Nothing’s Headphone (1) Is Something Impressive

As someone who has been openly critical of Nothing’s claims that it will revolutionize the technology world, I happen to actually love the brand’s products. From the excellent Ear (a)—among our favorite cheap earbuds—to its affordable smartphones, the brand leverages excellent design and near-top-tier internals to absolutely dominate the mid-tier of the tech market.

The Headphone (1) noise-canceling over-ears, I am happy to say, continue this tradition. They look as good (or better) than more expensive models from Sony, Apple, and Bose, and they offer nearly all the same features, for hundreds of dollars less. That, plus a very usable set of controls, excellent passive noise isolation, and an easy-to-use app make these among the best headphones you can buy for $300 or less.

Fresh Faced

Where other Nothing headphones directly steal their design cues from posher Apple models, the new Headphone (1) is clearly its own thing. The rounded rectangles come with clear outer ear cups that showcase a bass chamber inside the headphones, with a red dot on the right ear cup so you’ll never put them on backwards.

They look like something a Stormtrooper would wear in their bunk between patrols, but for some reason they don’t make me feel like a total weirdo in public. The white-and-silver colorway of my review unit is flashy, but I imagine if you got them in the also available black-and-gunmetal version, you’d barely get a second glance.

One thing you won’t feel until you put the headphones on is how excellent the controls are. They come with a rolly, clicky wheel on the upper part of the right ear cup and a flicky switch below that. This allows you to adjust volume and play and pause music, as well as to go back and forth between tracks. You can even hold the switch right or left to fast-forward or rewind—very nice when skipping ads during podcasts. Physical controls are so much better than touch controls in nearly all instances, and these are some of the best and most intuitive controls ever designed.

On the bottom of the right ear cup you’ll find the on-off switch (red when off, also very helpful), a 3.5-mm cable port, and the USB-C port for charging. These headphones offer a Sony-, Bose-, and Apple-beating 35 hours of battery life, which is great when on long trips.

Outside on the right, there is a button that allows you to use your voice assistant (or call up Nothing’s AI if you have a Nothing phone), but I like that this button is hidden where I’ve never accidentally bumped it—an annoyance on competitors.

Getting a Head

Photograph: Parker Hall

You’ll notice that the headphones feel very secure on your head, thanks to an L-shaped metal bar that attaches the ear cups to the headband from the very outside. This allows for more even pressure distribution from the synthetic leather and memory foam of the earpads. They’re firm, but comfortable enough for long listening sessions. The only downside? Though the pads are technically removable, Nothing currently has no plans to sell replacements. Hopefully that will change.