the CEO of Nothing (and a co-founder of OnePlus, which he left in 2020), but that doesn’t keep him busy enough, apparently.
Pei has started posting semi-frequent YouTube videos in which he reviews popular products, most of which are direct competitors to Nothing devices. So far, we’ve seen him do an iPhone, a Galaxy S device, and even a OnePlus phone.
Now, Pei has posted his first review of an audio product. His Apple AirPods Pro 2 review just went live on the Nothing YouTube channel. We’ve mirrored the video above.
The gist of the video is that Carl loves the AirPods Pro 2. He gives Apple tons of respect for essentially defining the true-wireless earbuds market and piles praise onto how much better the newest AirPods are when compared to the originals. He also praises the charging case for the AirPods Pro 2 and its neat quality-of-life improvements, including a speaker and lanyard slot.
However, Pei obviously needs to push his own products. In the Apple AirPods Pro 2 review video, he explains how much more difficult it is to make the Nothing Ear 2 earbuds, mostly because of the transparent plastic. He even shows behind-the-scenes footage of the manufacturing center that makes the Nothing earbuds.
To prevent dust from getting into the earbuds’ transparent parts, the center is humidified “like a rainforest.” You can see humidifiers pumping steam throughout the room to keep things wet. It’s pretty nuts.
Pei also says that Nothing rejects up to 30% of the final products from the line so they can be re-made without dust.
In the end, Pei calls out the fact that the Nothing Ear 2 are $100 cheaper than AirPods Pro 2 while offering similar sound quality. They also look different, allowing users to stand out from the usual crowd of AirPods users.
Carl Pei, the CEO of Nothing has been quite actively on the company’s YouTube channel and he has even been reviewing products such as the iPhone 14 Pro, OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. His latest review is on the Apple AirPods Pro 2 that launched in September last year.
Pei talks about the things he likes and doesn’t like about the AirPods Pro 2 and also compares it with the Nothing Ear (2) that launched earlier this year in March.
In the review video, Pei says that he has the entire AirPods lineup, and how the AirPods Pro 2 are a definite improvement over the first generation. The two things he points out that are good on the AirPods Pro 2 are better noise cancellation and transparency mode. He even goes to say that the AirPods Pro 2 are “one of the best noise-cancelling earbuds” he’s ever tried.
Nothing Ear (2) vs AirPods Pro 2
Pei also brings out the Nothing Ear (2) and compares it with the AirPods Pro 2 in terms of design.
1) There’s a very visible difference here with the Nothing Ear (2) standing out for its transparent case and design while the AirPods Pro 2 has the minimalist white case.
2) He says that an AirPods case is easy to make but with the Nothing Ear (2), the process is very difficult because of a lot of transparent elements and how they have to make sure dust isn’t visible.
3) He also talks about the manufacturing facility which is centrally humidified so there’s no dust seeping in but even this doesn’t ensure a dust-free product, and Nothing ends up rejecting 20 to 30 percent of the earbuds.
While talking about the stem controls on the AirPods Pro 2 and Nothing Ear (2), Pei said the former’s better because of its algorithms that you don’t experience any mis-clicks. In terms of comfort, Pei is of the opinion that the Nothing Ear (2) is more comfortable since it’s lighter.
The sound quality on the AirPods Pro 2 is something that he likes but calls it plain since it’s more neutral to appeal to the mass market. He does note the Spatial Audio on the AirPods Pro 2 but since there aren’t many songs with this tech he hasn’t been able to experience it much.
Pei puts the Nothing Ear (2) above the AirPods Pro 2 in terms of sound quality also highlighting that it has Hi-Res audio. He also says that the transparent design makes the Nothing Ear (2) more unique than the AirPods. But noise cancellation and transparency mode are features that are better on the AirPods Pro 2.
Nothing Ear (2) or AirPods Pro 2?
When asked about which one people should buy, Pei very subtly throws shade at how common the AirPods Pro 2 are by saying, “When you’re outside you see people wearing these white earbuds everywhere you go so if you’re happy being part of that crowd like everybody, then get these.”
He also mentions the $100 price difference saying that this can also be another factor but shouldn’t necessarily be the only reason to get the Nothing Ear (2). As expected, Pei also recommends the Nothing Ear (2) for Android users but that they’ve fine-tuned it for Apple products too and how the Nothing audio products are bought by iPhone users more.
FAQ’s on Carl Pei reviews Apple AirPods Pro 2
1) What’s it like to use the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) compared to the Nothing Ear (2)?
Ans) Both the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and Nothing Ear (2) have a lot of time and effort dedicated to design, so it’s not surprising, then, that they have very similar forms. Each set of earbuds is based around the lollipop design of the original AirPods, with pinch controls hidden in the protruding stick. The short nozzles of each product have silicone tips, and are meant to nestle into your ear canal with a shallow seal. Both products also offer an ear tip fit test to ensure you can hear your tunes optimally, but only the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) has a large selection of aftermarket ear tips to choose from online should you find that you need something other than silicone tips.
As the flagship models for both Nothing and Apple, the Nothing Ear (2) and Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) bear price tags and features to match that level of prominence. You may find you don’t actually end up using all the bells and whistles available to you, but that’s okay. It’s better to have things like an app (or your operating system) to supplement the functionality of your earbuds even if you don’t end up using the spatial audio, equalizer, or voice assistant integration.
Though the earphones are quite similar, people who are less gentle with their toys will much prefer the Nothing Ear (2) over the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation), as it boasts an IP54 rating, while the Apple competitor only has an IPX4 rating. While that means both stand up equally well to moisture, only the Nothing Ear (2) is rated against dust ingress.
The most likely deciding factor between two products isn’t even related to the headphones themselves—in this case Android users may have more trouble deciding between the two. The baseline aspects of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) like sound, ANC, and build quality are very impressive. However, it relies on iOS to grant virtually all its additional features (basically anything you can’t do with the default on-ear control settings), so Android users won’t benefit as much from buying it. Basically, people without iPhones will have to weigh the importance of hardware excellence against the software features of the Nothing Ear (2)—not that its hardware is anything to sneeze at.
2) How do you control the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and Nothing Ear (2)?
Ans) Controls for both the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and Nothing Ear (2) are relatively straightforward, with the former relying on a mix of physical control via pinching the ear stems. You can customize the exact function of the tap-to-hold function through the settings app of the iPhone, but for Android this isn’t customizable.
Also Read: Nothing Phone (2) design imaged by concept creator: Carl Pei Reaction