8.2/ 10 SCORE Nothing Headphone (1) Pros
Sturdy, eye-catching design with translucent components
Clean, clear sound with well-defined bass that is satisfying to take heed to
Strong noise-canceling and voice-calling efficiency
Excellent controls which can be intuitive to make use of
USB-C audio
Nice carrying case
Cons
Headphones are heavy and never fairly as comfy as some competing fashions
They fold flat however do not fold up
Sound high quality is nice however not a wow
The ear pads aren’t simply detachable and it is unclear whether or not they’re replaceable
For the previous couple of years Nothing has been making true-wireless earbuds with eye-catching designs for Android and Apple units. Now it is launched its first over-ear noise canceling mannequin, the Headphone (1), in collaboration with KEF, the well-regarded British audio firm that is identified extra for its audio system than its headphones. It’s out there for preorder now and ships July 15. This is a premium mannequin — it retails for $299 (£299) — and Nothing touted it in a teaser video as a less expensive, higher various to the Apple AirPods Max. The query is, does it reside as much as that type of hype? The reply is not essentially a convincing sure, however there is a case to be made that it is a greater worth than the AirPods Max. Read extra: Best noise-canceling headphones of 2025Nothing Headphone (1) design: Retro vibes
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The Nothing Headphone (1) is available in white or black. Andrew Lanxon/CNETNothing was based in London in 2020 by Carl Pei, the previous co-founder of OnePlus. The translucent theme has been a part of the corporate’s design ethos from the get-go, included into its Android smartphones and earbuds. So all people anticipated that Nothing’s over-ear headphones would have some type of see-through ear cup.I used to be anticipating extra of a spherical or oval design, consistent with its earbuds. But Nothing went with extra of a sq. form — or squircle because the corners are rounded off. And whereas there have been loads of headphones with sq. ear cups previously, this mannequin has a singular retro look with cassette tape vibes. Watch this: Nothing Headphone (1) Unboxing
00:41 I used to be impressed with the construct high quality. The ear cups mix aluminum with high-tech plastic components and the ear cushions are oil-resistant and have comfy reminiscence foam inside conforms to your head and passively seals out ambient sound. The headphones fold flat however not up and include a pleasant carrying case.They do appear sturdy. However, they seem to be a tad on the heavy facet, weighing 329 grams. That’s lighter than the 385-gram AirPods Max however each the 254-gram Bose QuietComfort Ultra and 254-gram Sony WH-1000XM6 weigh noticeably much less and I discovered each these fashions slightly extra to put on over longer listening classes.
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The ear cups are oil-resistant and conform to your head to create seal. They’re detachable however it’s unclear whether or not Nothing will supply substitute ear pads. Andrew Lanxon/CNETThat mentioned, these headphones’ form and design imply they do not look as large in your head just like the Sony ones do. I like how the controls have been carried out (anticipate for the truth that the Bluetooth button, situated on the within of the ear piece, is hidden). They’re bodily management buttons and among the many finest I’ve used on a pair of headphones that I’ve examined to this point. Along with an precise on-off change, there is a smooth-operating curler button for elevating and decreasing quantity and toggling by means of noise-canceling settings. A paddle button means that you can skip tracks ahead and again. And a button that Nothing merely calls “the Button” prompts your voice assistant. It can be programmed as a shortcut to different options akin to Nothing’s Channel Hop characteristic, which lets you toggle between latest audio apps. Before I get to sound high quality and noise-canceling efficiency, I’ll shortly speak concerning the headphone’s characteristic set. You get just about what you’d anticipate from a set of premium headphones nowadays, however it does not include extras like a dialog consciousness mode.
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The headphone’s controls are properly designed. Andrew Lanxon/CNETNothing Headphone (1) characteristic set: Solid however not spectacularThere are ear-detection sensors — you could activate them within the Nothing X companion app — that pause your music if you take the headphones off your head and resume playback if you put them again on, a spatial audio mode with head-tracking, a low-latency mode for gaming and multipoint Bluetooth pairing. These headphones use Bluetooth 5.3.Additionally, there is a discover my characteristic that means that you can play a sound by means of the headphones must you depart them below an object or they handle to cover themselves in different methods. And lastly you get preset EQ settings within the app, plus an eight-band equalizer to effective tune issues to your liking.Impressive noise cancellation and name high qualityThe noise cancellation was higher than I anticipated. From my exams within the streets of New York, the headphones have spectacular noise muffling capabilities. There are 4 ANC modes — low, medium, excessive and adaptive. The noise canceling is not fairly as much as the extent of what you get with Sony’s WH-1000XM6 headphones, however no less than it is a contest. The transparency mode can be good — it is pure sounding. Another space the place the headphones exceeded my expectations was voice-calling efficiency. The headphone has six microphones, 4 of that are used for voice voice calls. Callers mentioned they may hear me clearly with minimal background noise in noisy streets of New York. Voices of individuals speaking within the background sometimes leaked by means of however callers mentioned they heard nearly no visitors noise.
