Overall Score 6.4 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
Overall Score 6.0 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
Category | Features | Bowers & Wilkins PI7 | Nothing Ear 1 |
---|---|---|---|
DESIGN | ingress protection (ip) rating | IP54 | IPX4 |
weight | 50g | 9.4g | |
has no wires or cables | ✓ | ✓ | |
sweat resistance | ✗ | ✓ | |
has stereo speakers | ✓ | ✓ | |
SOUND QUALITY | has active noise cancellation (noise control) | ✓ | ✓ |
has passive noise reduction | ✓ | ✓ | |
driver unit size | 9.2mm | 11.6mm | |
lowest frequency | 10Hz | 20Hz | |
highest frequency | 20000Hz | 20000Hz | |
POWER | battery life | 4.5hours | 5hours |
battery life of charging case | 18hours | 29hours | |
charge time | 3hours | 1.5hours | |
has wireless charging | ✓ | ✓ | |
has a battery level indicator | ✓ | ✓ | |
CONNECTIVITY | has usb type-c | ✓ | ✓ |
bluetooth version | v5 | v5.2 | |
maximum bluetooth range | 10meters | 10meters | |
has aac | ✓ | ✗ | |
has aptx adaptive | ✓ | ✗ | |
has aptx hd | ✓ | ✗ | |
MICROPHONE | number of microphones | 6only | 6only |
has a noise-canceling microphone | ✓ | ✓ | |
EXTRAS | has ambient sound mode | ✓ | ✓ |
has in/on-ear detection | ✓ | ✓ | |
has find earbuds feature | ✓ | ✓ | |
supports fast charging | ✓ | ✓ | |
has a mute function | ✓ | ✗ | |
control panel placed on a device | ✓ | ✓ | |
warranty period | ✗ | 1Years | |
has voice prompts | ✓ | ✓ | |
travel bag is included | ✓ | ✓ | |
See price on Amazon | See price on Amazon |
Ingress protection ratings is the rating of protection given by an enclosure, against solids and liquids. The letters 'IP' are followed by two values The first value refers to protection against solids say dust, while the second refers to resistance against liquids (water).
Having a value of IP54, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's rating is read as, the first number of 5 denotes that ingress of dust is not totally prevented but dust does not enter in harmful quantities to interfere with the correct operation or impair safety, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.
Compared to the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, Nothing Ear 1 have a rating of IPX4 meaning that
no data available to specify a protection rating
and that of liquids is that,
they both have the same rating against liquids
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a weight of 50g . We prefer a lower weight better because lighter devices are easier to carry.
Nothing Ear 1, at 9.4g
are lighter than the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 with a difference -40.6g
For a device to be true wireless it must have no cables linking any part of the device together, Bowers & Wilkins PI7 are true wireless for this matter since they don't have wires. This is a key distinction as some wireless earbuds have wires connecting the 2 earbuds together.
Nothing Ear 1 also is true wireless because it doesn't have cables connecting the pair of earbuds together.
Nothing Ear 1 are resistant to sweat
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have stereo speakers, devices with stereo speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.
Both Nothing Ear 1 and Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have stereo speakers
Active noise cancellation utilises more advanced kind of tech to actively counter noise. ANC works when, it listens to the sound pattern outside and inside the earbud and after inverts the soundwaves to cancel it out. In simple terms, it's like having +1 (noise) and adding -1 (inverted noise) to make zero resulting in a reduced level of noise.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have ANC allowing you to listen at lower levels of volume, good for your ears as you don't need to crank up the device volume to outcompete background noise.
Nothing Ear 1 too have Active Noise Cancellation which makes either of the earbuds ideal for flights and morning commutes. Each operate with different noise cancellation modes, pick the mode that you prefer for commute or that enhances your chill time.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 stay tightly in place, this creates an acoustic covering that reduces background noise and also prevents the device sound from leaking out .
Both of these devices have passive noise reduction which means that both limit ambient noise without using ANC to cancel it out.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a unit size of 9.2mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, and can produce better bass.
A driver unit is basically a mini speaker that produces sound in the earbuds, its size corellates with the loudness of the earbuds.
Nothing Ear 1 driver unit is 11.6mm in diameter,
making them have a larger driver unit than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 2.4mm
, many people have a misconception that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.
However, large drivers usually have difficulty producing high frequencies so yeah, larger drivers can generate louder sound, but this does not mean that they deliver better quality sound.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7's lowest frequency is at 10Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well an audio device produces low audible frequencies and if it alters the signal while at it.
