We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-22 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a pair of wireless earbuds that you can wear for hours without ever thinking about charging, and that stay put around your neck instead of inside your ears, choose Sony WI-C100; if you need active noise cancellation, touch controls and a truly wireless fit with a charging case, choose Nothing Ear.
Both are in-ear Bluetooth headphones, but they solve opposite problems. The WI-C100 is a neckband you forget about — long battery, physical buttons, no case to lose. The Nothing Ear (a) is a compact true-wireless earbud set built around noise cancellation, a bigger driver and app-based tuning. Neither is "better" in the abstract; they're built for different kinds of listeners. Here's how I'd separate them.
• Sony WI-C100 — biggest strength: Up to 25 hours of battery life in a lightweight flexible neckband, with real buttons instead of touch controls.
• Sony WI-C100 — biggest trade-off: No active noise cancellation at all, and a behind-neck cable that some people simply don't like wearing.
• Nothing Ear (a) — biggest strength: 45 dB hybrid active noise cancellation plus a larger 11 mm dynamic driver for deeper bass and a more immersive sound.
• Nothing Ear (a) — biggest trade-off: True-wireless buds mean a charging case to keep track of, and the headline features lean on the Nothing X app.
• Choose Sony WI-C100 if you want maximum battery, simple physical controls and a set you can sling around your neck between uses.
• Choose Nothing Ear (a) if you want silence on demand, touch control, dual-device switching and app-based EQ.
The WI-C100 is the definition of low-maintenance listening. Sony rates it at up to 25 hours of playback, and a 10-minute quick charge gets you roughly 60 minutes back — a genuinely useful detail if you're the kind of person who only remembers to charge things on the way out the door. It's an in-ear, behind-neck design with a flexible neckband, so when you take it off it just hangs there instead of needing a case. At under 20 grams, it's light enough that you'll stop noticing it.
The feature set is deliberately simple. Bluetooth 5.0, a 10-metre wireless range, physical buttons for play/pause, track skipping, volume and calls, and Sony's DSEE processing, which is designed to restore high-frequency detail lost when compressed audio files get squeezed. There's an IPX4 rating, so sweat and splashes aren't a problem for workouts or commutes in bad weather. The 20 Hz–20,000 Hz frequency range and 35 ohm impedance are standard fare. You can also fine-tune the sound through the Sony | Headphones Connect app, though the controls themselves are all on-device.
Who should buy it: runners and gym-goers who want something that won't fall out and won't die mid-session, commuters who want one less gadget to charge every night, and anyone who finds touch controls fiddly. The neckband design also makes it a natural fit for people who lose earbuds constantly.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants quiet on a plane or train. There is no noise cancellation here — just passive isolation from the eartips, and Sony itself notes that fit matters a lot for both sound and call quality. If you want the cable gone entirely, this isn't that product either. It's a neckband, and it stays a neckband.
The Nothing Ear (a) is a different philosophy entirely. These are true-wireless in-ear buds with a charging case, and the headline is 45 dB hybrid active noise cancellation. Nothing's implementation continuously monitors the seal between the bud and your ear canal and adjusts cancellation intensity when it detects leakage — so it adapts each time you put them in, and you can also pick between three cancellation levels manually in the Nothing X app. Moving from a quiet room to a noisy street is exactly the scenario this is built for.
The audio hardware is more serious too. There's an 11 mm dynamic driver — a compact design that Nothing says delivers twice the power of Ear (2) — with two additional vents to optimise internal airflow and reduce distortion. The result is meant to be deeper, more impactful bass and a cleaner overall sound. Battery is strong in its own way: over 42.5 hours of total listening with the case (ANC off), and a 10-minute fast charge gives up to 10 hours of playback. Bluetooth 5.3 handles the connection, and dual-device connectivity lets you hop between a laptop and a phone without re-pairing.
The smart features are where it gets interesting. Clear Voice Technology uses six microphones plus a dedicated talk mic and an airflow channel along the stem to cut wind interference — Nothing claims 60% less noise than Ear (2) on calls. There's a Low Latency Mode for gaming, touch controls on the buds, and even voice-enabled ChatGPT access built into the Nothing X app — though that last one requires a Nothing series phone. The buds are white with a white plastic case, and they're noticeably heavier as a package (50 g) than the Sony neckband, because you're carrying a case.
Who should buy it: commuters, flyers, open-plan-office workers and anyone who wants to block out the world on demand. It's also the better pick if you game on mobile, take a lot of calls in windy places, or like tweaking EQ and noise settings yourself.
Who should skip it: people who hate charging cases, anyone who finds touch controls unreliable with sweaty or gloved fingers, and listeners who mainly want a long, forget-about-it battery without app setup. If you don't own a Nothing phone, you also lose the ChatGPT feature entirely — don't buy it for that.
• Best for battery life → Sony WI-C100. Up to 25 hours on a single charge, with a 10-minute top-up giving about 60 minutes of playback.
• Best for noise cancellation → Nothing Ear (a). 45 dB hybrid ANC with adaptive seal monitoring and three manual levels. The Sony has none.
• Best for sound hardware → Nothing Ear (a). An 11 mm dynamic driver with dual vents versus the Sony's standard dynamic driver.
• Best for calls in the wind → Nothing Ear (a). Six mics, a dedicated talk mic and an airflow channel designed to reduce wind noise.
• Best for simplicity → Sony WI-C100. Physical buttons for everything, no app required, no case to keep track of.
• Best for workouts and sweat → Sony WI-C100. IPX4 splash- and sweat-proofing plus a neckband that won't drop out of your ears.
• Best for multitasking → Nothing Ear (a). Bluetooth 5.3, dual-device connectivity and a low-latency gaming mode.
• Best for people who lose earbuds → Sony WI-C100. It's one connected unit that hangs around your neck between sessions.
If I had to pick one for myself, I'd take the Nothing Ear (a). In my opinion, active noise cancellation is the single feature that changes how you use headphones day to day — on trains, in cafés, on flights — and the Sony simply can't match it. The bigger driver, dual-device switching and app tuning round out a more complete package for how I actually listen. That said, if your priority is a set you charge once and forget, or you want something for sweaty runs with buttons you can press without looking, I'd recommend the Sony WI-C100 without hesitation. Check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding — the gap between them may settle it for you.
Not universally. The Nothing Ear (a) wins on noise cancellation, sound hardware and smart features. The Sony WI-C100 wins on battery life, simplicity and a secure neckband fit. It depends entirely on whether you want ANC or not.
No. Its noise control field is listed as "None" — it relies on passive isolation from the eartips. If blocking out background noise matters to you, the Nothing Ear (a) with its 45 dB hybrid ANC is the one to pick.
The Sony WI-C100 lasts up to 25 hours on a single charge. The Nothing Ear (a) gives over 42.5 hours of total listening with its charging case, but the buds themselves need to go back in the case to get there.
Yes. It connects over Bluetooth 5.3 and supports dual-device connectivity, so it works with either. Just note the ChatGPT feature requires a Nothing series phone, so don't buy it expecting that on other devices.
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