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Retro vibes. Andrew Lanxon/CNETEnjoyable, clear soundFrom a tech standpoint, these headphones have 40mm drivers with a nickel-plated diaphragm, together with rim and dome. Nothing says that provides rigidity to reinforce readability within the highs and energy within the bass.That’s all true, and the headphones are clear sounding, with nearly no distortion, even at excessive volumes. Fairly open for closed again headphones, they provide properly balanced sound and constant, well-defined bass. They’re satisfying headphones to take heed to. If I have been to get nitpicky, I’d say they’re only a contact medical sounding, even after I performed round with the EQ settings within the app. By that I imply they do not supply the extra pure, intimate sound of among the best-sounding headphones that provide slightly extra depth and refinement and make you need to return and take heed to all of your favourite tracks to see how they sound. I ought to notice that I listened to the headphones with each an iPhone 16 Pro utilizing the AAC audio codec and the Google Pixel 9 utilizing the AAC and LDAC audio codecs. A headphone cable is offered for wired listening and there is additionally USB-C audio for a digital wired connection. You do get a contact extra readability going wired, however it’s not an evening and day distinction.
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The headphones do characteristic USB-C audio and likewise include 3.5mm cable for wired listening. Andrew Lanxon/CNETHealthy battery lifeBattery life is typical for at the moment’s over-ear noise-canceling headphones, which is to say fairly good. You rise up to 35 hours of listening time at average quantity ranges with noise-canceling on and as much as 80 hours with it off. Using the LDAC audio codec does impression battery life, dropping you right down to 30 hours as a substitute of 35 with ANC on. A 5-minute cost will get you 2.4 hours of battery life with ANC on.How do they stack as much as the competitors?As for competing fashions, I’m nonetheless barely extra a fan of the Sony WH-1000XM6 for consolation they usually have the slight efficiency edge for noise canceling, sound high quality and voice-calling. But they do value $150 extra. As I mentioned within the intro, I do assume that Nothing has a case to make that these headphones are a greater worth than the AirPods Max. Like the AirPods Max, they’ve a singular look that makes them immediately recognizable (whether or not you just like the look of both headphone is a matter of style, in fact).
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Side by facet with Apple’s AirPods Max. Andrew Lanxon/CNETWhile I’m extra a fan of the sound of the AirPods Max and like their total efficiency and have set for iPhone customers, they’re nearly 5 years outdated in case you do not depend the USB-C refresh from final 12 months, which wasn’t a serious replace. They’re promoting for $480 on Amazon proper now, so that they value much more than the Sonys. A extra apt comparability from each a value and design standpoint can be to Skullcandy’s new Aviator 900 ANC headphones, which additionally value $300 and have a translucent theme. The Aviator 900 ANC type of shocked me as a result of Skullcandy is healthier identified for its Crusher headphones, which ship bone-rattling bass however not so-called premium sounding headphones. However, the Aviator 900, developed in partnership with THX, delivers surprisingly impessive sound. It’s not so nice out of the field, however after you make some tweaks to the EQ within the app and activate the THX spatial audio, the sound improves dramatically and is arguably extra thrilling than the Nothing Headphone (1) sound and extra enjoyable to take heed to. The Skullcandy Aviator 900 ANC additionally value $300. David Carnoy/CNETThe Aviator 900 can be lighter (289 grams) and extra comfy to put on. Plus, it not solely folds flat however folds up (right into a tender carrying case that I like) and likewise has some nifty bodily management buttons. It, too options good noise canceling and voice-calling efficiency, although the Nothing Headphone (1) could have a slight edge in these departments. Even so, I barely most popular Skullcandy headphones for his or her sound and match.Nothing Headphone (1) last thoughtsAll issues thought of, the Nothing Headphone (1) ended up being extra spectacular than I assumed it could be. Nothing has at all times been advertising and marketing firm that often does a bang-up job hyping its merchandise up. Its first earbuds have been slightly extra model over substance (the efficiency has improved with newer fashions), however this headphone’s sturdy, eye-catching design is backed by sturdy efficiency. While I’ve some quibbles with the headphone being slightly heavy and I barely choose the sound high quality of some competing fashions, this is likely one of the finest new headphones of 2025. It might be fascinating to see if its value can come down a bit to make it an much more compelling premium noise-canceling headphone choice.