Nothing’s first set of headphones are expensive and eye-catching

Nothing has put an end to months of teases by formally announcing its first-ever set of over-ear headphones.

Branded as the Headphones 1, Nothing's foray into premium noise cans to take it to the likes of Sony and Bose with premium materials, crisp sound quality and smarter AI integrations. Naturally, it all comes wrapped in an eye-catching design with transparent elements and a unique squared-off set of earcups.

On the inside, Nothing's first set of over-ear headphones boast a set of custom 40mm drivers and a nickel-plated diaphragm. In addition, the company claims it worked closely with audio brand KEF to tune the sound quality of the hardware here.

Beyond the strikingly see-through looks, another detail that stands out about the Headphones 1 is the interface. Akin to other challengers in the over-ear headphones space like Sonos, Nothing has gone in on a set of physical buttons rather than touch-based sensors.

There are three inputs in total. Firstly, there's a "roller" that can be used to play, pause, toggle ANC and adjust the volume. Then, below that, there's a "paddle" that you can use to skip tracks and answer calls. Finally, there's a dedicated button that lets you toggle between different audio sources or quickly call up your voice or AI assistant of choice.

As for noise-cancelling, the Headphones 1 let you choose between 3 different preset levels of sonic nullification out of the box. Alternatively, you can let "AI" take the wheel. If you do, the Headphones 1 will actively check and adjust for both external noise and sound leakage and adjust in real-time. 

There's also support for Spatial Audio, a set of alternative ear cushions included in the box, plus integration with the Nothing X app. If you pair the Headphones 1 up with the aforementioned, you'll be able to set different profiles, adjust the sound via an 8-band equaliser, enable a low-latency mode and tinker with button functionality as you desire.

Battery-wise, the Nothing Headphones 1 offer 80 hours of playback on a single charge without ANC. In order to reach that number, though, you will have to turn off the noise-cancelling. With it enabled, you're only looking at around 35 hours.

Whenever the Headphones 1 do run out of juice, the fast-charging to the sum of 5 mins of charging to 5 hours of playback (or 2.4 hours with ANC) ensures you won't be sitting in silence for too long. Meanwhile, those who make use of the support for LDAC audio are looking at 54 hours without noise cancelling and 30 hours with the feature enabled instead.

In Australia, the Nothing Headphones 1 will launch in July 2025 at a recommended retail price of $549.