Nothing Headphone (1) review: I think they've got something here

Where is it written that every consumer electronic device has to look the same? Certainly not in the playbook at Nothing, the quirky London-based electronics company spearheaded by Carl Pei, the co-founder of China's OnePlus. Since it started operations in 2020, the company has crafted some refreshingly unique phones, watches, earbuds and, now, an over-the-ear headphone.

With its retro styling and translucent accents, the Nothing Headphone (1) looks like, well, nothing else on the market — in a good way. And despite its premium design and feature set, it's priced well below competitors from Apple, Bose and Sony. But assuming you like the looks, are there any reasons you should steer clear? Or, does this join the pantheon of the best wireless headphones? Here's my Nothing Headphone (1) review.

To my thinking, the measures of a headphone boil down to fit, features, sound quality and price. At $299, the Headphone (1) isn't cheap, but it's certainly more affordable than the Apple AirPods Max ($549), Sony WH-1000XM6 ($449) and Bose QuietComfort Ultra ($429). And it's not unreasonable to expect discounts as the holidays get closer; the Headphone (1) was already marked down to $269 to coincide with Labor Day sales.

Nothing Headphone (1): How it fits

This is a subjective area, as I have only my own head to use for reference. I'll just say that many over-the-ear headphones get uncomfortable for me after a while, mostly due to the pressure of the headband on my noggin, but often owing to tight earcups as well. (And the fit needs to be on the tighter side to block out as much external noise as possible.)

Nothing outfitted these headphones with remarkably soft memory-foam earcups, though that's to be expected these days. However, the headband padding, while similarly cushy, measures only about four inches across; I found the Headphone (1) a little heavy, and therefore felt a bit more pressure up top. Thus, overall this ranked a little low on the comfort scale — for me, anyway. Your head-mileage may vary.

Nothing Headphone (1): Features

On the feature front, the Headphone (1) wants for, er, nothing. (Last pun, I promise.) Here's a summary of the key specs, followed by some relevant thoughts:

• Color options: Black, white

• Controls: Mechanical

• Spatial audio: Yes

• Head-detection: Yes

• Dual connection: Yes

• USB-C audio: Yes

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, wired

• Weight: 11.6 ounces

• Max. battery life: 80 hours (with ANC off)

Colors: I tested the "white" model, which is actually more silver with white accents. I strongly recommend this over the black version, as those accents are much harder to see — and half the point of these headphones, if you ask me.

Imagine an old-fashioned cassette tape. Now imagine that it's oval-shaped instead of rectangular, and stuck to the outside of each earcup under a clear-plastic shell. That's the vibe you get from the Headphone (1), and maybe it's just because I grew up listening to cassettes, but I absolutely dig it. It's such a refreshing change from the boring lookalikes made by most other brands.

It's weird, though, that the black version is so subtle. The "cassettes" are so dark, they blend in with the outer casing; you'd barely notice them unless you looked closely.

Controls: Headphone controls can be tricky. Some go too far with too many buttons, others saddle you with limited or finicky touch pads.

Here, it's all mechanical — in the best possible way. There's an on/off slider switch, a volume-control roller and a "paddle" to skip tracks. I especially love the roller; it's silky-smooth to move with your thumb and ultra-precise: You can easily raise or lower the volume by a little or a lot. It's also a button: press it to play/pause, long-press to switch between ANC and transparency modes.

The paddle is great, too, because it's intuitive to rock it right for next-track or left for last-track, or hold it to fast-forward or rewind. I had a little more trouble remembering how to use it to answer and reject calls, though. (Again, it's right and left, respectively, but my brain doesn't connect with that as easily.)

Finally, there's a sort of stray (and unlabeled) button on the outer edge of the right earcup; you can program this for any of five functions: activate your phone's voice assistant, toggle spatial audio, mute the microphone and so on.

One quirk: Beneath the power switch, which I otherwise love, it shows an orange color when the headphones are off and white when they're on. To me that's backward.

