EarFun Air Pro 4 vs Nothing Ear (a): Specs vs Style

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The Short Answer

Buy the EarFun Air Pro 4 if you want the most earbud for the money. Longer battery with cancelling on, wireless charging, IPX5, aptX Lossless on top of LDAC, and a lower price.

Buy the Nothing Ear (a) if the design and the brand matter to you. It is the more distinctive object, it has a polished app, and its features are complete enough that you give up little that most people will miss — except battery with cancelling on.

Both cancel noise well, and both have six microphones. Neither is a compromise purchase.

Battery: The Clearest Difference

With cancelling on, the EarFun lasts about two hours longer per charge, and about ten hours longer in total.

Both brands quote a headline figure with cancelling off — 52 hours for the EarFun, 42.5 for the Nothing — but most people buy these to use the cancelling. With it on, the Ear (a) drops to 5.5 hours per charge, which covers a commute or a morning but not a long flight without a break. The Air Pro 4's 7.5 hours is meaningfully more comfortable.

The EarFun also charges wirelessly. The Ear (a) charges over USB-C only.

Codecs: Both Have LDAC

On an iPhone, this section does not matter. Both use AAC there.

On Android, both support LDAC, so both can play hi-res audio on most Android phones that offer it. The EarFun adds aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless, which need a phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound, and LC3 for LE Audio. If you have a Snapdragon Sound phone, that is a real advantage; if you do not, the two are level.

Cancellation and Calls

Both use adaptive hybrid cancelling, and both check your fit to compensate for leaks. The EarFun quotes 50dB and the Nothing 45dB, but manufacturers measure these figures in their own ways, and they should not decide the purchase. Both flatten steady noise such as engine hum and air conditioning well; neither removes voices.

Both have six microphones. The Nothing adds an airway in the stem designed to cut wind noise; the EarFun uses Qualcomm's cVc 8.0 processing. Calls are a strength on both.

Design and Ecosystem

This is where the Nothing earns its place. The transparent design is the reason many people buy the brand, and the Ear (a) is the most affordable way into it. The Nothing X app is polished, and on a Nothing phone the earbuds gain extras such as the lowest-latency game mode, and Nothing is adding ChatGPT voice features to its app.

The EarFun is functional rather than distinctive. Its app has a full equaliser and the features you would expect, but the earbuds themselves are an ordinary stem design.

EarFun Air Pro 4 Adaptive Hybrid

The one to buy for battery, features and value.

Adaptive cancelling quoted at 50dB, 7.5 hours per charge with cancelling on and 35 with the case, wireless charging, IPX5, six microphones, multipoint, in-ear detection, a sub-50ms low-latency mode, and LDAC plus aptX Lossless for Android — for less money than the Nothing. Our EarFun Air Pro 4 review covers which of its codecs your phone can actually use.

What you give up against the Nothing: the design, the brand, and Nothing's ecosystem extras.

Check Price on Amazon · $62.99 as of October 2, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

Nothing Ear (a) Wireless Earbuds

The one to buy for the design and a polished experience.

Smart adaptive cancelling quoted at 45dB, six microphones with a wind-reducing airway, LDAC, multipoint, IP54 earbuds and an advanced equaliser in the Nothing X app, in Nothing's transparent design. Our Nothing Ear (a) review covers it on its own, including the battery with cancelling on.

What you give up against the EarFun: about two hours per charge with cancelling on, wireless charging, aptX, a stronger water rating, and some money.

Check Price on Amazon · $79 as of October 2, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

How to Decide

Do you use cancelling for long stretches — flights, full workdays? EarFun, for the longer battery with it on.

Do you want wireless charging? EarFun.

Do you have a Snapdragon Sound Android phone? EarFun, for aptX Lossless.

Do you own a Nothing phone? Nothing, for the ecosystem features.

Does the design matter to you? Nothing. There is nothing else that looks like it.

On an iPhone and undecided? EarFun, on battery and price. The codecs do not apply, so the choice comes down to battery and how much you like the Nothing's design.

For more options, see our best noise cancelling earbuds under $100 guide, and our Nothing Ear (a) vs CMF Buds Pro 2 and EarFun Air Pro 4 vs CMF Buds Pro 2 comparisons if Nothing's cheaper sub-brand is on your list too.

FAQ

Which is better, the EarFun Air Pro 4 or the Nothing Ear (a)? On specifications and value, the EarFun: longer battery with cancelling on, wireless charging, IPX5, aptX and a lower price. The Nothing wins on design and ecosystem.

Which has the longer battery? The EarFun. With cancelling on it quotes 7.5 hours per charge and 35 with the case, against 5.5 and 24.5 for the Nothing.

Do both support LDAC? Yes. The EarFun also supports aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless on compatible Android phones.

Which is better for iPhone? Both use AAC on an iPhone, so the codec differences disappear. The EarFun has the longer battery and the lower price; the Nothing has the design.

Do both have wireless charging? No. Only the EarFun Air Pro 4 supports wireless charging.

Which is better for gaming? The EarFun quotes under 50ms in its low-latency mode on any phone. The Nothing's quoted under-120ms mode is on Nothing phones.

Verdict

Buy the EarFun Air Pro 4 if you want the most capable earbuds for the money. It wins on battery with cancelling on, charging, water resistance and codec support, and it costs less.

Buy the Nothing Ear (a) if you value the design and the experience around it, and if you will charge often enough that 5.5 hours per charge with cancelling on does not bother you. It is a genuinely good pair of earbuds with a character the EarFun does not try to have.