Nothing has announced the Ear (3a), a new pair of wireless earbuds priced at $99. They sit between the entry-level Ear (a) and the flagship Ear (3), and pack a surprising amount of features for that price.
The budget earbud market has become genuinely competitive over the past two years, with brands like Soundcore, Edifier, and Nothing itself pushing more features into the sub-$100 bracket. The Ear (3a) is Nothing’s attempt to stay ahead of that curve, and the headline feature is one you won’t find on most rivals at any price point.
It’s called Audio Snapshot, and it lets you record short audio clips directly on the earbuds using 32MB of built-in flash storage. The idea is simple: if you’re listening to a lecture or a conversation and something catches your attention, you pinch both earbuds to capture the moment. The recording pulls audio from just before and after you press, so you won’t miss the start of the thing you wanted to save.
Those clips sync automatically to the Nothing X app, where you can play them back, edit them, share them, or run them through transcription. The app also creates shareable quote cards from transcribed clips, which is a neat touch for students or anyone who takes a lot of notes on the go.
Beyond quick snapshots, the Ear (3a) can also record up to two hours of calls and meetings in full. The recordings are sent to the Nothing X app once you stop them, and participants are notified when recording is active.
On the audio side, Nothing fitted the Ear (3a) with a new 12mm dynamic driver. The company says it delivers deeper bass and more detail than the previous generation, and the earbuds support LDAC for higher-quality wireless streaming. There’s also an 8-band EQ in the Nothing X app and spatial audio support, though spatial audio at this price point tends to vary a lot depending on the content.
Noise cancellation carries over from the Ear (a), with ANC rated up to 45dB. Nothing says updates to the algorithm and acoustic mesh make it 17.1 percent better than the previous model, covering a broader range of frequencies.
The Ear (3a) keeps Nothing’s signature transparent design, and this time there are four color options:
- Black
- White
- Pink
- Yellow
A new XS ear tip size is also included, which should help the earbuds fit more people comfortably.
Battery life looks solid for the price. The earbuds alone offer up to 10 hours of listening with ANC off. With the charging case, total battery life reaches 42 hours without ANC or 25 hours with it on. The case has the same pill shape Nothing has used across its earbud line.
The Nothing Ear (3a) are available now for $99.