Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is the UK open-ear product to beat

UPDATED · News · 11 May 2026 · MTW News Desk

Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is the May 11 2026 audio release that proves the open-ear category has stopped being a curiosity. Nothing confirmed the new colourway officially goes on sale today, joining the existing white finish at the same £89 UK price.

Why the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue matters more than a colour drop

A colour refresh is rarely worth a launch event. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is the exception because of what it implies about the open-ear category. Nothing launched the original Ear (open) in September 2024 as a deliberate sideways bet, a £149 product aimed at runners, gym goers and people who could not tolerate in-ear pressure. The product is now £89 across the board, with a new colourway shipping eight months after the original. That cadence is what brands do when a product is performing above expectations. Sony, Bose and even Apple have all watched this segment with caution; Nothing is the brand confident enough to expand it.

The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue does not change the hardware. The titanium-coated 14.2 mm drivers, IP54 dust and splash rating, 8 gram per bud weight and Bluetooth 5.3 stack are all carried over from the white version we covered when Nothing’s Ear (open) first launched. What it changes is the addressable market. Pastel colourways move products in a way black and white never do, particularly in the under-25 buyer demographic where Nothing’s brand has the strongest pull. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is also the first non-white open-ear product in the £80-£100 segment from a tier-one brand, which gives it a useful retail wedge.

What the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue does and does not get right

Praise first. The Soft Blue itself is a properly muted, slightly desaturated shade that reads more like a deep aluminium powder coat than a kid-friendly pastel. Nothing’s design team cited blue tennis courts and the late sculptor De Wain Valentine as references, which sounds insufferable on paper but turns out to be accurate. The buds and the lozenge-shaped case both pick up the tone uniformly, and the silicone ear hook on each bud has been recoloured to match rather than left in a contrasting transparent finish. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is the cleanest open-ear product on a UK shelf right now.

Criticism is unavoidable. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue still has the same sound profile as the white original, which is to say a bass response that is acceptable for podcasts and unconvincing for music with any low-end depth. Open-ear designs leak bass by definition and the Ear (open) is not the most aggressively tuned in this category. The 30-hour total battery, while competitive, is shorter than the JBL Soundgear Sense and Shokz OpenFit 2 at similar price points. If you care more about isolation, run cooler ear tips and shut everything out, the Ear (open) is the wrong product entirely. For everyone else, it remains the best-looking option, and the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue takes that aesthetic argument and sharpens it.

How the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue compares in the UK open-ear market

The UK open-ear segment now has four serious entrants under £150: the Nothing Ear (open), Shokz OpenFit 2, JBL Soundgear Sense and the more expensive Bose Ultra Open. Apple has chosen to stay out of this category, and the AirPods Open project that leaked in 2024 still has no confirmed release date. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue therefore enters a maturing field with genuine competition, but at £89 it undercuts every direct rival except the £79 Shokz OpenFit Air. Our best wireless earbuds under £150 UK 2026 roundup ranks the white Ear (open) above two of these competitors on design, and the Soft Blue version inherits that lead.

What UK buyers should weigh before ordering the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue

Three things. First, fit. Open-ear designs are radically more sensitive to ear shape than canal in-ears, and the Ear (open)’s three-point balance system works very well for most ears but fails for some. Nothing offers a 30-day return policy on its UK direct sales, which makes ordering the Nothing Ear open Soft Blue lower risk than the same product through Amazon Marketplace. Try them, return if they slip. Second, source quality. Hi-Res Audio is supported but only meaningful on LDAC-capable Android phones, and the open design leaks bass at any volume above 60 percent. Pair with a Nothing Phone or Pixel for the best chain.

Third, the broader audio market is competitive enough that £89 is not automatically the right answer. The Anker Soundcore Space 2 at £129 offers active noise cancellation that no open-ear product can match. The Sony WH-1000XM6 at £399 is in a different price bracket but is the better all-day choice for commuters. The Nothing Ear open Soft Blue is the right answer for runners, gym users and anyone who needs to hear surroundings while listening to music. For anyone else, an in-ear or over-ear remains the smarter buy.