Probably you've seen a lot of positive reviews on both the Beats Studio Buds + and Nothing Ear (2) and you’re uncertain which one is the best bang for the buck. It depends on your use cases and priorities, and we’ve made comparisons for you based on the fit and comfort, build quality, sound quality, ANC performance and voice call quality.
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2) at a glance
| Beats Studio Buds + | Nothing Ear (2) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price* | ||
| Release year | May, 2023 | Mar, 2023 |
| Photo |  |  |
| Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Codec | AAC, SBC | AAC, LHDC, SBC |
| Battery life | Rated up to 9.00 hours | Rated up to 8.00 hours |
| Weight | 5.00 grams (per bud) | 4.50 grams (per bud) |
| Water-resistant | IPX4 (earbuds only) | IP54 (earbuds only) |
| Driver | ø8.2mm dual-element dynamic drivers | 11.6mm speaker driver |
| Noise reduction Tech | 3 Mic with Noise Reduction | Three high-definition mics with Clear Voice Technology |
| Fast charging | 5 mins = 1 hour | 10min = 2 hour |
| Wireless charging case | No | Yes, Qi Wireless Charging |
| Transparency mode | Yes | Yes |
| ANC | Yes | Yes |
| Multipoint | Auto-switching between Apple devices | Yes |
| Personalized hearing | No | No |
| Spatial Audio | Apple's Spatial Audio | [node:field_product_b:entity:field_surround_sound] |
| HR Tracking | ✖ | ✖ |
| Dynamic head tracking | ✖ | ✖ |
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): The good and The bad
| Beats Studio Buds + | Nothing Ear (2) | |
| Pros | Great for making and taking voice calls, Lightweight with secure fit, Comfortable fit | Clear, detailed, spacious sound, Well-balanced sound, Well-defined bass, App EQ, Ear detection sensor for auto-pause |
| Cons | No wireless charging, No spatial audio with head tracking, Missing: in-ear detection sensor | Expensive, A bit of a sharp treble |
| Short review | The good is made to the better. Redesigned to the transparent housing - you're exposed to the components that's haven't been seen on the old Beats Studio. The Beats Studio Buds Plus are not the most secure fit earbuds we've tested, but they deliver excellent call quality, solid NC performance and just a better sound for sports. | Nothing Ear (2) are performing well over all ranges. Their sound signature is recognized being identical to AirPods Pro. |
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Fit and Comfort
The Beats Studio Buds + are the refine look and feel of the original Studio Buds, they even have a translucent model for both earbuds and charging case, which the inner components are exposed, and what we see is novel. Apple claimed they redesigned both hardware and the look of the original Studio Buds. We closely inspected, found out that not much change in earbud housings, just refining some ead and layout.
The Nothing Ear (2)'s housing are not fully transparent, partially internal components are exposed on the top half and stem, but their case is fully translucent. The Nothing Ear (2) have a weight of 4.50 grams for each bud (vs 5.00 grams), the weight and size are almost equal. In addition, their bud housings' shapes look quite idential too and both give the same level of comfort. We took both pairs for running and some training sessions and both of them fit securely.
The Beats Studio Buds + case measures 72 x 51 x 25.5 mm vs Nothing Ear (2) measures 55.5 x 55.5 x 22 mm. Both are portable and pocket-friendly.
Winner: Draw
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): App and Control
The Beats Studio Buds + have control with Siri and physical control button, you control everything with a physical button located on outer surface of earbud.
On either earbuds, you can press once to play/pause the mussic, answer/end a call or answer a second coming call, press and hold to decline an incoming call, press 3 times to stop listening from your earbuds and send the call to your phone. For track navigation, press the control button twice to skip to the next track, press 3 times to listen to the previous track. Apple doesn't give users option to control volume by pressing the button, you have to tell Siri to increase/decrease the volume to do so or do it on the music app you're listening to. You can also toggle back and forth between ANC, Transparency mode by press and hold the control button.
The Nothing Ear (2) feature on-stem touch control, you can do some basic controls like, press the stem to play/pause the music, answer/end calls. Double press the stem to skip forward/decline calls. Triple press the stem to skip back. Press and hold the stem to toggle between modes (ANC, Transparency). These are default settings, you can download the Nothing X app, to customize control. For example you can assign the volume control to double-press either on the left or right to your liking.
Winner: Nothing Ear (2)
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Call quality
They both works quite well for calls in quiet environments.
For the Beats Studio Buds +, when increasing the background noise, like it gets a bit more windy or people chatting in coffee shop, the other end will start to hear a bit more cracking sound and difficult to hear your voice - probably because they pick up the noise, and the mic with algorithm isn't that good at separating your noise from noises.
The Nothing Ear (2) do a better job for filtering out the noise, and their mics are reasonably good at separating your voice from noises. So they sound clearer and less proccessed than the Beats Studio Buds +.
Winner: Nothing Ear (2)
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Sound quality
The Beats Studio Buds + have lively, dynamic and energetic sound. The bass is deep, and improved in both amount and quality, and feel less distortion compared to the orginal Studio Buds. Beats just keeps the orginal sound and fine-tune it better - in both clarity and enhancement over ranges. But over mids and trebles the Nothing Ear (2) do a better job. The Nothing Ear (2) are clearly a winner for sound quality for better sound image, soundstage, makings track feel more alive and have more dimessions. The also have EQs with 3 presets, balanced, Treble enhanced and Bass enhanced. You can do your own sound customization on Nothing X app.
Winner: Nothing Ear (2)
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Battery life
In terms of battery life, when the ANC mode is off, the Beats Studio Buds + provide up to 9 hours of listening time and more 27 hours more in the case, for Nothing Ear (2) you get 8 hours of listening time and their case includes another 36 hours of juice.
Winner: Beats Studio Buds +
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Codecs
iPhone users don't care much about codecs since Apple implements the AAC brilliantly. Just in case you (as Android users may be concerned about) want know which codec both pairs support.
The Beats Studio Buds + support AAC, SBC while Nothing Ear (2) support AAC, LHDC, SBC
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Immersive Sound
The Beats Studio Buds + support Apple spatial audio, the 3D surround sound experience to giving the the Dolby Atmos content. The Nothing Ear (2) have no 3D surround.
Winner: Beats Studio Buds +
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Noise Cancelling Performance
After conducting some test in harsh conditions (intense noise background) we can conclude that the Beats Studio Buds +'s ANC performance is superior to the Nothing Ear (2). Apple claimed the Beats Studio Buds + perform 1.6x better than the original Studio Buds in term of noise cancellation. The function works effectively for frequency range from 20-1000Hz in many scenarios like in coffee shop, airplane, stations.
The Nothing Ear (2)'s transparency mode work well but still not quite as natural-sound as on Beats Studio Buds +, Apple's transparency mode is know for - listening ambient sound feels more real and natural, and its quite close as if your weren't wearing earbuds.
Winner: Beats Studio Buds +
Beats Studio Buds + vs. Nothing Ear (2): Which pair should you buy?
If your priorities are sound quality, voice call and the $144 Nothing Ear (2) are a better choice. The $149 Beats Studio Buds + give wearers the same level of comfort as Nothing Ear (2), but they offer Spatial audio and better ANC performance.