The price of these fashion-forward headphones looks so good it’s no business

ZDNET Highlights

• The Nothing Headphones 1 retail for $299.
• These over-ear headphones feature a 40mm dynamic driver built in partnership with KEF, spatial audio playback, ANC, and more.
• To get the most out of headphones you really have to appreciate their design and customizability.

More Buying Choices

July/2025

Deal: The nothing headphones 1 On sale for a limited time from $239 – a savings of $60.

Nothing’s first over-ear headphones are as ambitious, polarizing, and divisive a product as you’d expect from the brand. The writing was always on the wall – from the moment the London-based tech company debuted with a pair of earbuds with a transparent design.

Yet, somehow, when I unboxed it I found myself taking a step back headphones 1,

To an extent, the Headphones 1 represent the pinnacle of Nothing: a playful, nuanced pair of headphones with teenage engineering influences, a seamless software experience that leaves no iOS or Android user behind, and a feel and finish that could split any room in two.

Too: I have no problem ditching my AirPods for these earbuds — especially at this affordable price

The design will undoubtedly attract attention and start conversations, but it’s the audio performance that will make everyone stop and listen, It happened for me. But is it worth its $299 listing price? This is my verdict after testing.

Let’s start from the beginning. The Headphones 1 effectively consist of four parts: the padded headband, memory foam earcups, the squircle frame, and the transparent module that houses the drivers, battery, and other internal components. Overall, you’re looking at about 329 grams of aluminum, plastic, and foam that doesn’t add an uncomfortable amount of burden to the head.

For reference, my AirPods Max weigh 385 grams, and both the clamping force and weight of the earcups are quite heavy. The lightness of the Nothing headphones can be attributed to the soft-touch plastic throughout the body, which looks good, but simply put, it can feel cheap. For example, the hollowness of circular frames can be heard when they inevitably collide with each other when folded.

For its price, nothing says the headphones have gone through more than 50 rigorous reliability tests. They’re also IP52-rated for dust and some level of water resistance (up to 15 degrees of water spray). Most over-ear headphones aren’t formally tested or designed for any degree of water resistance, so there’s some peace of mind knowing that the Headphones 1 can withstand light rain.

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There are a few niceties throughout the Headphones 1 that I’m more excited about, like the memory foam ear cushions that attempt to conserve skin oil, the “left” and “right” labels along the headband, and the 3.5mm headphone jack for true lossless listening. The zipped carrying case, one of the thinnest I’ve had in my backpack, is also easy to appreciate.

Just know that you’ll have to readjust the distance of the headband every time you put it on and remove it from the case, and there are no distance indicators to consistently match your head size.

To operate the headphones, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with three controls, all of which are tactile and fairly intuitive.

• Roller: Dialing the roller left or right adjusts the volume level. Pressing it toggles play/pause, and a long press toggles between active noise cancellation and transparency modes.
• Paddle: Pushing the paddle left or right skips the track, while a longer push goes backward or fast forward.
• Buttons: A customizable button on the outer frame of the right earcup launches your connected device’s smart assistant or channel hops when paired with the Nothing Phone 3 to switch between multiple media platforms, like your music player, video player or podcasting app.

Also: I ditched my daily driver Bose headphones for the XM6 — and I’m hesitant to go back

I found the controls to be very simple to use, and I prefer their tactile feedback more than the standard tap/touch gestures, as they can often lead to incorrect inputs. My only gripe is the ergonomics of the buttons, as they are too far back for me to use in a natural motion. I often found myself reaching back with my thumb, trying to feel which button was which, and then awkwardly scrolling and pressing.

The audio performance of the Headphones 1 really impresses. This does not include the 40mm dynamic driver, designed with a nickel-plated diaphragm and uniform dome texture, which attacks a broad spectrum of deep lows and clear highs.

i’m jamming F1: Movie The soundtrack, which relies heavily on techno motifs like kick drums, synth stabs and punchy layering, and the headphones did a commendable job with clean separation and spatial depth.

Also: Why I recommend these wireless headphones over expensive flagship models

In Layman’s words, I was able to clearly distinguish layers of instruments from the singer or rapper, which often poses a difficulty for midrange headphones (and even some models that cost more). And with each track, I could feel precision outweighing complexity, something Nothing had expected to achieve by partnering with British audio manufacturer KEF.

Although I’m no bass head – I kept Nothing’s bass enhancement scale on the companion app to a minimum, I found there to be some blurring between percussion, basslines and other deep-sounding instruments. Did this negatively impact the listening experience? Not unless I’m lying down, eyes closed, and looking for details. In almost every other scenario, from the office commute to jogging in the park, I was trembling from start to finish.

It helps that the headphones’ active noise cancellation and transparency modes are so reliably effective. The former rejects ambient sound so that my ears don’t feel pressure within the cups, and the latter reproduces voices, bird chirping and other sounds in an organic manner.

I became especially emotional when I talked to my wife, taking the headphones on and off and barely noticing the difference in her voice. I just wish the headphones did a better job of mixing my speaking voice into playback, as it often comes out shallow and echoey.

Also: I replaced my QuietComfort Ultras with these midrange headphones – and I’m sticking with them

As far as battery life goes, the Headphones 1 lasted me about four days with heavy use (ANC on and volume around 65%). That’s a little less than the Nothing’s 37-hour rating (or 80 hours with ANC off), but still pretty impressive compared to the AirPods Max (20 hours), the Sony WH-1000XM6 (30 hours), and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (24 hours). These are the longest-lasting wireless headphones I’ve tested so far.

ZDNET’s shopping advice

That is to say, the Nothing is the first pair of over-ear headphones headphones 1There is a lot for them. They sound great, last a long time, and have enough customization options within the app to meet your listening needs. At $299, the Headphones 1 undercut its closest flagship competitors by at least $100. Heck, they make my $549 AirPods Max feel like highway robbery.

I’ll need a few more weeks, and possibly some cross-country flights, to finalize my opinion on the funky, transparent design. But if you’re bored of the same monochrome look of traditional headphones like the folks at Nothing, I would recommend trying out this pair.