Nothing Ear (3a) earbuds clip your calls and record your meetings

Nothing has announced a new generation of Nothing Ear (3a) earbuds, following on from the original Ear (a) models, which won plenty of fans.

The new models have some very unusual features, but retain the tempting low price.

Screenshots, but for audio

Before we get into the specs, we should talk about what makes the new Nothing Ear (3a) stand out. The top new feature is called Audio Snapshot, and you can think of it like taking a screenshot on your phone, except you’re capturing audio on your earbuds.

Using the Ear (3a)’s 32MB of flash storage, after pressing both earbud stems at the same time, you “clip” snippets of what you’re listening to.

Cleverly, and like a motion photo feature on some phones, the clip captures the few seconds before you activate the feature, and a snippet after you stop too. It ensures you always have as much context as possible.

Nothing suggests the feature will be useful for lectures and meetings, and for saving voice notes. It’s not clear how the feature will work with music streaming apps, or for other sources that may be affected by copyright.

Call recording

In addition to your audio clips, the Nothing Ear (3a) also have a direct call and meeting recording feature, also enabled by the internal storage.

The 32MB of storage space lets you record for up to two hours. The recordings are saved in the Nothing X app, where transcripts can be generated, and the conversations replayed.

If you have felt a product like the Mobvoi TicNote or Flowtica Scribe would be useful, but not enough to make splashing out on a dedicated device worthwhile, the Ear (3a) may provide just the right amount of functionality.

Nothing also makes it clear the earbuds will alert participants that the call is being recorded.

What about the audio and battery?

The updated Ear (3a) earbuds have a new 12mm dynamic driver inside, which is larger than before, with the promise of additional bass response and clearer treble.

Wideband Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is also onboard, with a 45db response and a broader frequency range to capture and isolate common background and environmental sounds. Nothing says the ANC represents a 17.1% improvement over the previous Ear (a) model.

A transparency mode is also ready to use, there are three microphones for calls, and the Ear (3a) supports Hi-Res Audio and LDAC, plus there’s an eight-band equalizer in the Nothing X app to tailor the sound.

Nothing expects the Ear (3a)’s battery to last ten hours on a single charge with ANC active, and the redesigned case enables 25 hours of use with ANC, or 42 hours without. A five-minute charge provides an hour of use, and there are three LEDs on the case to show how much battery remains.

Price and availability

The new Nothing Ear (3a) are available to buy from July 7, and cost $99 or £99.