'You could've given me 10 guesses, I wouldn't have gone for this': my favorite cheap Nothing earbuds finally have a successor, but the USP isn't my idea of 'joyful'

• Nothing wants you to 'Go all in with Ear (3a)', its new $99 / £99 earbuds
• Their top feature? 32MB of built-in flash storage, for 'Audio Snapshot' capture
• You can clip up what you're hearing, (voice note / lecture / call) by pinching both buds

New budget Nothing earbuds are in! And they're called… wait, what are they called?

Let's sort out the naming strategy early doors: Nothing calls its (a)-suffixed series its mid-range "playful" and "joyful" offering, for its "young, creative, engaged" followers. The company adds that the Ear (3a) are "designed for a generation that sees technology as an extension of their personality."

Furthermore, while these are to be seen as a solid update on the excellent, five-star 2024 Nothing Ear (a) — take note, there is no Nothing (2a), so don't look for them — they're also to be seen as a product that slides in nicely next to the still-current, but more expensive and definitely more flagship Nothing Ear (3). Okay? Good. This is important, because the Ear (a) are some of the best budget earbuds I've ever had the pleasure of testing.

You'll likely have noticed there's a new striking pink finish alongside the traditional black, white, and an (updated, so I'm told) yellow, but the big selling point with this iteration is the introduction of 32MB of built-in flash storage, "allowing users to capture audio moments directly through their earbuds".

Essentially, the Ear (3a) let the wearer instantly clip up media they’re listening to, just by pinching both earbuds before the content you want starts, and after the audio finishes, thereby creating an audio 'snapshot' of the moment.

So, a Dear Diary idea, or perfect for lyric capture when inspiration grabs you? Yes, but there's more: the Ear (3a) also allow users to start in-call recording on the earbuds with a simple gesture, and you'll apparently be able to get approximately two hours of 'tape' on your buds without reaching for your phone.

Is this… a wholly good idea in the era of active consent? Because to me it sounds potentially problematic regarding consent to being recorded during private phone conversations — although Nothing tells me a privacy notification alerts participants whenever recording is active.

Nothing also tells me said recordings are automatically synced to the Nothing X app, where they can be replayed, edited, shared and/or transcribed (using your Nothing device). Users can also transform key transcript moments into shareable quote cards.

Honestly? You could've given me 10 guesses as to which direction the company would head with its "playful" Nothing earbuds, and this wouldn't be on that list. Nothing might call it an 'Audio Snapshot', but when used for calls (and because I am a woman of a certain age in the UK) my mind goes to another phrase: phone hacking.

Nothing Ear (3a): other specs and features you need to know

I was lucky enough to attend an early briefing on the Nothing Ear (3a) and so I know that under the hood is a new 12mm driver, 1mm bigger than the one in Nothing's current flagship buds.

As with the splendid Ear (a), LDAC is back for budget hi-res audio, too. There's also a new three-LED status light that Nothing says is "joyful", and it can perform a total of six status indications (for battery status, pairing status, charging levels and so on) in a li’l matrix array. I'll hand it to Nothing there — it’s really quite fun.

Elsewhere, the corner radius of the case has been softened by 50%, making it rounder and easier on the palm. While I'm on the subject of comfort, there's an improved ear-tip design (the tips are a little thicker and more flared across the outer wall) and you get an extra XS size too, plus an 8-band EQ tab in Nothing's a-series for the first time.

Other firsts include an ‘aerospace-grade’ diaphragm on that larger driver, plus the first ever wide-band 45dB ANC algorithm in Nothing's a-series. Nothing tells me said noise nixing is actually improved by 17.1% compared to the Ear (a), thanks to a software upgrade and improved architecture concerning where the mic sits.

Nothing has also thrown in its own Static Spatial Audio for first time in the a-series (think head-tracked spatial audio), plus presets in the Nothing X app.

Finally, Nothing is claiming improved voice clarity thanks to the 3-mic AI voice algorithm — which should be handy for recording those 'Audio Snapshots' onto the 16MB flash drive storage in each bud.

Battery life? Of course: the claim is 10 hours on the earbuds alone with ANC disabled. With ANC enabled, users should be able to enjoy up to 25 hours of total listening time (which is huge), and up to 42 hours with case. Also, you'll get an IP54 rating for both buds and case — so essentially they're dust- and splash-proof.

The Ear (3a) are available now, priced at $99 / £99 (or around AU$190, where sold). And while I can't vouch for the sound yet, I'm working on it…