Home Wireless Earbuds Ultimate Ears Drops Vs. Nothing Ear 1

A Review By Comparison of the Ultimate Ears Drops Vs. Nothing Ear 1

Last updated on Apr 19, 2023   7 min read
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Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops

Reasons why you might like the Ultimate Ears Drops

Overall Score 6.0 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Battery Life of 6 hours
  • Has Usb Type-C
  • Number Of Microphones of 2 only
  • Has Ambient Sound Mode
VS
Nothing Ear 1

Nothing Ear 1

See price on Amazon

Reasons why you might like the Nothing Ear 1

Overall Score 6.0 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating of IPX4
  • Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)
  • Battery Life of 5 hours
  • Has Usb Type-C
  • Number Of Microphones of 6 only
  • Has Ambient Sound Mode

A summary of the review by feature comparison

Category Features Ultimate Ears Drops Nothing Ear 1
DESIGN ingress protection (ip) rating IPX4
weight 9.4g
has no wires or cables
wingtips included
sweat resistance
is dust proof and water-resistant
has stereo speakers
SOUND QUALITY has active noise cancellation (noise control)
has passive noise reduction
driver unit size 9.2mm 11.6mm
lowest frequency 20Hz 20Hz
highest frequency 20000Hz 20000Hz
sound pressure level 110dB/mW
POWER battery life 6hours 5hours
battery life of charging case 9hours 29hours
charge time 1.5hours
has wireless charging
has a battery level indicator
CONNECTIVITY has usb type-c
bluetooth version v4.2 v5.2
maximum bluetooth range 10meters 10meters
has aac
has aptx adaptive
MICROPHONE number of microphones 2only 6only
has a noise-canceling microphone
EXTRAS has ambient sound mode
has in/on-ear detection
has find earbuds feature
supports fast charging
multipoint count 2only
has a mute function
control panel placed on a device
warranty period 1Years
has voice prompts
travel bag is included
See price on Amazon

A breakdown of the review per specifications

Design

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1 IPX4

Ingress protection ratings is the level of protection given by a casing, against dust and liquids. In the format of IPXX, 'X' represents a number The first value represents protection against solids say dust, while the second refers to resistance against liquids (water).

Having a value of IPX4, the Nothing Ear 1's rating is read as, the first value of X denotes that no data available to specify a protection rating, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.

Weight

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1 9.4g

Nothing Ear 1 have a weight of 9.4g . We consider a lower weight better for the reason that lighter devices are easier to carry.

Has No Wires Or Cables

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

For a device to be true wireless it must have no cables linking any part of the device together, Ultimate Ears Drops are true wireless for this matter since they don't have cables. This is a major difference as some wireless earbuds have wires connecting the pair of earbuds together.

Nothing Ear 1 also is true wireless because it doesn't have wires connecting the pair of earbuds together.

Wingtips Included

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops have wingtips, these are reserved for workout earbuds and are usually an optional add-on to the separate silicone ear tip for a more secure fit.

Sweat Resistance

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops have sweat resistance

Nothing Ear 1's resistance to sweat makes both devices ideal for use during long-distance running, marathons, cardio sweat workouts , etc

Is Dust Proof And Water-Resistant

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops are both dustproof and water-resistant.

Has Stereo Speakers

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops 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 Ultimate Ears Drops have stereo speakers

Sound Quality

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

ANC makes use of more advanced kind of tech to reduce ambient sounds. ANC works when, it studies the sound pattern outside and inside the earbud and inverts the soundwaves to cancel it out. Simply put, it's like taking +1 (sound from your surrounding) and adding -1 (counter sound by the device) giving 0 thus "diluting" the noise.

Nothing Ear 1 have Active Noise Cancellation enabling you to listen at lower levels of volume, good for your ears as you don't need to crank up the device volume to overcome background sounds.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops stay tightly in place, this creates a sound covering that reduces your environment sounds well as preventing the device music from leaking out at the same.

Both of these devices have passive noise reduction which implies that both tone down ambient noise instead of actively using ANC to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Ultimate Ears Drops 9.2mm
Nothing Ear 1 11.6mm

The Ultimate Ears Drops driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, bigger drivers are more powerful, therefor producing better bass. A driver unit is basically a mini speaker that makes sound in the device, its size dictates 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 Ultimate Ears Drops by 2.4mm , as many tend to believe that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.

However, large drivers usually have difficulty producing high frequencies so it's true that, larger drivers can generate louder sound, but this does not indicate that they produce better quality sound.

Lowest Frequency

Ultimate Ears Drops 20Hz
Nothing Ear 1 20Hz

The Ultimate Ears Drops's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well a particular audio device generates low recognizable frequencies and if it alters the signal on its way through.

Nothing Ear 1's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this means that both devices can produce equal bass

Highest Frequency

Ultimate Ears Drops 20000Hz
Nothing Ear 1 20000Hz

The Ultimate Ears Drops's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, high-frequency response indicates how well an audio device produces high recognizable frequencies and if it makes any adjustments to the signal while at it.