Nothing Ear 1's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this implies that
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 produce a juicier bass than the Nothing Ear 1
Bowers & Wilkins PI7's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, high-frequency response shows how well an audio device makes high recognizable frequencies and if it makes any changes to the signal while at it.
Nothing Ear 1's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, this implies that
both devices produce equal treble
Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery life is 4.5 hours, these last less than 5 hours of listening which is considered average before recharge. A device's battery life is usually given by the manufacturer, and with longer battery life, you get to use it for longer and requires fewer chargings.
Nothing Ear 1's battery life is
more than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 0.5 hours
. Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less listening time. The effect is barely noticeable at first, but over time, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.
This is given by the vendor, and Bowers & Wilkins PI7's case has a charge of 18 hours. A charging case with a longer battery life allows you to recharge your earbuds on the go multiple times before recharging the case itself.
Nothing Ear 1's charging case has a battery life of 29 hours,
more than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 11 hours
It takes 3 hours to fully charge the Bowers & Wilkins PI7's battery. It is recommended to charge fully the battery before using the earbuds for the first time.
Nothing Ear 1 takes 1.5 hours to fully charge the battery,
less than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7 by 1.5 hours
Bowers & Wilkins PI7, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the earbuds, you just put down on a supported charging pad.
Nothing Ear 1 also support wireless charging, always look out for the charging standard of a device.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a battery level indicator, an indicator shows you when the device has a low battery. Its lights indicate the charging status of your device and case.
Nothing Ear 1 too have a battery level indicator, charging indicators enable you tell the charging state of your device, whether fully charged, or having a low battery.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have USB TYPE-C, an industry-standard connector for transmitting both data and power through a single cable.
Nothing Ear 1 too have USB TYPE-C. This USB-C plug comes along with most current laptops, phones, and tablets.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have Bluetooth version of 5, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that allows data movement between devices placed in range, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.
Nothing Ear 1 has a Bluetooth version of 5.2,
newer than that of Bowers & Wilkins PI7
. Newer versions provide faster data transfers.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a 10meters distance to connect via Bluetooth.
Nothing Ear 1 have a maximum range of 10meters,
equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support AAC, a codec used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Because it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it can provide better results than other codecs at the same bit rate.
Being the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 will work fine with your iPhone. If you are planning on using these with Android you need to pay even closer attention to codec support for if they only have AAC they won't provide the best audio quality possible, ensure that they also support aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC as well.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX Adaptive, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps).
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support APTX HD, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It supports high-quality 24-bit audio (at a bit rate of 576kbps).
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have 6 microphones.
Nothing Ear 1 microphones are 6,
equal to that of the Bowers & Wilkins PI7
. More microphones result in better sound quality and enable the earbuds to filter out background sounds.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 use a noise-canceling type of microphone, these microphones are designed to filter out background sounds from the earbuds' sound.
The Nothing Ear 1 too use a noise-canceling type of microphone. Especially useful in noisy areas.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to channel ambient noises so that they can still be heard even while wearing them
The Nothing Ear 1 support ambient sound mode as well, it’s useful when you want to listen to music while being aware of what’s happening around you, say you’re having a jog but would still want to hear traffic.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the device can detect when removed from your ears so that the music is paused.
The Nothing Ear 1 support in/on-ear detection, automatically pauses your music, or audiobook when you remove earbuds from your ears improving your listening experience.
If lost in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support the find earbuds feature.
The Nothing Ear 1 also have the find earbuds feature. Use the earbuds app on your phone to play a sound from your earbuds to find them.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support fast charging. Usually, technologies like MediaTek’s Pump Express, are used to lower the amount of time it takes to charge a device.
The Nothing Ear 1 too support fast charging. It's very similar to regular charging, just that the battery fills up much faster. For example, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery can be charged to 50% in thirty minutes.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 have a mute function, they support the option to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the earbuds.
With the Bowers & Wilkins PI7, so you can access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever features are supported on the device.
Nothing Ear 1 too have a control panel on them.
The Nothing Ear 1 have a warranty period of 1 Years, the period of time that warrant free repair and adjustment services in case of a malfunction occurring under normal use that has followed instruction manuals.
Bowers & Wilkins PI7 support voice prompts. Automatically receive information via audio messages, say if there is an issue with the connection.
Nothing Ear 1 too support voice prompts meaning the device notifies you when the battery is running low, and you need to recharge the device.
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 come with their own special case. Carrying earbuds without a case, or putting them inside your pockets without a casing can easily damage them.
Nothing Ear 1 also have a case included, which offers safe transportation.