Is the Nothing Ear (a) worth the upgrade from the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro?
Verdict
Downgrade
The Nothing Ear (a) actually scores 6.0 points below the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro, so on aggregate review consensus this is a step backwards. The gains are concentrated in battery (7.5 to 8.5). You do give up ground on sound (8.5 to 8.0) and noise cancelling (8.0 to 7.5). On paper: battery incl. case 40 h to 42.5 h and case weight 51 g to 39.6 g. Worth checking: battery life (anc on) goes 7.5 h to 5.5 h and wireless charging goes Yes to No. One caution: this steps down a line tier (Liberty 4 Pro to Ear (a)), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It is at least $70 cheaper, so the lower score comes with a saving. Only worth it if a specific feature above matters more to you than overall quality does.
What actually changes
Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.
- Sound8.58.0
- Noise cancelling8.07.5
- Battery7.58.5
- Calls8.08.0
- Value8.58.5
Spec differences
Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.
| Spec | Liberty 4 Pro | Ear (a) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water resistance | IPX5 | IP54 | |
| Battery life (ANC on) | 7.5 h | 5.5 h | |
| Battery incl. case | 40 h | 42.5 h | |
| Case weight | 51 g | 39.6 g | |
| Wireless charging | Yes | No | |
| Wear detection | Yes | No | |
| Quick charge | 5 min = 4 h | 10 min = 10 h (ANC off) | |
| Call noise reduction | AI noise reduction | Clear Voice Technology 3.0 | |
| Frequency response | 14Hz-40kHz | 20Hz-20kHz |
About this verdict
Direction matters here: this page answers "Liberty 4 Pro to Ear (a)". The other direction is a separate question with a different answer. Scores blend published review verdicts across true wireless and shift as new reviews land, so a marginal call today may not be one next quarter.