A surprising truth about earbuds in 2026: you don’t need flagship prices to get features that used to be premium. Nothing’s Ear (a) — the brand’s bright, translucent earbuds — are back on sale at $59, and the reasons this matters go beyond a bargain price tag.
Small package, a lot inside
At $59 (available on Amazon), the Ear (a) aren’t just a fashion statement. They pack hybrid active noise cancellation, multipoint Bluetooth so you can stay connected to two devices at once, and a low-latency gaming mode that’s rare at this price. Battery numbers are generous: reviewers have measured more than eight hours of continuous playback with ANC off (about 5.5 hours with ANC on), while the charging case stretches total playtime into the dozens of hours depending on usage. An IP54 rating also means they’ll shrug off sweat and light rain.
The value here is the balance: usable ANC, long battery life, customizable sound through an app, and everyday niceties like multiple ear tip sizes and reliable call microphones. That’s why outlets from The Verge to CNET and Digital Trends have flagged the price drop — it converts a midrange design into a legitimate daily driver for commuters, gym-goers, and travelers who don’t want to risk losing an expensive pair.
It’s not just hardware — software is the secret sauce
If you’ve been paying attention to where inexpensive earbuds are getting better, you’ll notice the same pattern again and again: software tuning. Take the recent buzz around the CMF by Nothing Buds Pro 2, a different model in the same ecosystem. Those buds punch above their price largely because of Dirac Opteo, an earbud-focused tuning engine that measures a device’s impulse response and applies a target curve to smooth and enrich sound. In plain terms: clever DSP can turn good drivers into something that feels far more expensive.
Dirac’s approach — measuring how sound behaves between driver and eardrum and correcting for it — is a reminder that a well-tuned EQ and spatial processing can change how music feels. It’s why a $69 or $59 pair can, with the right software, sound closer to what you’d expect from $200 rivals. If you’re into audio, that makes the ecosystem interesting: manufacturers can iterate on physical design while leaning on smarter processing to lift listening quality.
Features growing up with AI
Beyond DSP, earbuds are also dipping their toes into on-device and paired-LM integrations. Nothing has added ChatGPT tie-ins for phone owners on some models — a sign that the next wave of accessory features will be about more than playback and calls. As big players retool their assistants and services (for example, Apple’s plan to use a custom Google Gemini model for Siri), earbuds that can hand off quick queries to a phone or cloud model will feel more useful in daily life. For a broader look at how these assistant integrations are expanding into productivity apps, see how Gemini’s Deep Research is being tied into Gmail and Drive (/news/gemini-deep-research-gmail-drive-integration) and Apple’s moves on Siri integration (/news/apple-google-gemini-siri).
Who should buy at $59?
If you want an attractive, feature-rich pair of ANC earbuds without hemorrhaging cash, this is an easy pick. Buy them as a primary inexpensive set, a travel or gym pair, or as a backup that still gives you useful ANC and long battery life. If you’re a picky audiophile who demands the very best ANC, transparency mode, or ultimate call quality, higher-end options will still have their edge — but the gap keeps closing, thanks to software tricks and better components.
If you want to grab the deal, the Ear (a) are widely discounted online and often available through mainstream retailers; the current price has been matched at major stores and marketplaces. Check latest price on Amazon.
There’s a bigger story here than a sale: the headphone market is maturing. Hardware is cheaper, designs are smarter, and software tuning — from Dirac-style EQs to LLM integrations — is elevating what you get for under $100. That makes shopping for earbuds in 2026 oddly fun: small expenditures can deliver surprisingly big upgrades to your daily listening.