Nothing Ear 1's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, this means that both devices can generate equal treble

Sound Pressure Level

Ultimate Ears Drops 110dB/mW
Nothing Ear 1

SPL, is the pressure level of sound, in decibels, dB, Ultimate Ears Drops's measurement is 110dB/mW. Devices with a higher sound pressure level are generally louder when supplied with any given audio source.

Power

Battery Life

Ultimate Ears Drops 6hours
Nothing Ear 1 5hours

Ultimate Ears Drops's battery life is 6 hours, these last longer than 5 hours of listening which is considered average for a single charge. A device's battery life is given by the manufacturer, and with longer battery life, you get to use it for longer and have to charge the device less often.

Nothing Ear 1's battery life is less than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 1 hours . Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less playing time. The effect is barely noticeable at first, but over time, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Ultimate Ears Drops 9hours
Nothing Ear 1 29hours

The battery life of the charging case is given by the vendor, and Ultimate Ears Drops's case is said to have a full charge of 9 hours. A charging case with more battery hours enables 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 Ultimate Ears Drops by 20 hours

Charge Time

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1 1.5hours

It requires 1.5 hours to fully charge the Nothing Ear 1's battery. It is recommended to charge fully the battery before using the earbuds for the first time.

Has Wireless Charging

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the device, you simply put down on a supported charging pad.

Nothing Ear 1 also support wireless charging, take note of the charging standard of the earbuds.

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops have a battery level indicator, an indicator shows you when the device has a low battery. Its lights show the charging state of your device and charging case.

Nothing Ear 1 too have a battery level indicator, charging indicators allow you tell the charging state of your device, whether fully charged, or having a low battery.

Connectivity

Has Usb Type-C

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops use USB TYPE-C, a standard connector for transmitting both data and power in a single cable.

Nothing Ear 1 too use USB TYPE-C. This USB-C plug is part and parcel of most current laptops, phones, and tablets.

Bluetooth Version

Ultimate Ears Drops v4.2
Nothing Ear 1 v5.2

Ultimate Ears Drops have Bluetooth version of 4.2, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that enables data transfers 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 Ultimate Ears Drops . Newer versions provide faster data transfers.

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Ultimate Ears Drops 10meters
Nothing Ear 1 10meters

Ultimate Ears Drops have a 10meters distance to connect via Bluetooth.

Nothing Ear 1 have a maximum range of 10meters, equal to that of the Ultimate Ears Drops

Has Aac

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops support AAC, a codec that is 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.

Since its the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Ultimate Ears Drops will work well 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.

Has Aptx Adaptive

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops support APTX Adaptive, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps).

Microphone

Number Of Microphones

Ultimate Ears Drops 2only
Nothing Ear 1 6only

The Ultimate Ears Drops have 2 microphones.

Nothing Ear 1 microphones are 6, more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and help the device to filter out noise.

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Nothing Ear 1 have a noise-canceling microphone, these microphones are made to filter out noise from the earbuds' sound.

Extras

Has Ambient Sound Mode

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to pass through ambient sound so that they can still be heard even while wearing the earbuds

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 run but would still want to hear traffic.

Has In/On-Ear Detection

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Nothing Ear 1 have in/on-ear detection, the sensors in the device can detect when removed from your ears so that the music is paused.

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

If misplaced in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, the Ultimate Ears Drops support the find earbuds feature.

Nothing Ear 1 also have the find earbuds feature. You can use the device app on your phone to play a sound from your device to help you locate them.

Supports Fast Charging

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops support fast charging. Usually, technologies like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, are used to reduce the amount of time it takes to charge the earbuds.

The Nothing Ear 1 support fast charging. This kind is similar to regular charging, only that the battery is filling up much faster. Say, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery is charged to 50% in 30 minutes.

Multipoint Count

Ultimate Ears Drops 2only
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops have a multipoint of 2 connections, this feature allows you connect to more than one Bluetooth device and switch between them. For example, you can easily switch calls from one device to another without manually disconnect and reconnect.

Has A Mute Function

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

Ultimate Ears Drops have a mute function, they support the option to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the device.

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops, so you can easily 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.

Warranty Period

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1 1Years

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.

Has Voice Prompts

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops have voice prompts. With voice prompts, you receive information through audio messages, say if there is an issue with the connection.

The Nothing Ear 1 too have voice prompts .i.e the earbuds will notify you if the battery is low, and it's time to recharge the device.

Travel Bag Is Included

Ultimate Ears Drops
Nothing Ear 1

The Ultimate Ears Drops come with a special case. Carrying earphones openly, or placing them inside your pockets without a cover may easily put them at risk of getting damaged.

Nothing Ear 1 too have a travel bag included, which offers safe transportation.

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