Spatial audio: I'm a huge fan of this feature, which simulates surround-sound in a really effective way. You can choose between "fixed" and "head tracking" modes; the latter makes your phone the focal point, meaning if you turn your head, the sound shifts so it sounds like it's coming from that direction.

This is better experienced than read about; I'll just say that Nothing's implementation is first-rate. I especially love it for watching movies, as you get a real theater-like experience.

Battery life: The Headphone (1) blows just about every competitor out of the water, promising up to 35 hours of listening time with ANC turned on and 80 hours with it off. For sake of comparison, Apple AirPods Max are good for only about 20 hours with ANC.

Companion app: Ten out of 10, no notes. When I see an app as beautifully designed and intuitive as Nothing's, which makes it a breeze to find exactly the feature or setting you want, it rankles me all the more that a company like Sony fails so miserably on this front — despite charging $150 more for its headphone.

Carrying case: This durable zippered case includes a pocket to hold the USB-C cable, 3.5mm stereo audio cable and instruction guide. It's admirably slim, owing to the headphones' lay-flat rotating cups, but take note that these don't actually fold, resulting in a fairly tall and wide case overall.

Water-resistance: While plenty of earbuds are sweat-resistant, not many headphones make that claim. The Headphone (1) has an IP52 rating, meaning it can protect against dust and the likes of sweat and light rain. Competing full-size headphones from Apple, Bose and Sony have no such rating.

Nothing Headphone (1): Sound quality and noise-cancelling

If you think fit is subjective, it's nothing compared to sound quality. My ear isn't audiophile-grade; I just like listening to music, rarely paying much attention to things like sound signature and bass response. That said, this is a review, so here goes: My first impression of the Headphone (1) was that it sounded a little flat, with not much bass. There's a dedicated Bass Enhancement toggle, but even at its maximum setting, the difference was subtle.

Nothing's equalizer offers a scant four presets — tuned by British audio-engineering company KEF — but you can get much more granular with its 8-band custom option. (I just wish it offered some explanation for advanced settings like frequency and Q factor.) After some fiddling, I was able to tune the audio more to my liking.

To put this another way: The Headphone (1) doesn't deliver the absolute best sound I've ever heard, but it's very good overall and likely to satisfy all but the most discerning listener.

One thing to note: While watching videos, I noticed that audio was slightly out of sync — not uncommon with headphones and earbuds. Fortunately, there's a "low-lag" toggle in the app (ostensibly used for gaming) that solves this problem.

As for noise-cancelling, it's very good against the likes of fans, airplane engines and crowd noise, but less effective when you're outside in a windy environment. (To be fair, a lot of headphones struggle with this.) While it doesn't quite match the ANC provided by the latest Bose and Sony cans, it's in the neighborhood, at least.

And if you like to take calls while wearing headphones (something I find deeply unpleasant, to be honest), here's good news: The Headphone (1) dedicates four of its six microphones to call-oriented noise-cancellation, which is why callers said they heard little to no background noise when I walked along a busy street.

Nothing Headphone (1): Should you buy it?

I give Nothing a ton of credit for crafting a headphone that stands out from the crowd. On a recent trip, I noticed several appreciative glances and even scored a "cool headphones" comment from a stranger. I'm also gaga over the analog controls, arguably my favorite of any headphone I've tested. I think usability is an important factor for any electronics purchase, and between those great controls and Nothing's superb app, this scores a big win.

I just wish I didn't feel the Headphone (1) so acutely on the top of my head. Again, you might have a different experience; I asked my wife to wear them and she found them perfectly comfortable. I also wish I'd been a bit more "wowed" by the sound, as I was with the Sonos Ace (still our top pick among wireless headphones).

But that's the thing with headphones: You just can't know until you try them yourself. On the whole, I think the Headphone (1) feels like a premium product at a mid-range price, and that appeals to me right down to my DNA. Before you splurge on the likes of Bose or Sony, you owe it to yourself to look at (and listen to) Nothing instead. (OK, that was the last one.)