Nothing Headphone 1 The Nothing Headphone 1 mark a bold debut in the over-ear headphones space. There are some sound quality inconsistencies with ANC enabled and their heavy, overly-tight frame aren't great for those with a larger head and ears, but with USB-C audio, built-in spatial features, and a rare IP52 rating, Nothing's first-ever cans are feature-rich, uniquely vintage-styled alternatives to the best from Sony, Bose, and Apple.
It’s a few weeks short of a full four years since Nothing released its first product: the Ear 1 true wireless earbuds. Now, Nothing is taking a huge leap in the audio space by throwing its hat into the over-ear headphones ring. In an increasingly competitive market, the Nothing Headphone 1 stand out by offering a unique design and future-proof features for a reasonable price of $299. I got the chance to test them ahead of launch, and I’m pretty impressed by what the London-based upstart brand has achieved here.
Retro fashion and modern functionality
Tom Triggs / Android Authority Unlike most over-ear headphones, the Nothing Headphone (1) ear cups wear a rounded-rectangle design.
While the Headphone 1 are broadly reminiscent of the shape of the Apple AirPods Max, Nothing brings OS-agnostic functionality and industry-leading tech to iOS and Android fans.
First impressions are everything, and the Headphone (1) follow in true Nothing fashion with eye-catching transparent elements. The rest of the build is aesthetically pleasing and consists of aluminium components and resilient plastic materials. My first thought was that the outer cup designs look like two Sony Walkman WM-4s strapped to your ears, but they promise and deliver up-to-date functionality. The company didn’t skimp on high-end materials, either, fitting 40mm dynamic drivers into each ear cup with 8.9mm polyurethane surrounds. Like 2024’s excellent Nothing Ear buds, the headphones launch in attractive Black and White colorways.
The Nothing Headphone 1 bring OS-agnostic functionality and industry-leading audio tech to iOS and Android fans.
Contrary to many of their competitors, the Nothing Headphone 1 opt for tactile buttons instead of touch controls. While this can inadvertently alter the fit and affect active noise cancelation (ANC) and sound quality during use, I like it in this instance. Despite my longer hair, I found I could conduct most commands without much issue. The only problem I experienced during the review period was with the roller on the right ear cup. In ideal conditions, this can be pressed to play or pause music, held to activate ANC or transparency mode, or scrolled horizontally to adjust volume. However, the roller seems to struggle registering volume swipes when hair gets in the way, which is a little annoying.
Tom Triggs / Android Authority The ear cups feature plush polyurethane memory foam that should mold to most head shapes.
The headphones feature an intuitive paddle control for track skipping and for answering or ending calls. If you feel like replaying a catchy riff, you can hold the paddle in either direction to fast forward or rewind songs by 10-second increments. However, this feature isn’t supported ubiquitously — for example, I couldn’t get it to work on Spotify, but I used it successfully with my smartphone’s built-in media player.
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