Nothing just launched its brand new pair of aptly-named Headphone (1), and it's already rocketed up to my most exciting over-ear audio designs to date.
While other popular audio makers boast improved performance and more features, there's something about the Nothing Headphone (1) that has me totally entranced. It's not just its design, but also the AI features the Headphone (1) brings to the table.
With the Nothing Ear (open) being my go-to running buds, this should come as no surprise. After tackling the best wireless earbuds, Nothing has set its sights on the over-ear headphones realm — and its Headphone (1) could push the market to new heights.
Despite some serious competition from Sony, Bose, and Apple, here are all the ways the Headphone (1) are my most anticipated audio tech of the year.
The unrivaled chic of Nothing
Nothing has a particular look and style to its products. From earbuds to even some of the best cheap phones, you'll know when you're looking at a Nothing design as it typically adds a touch of transparency, mirroring my atomic purple GameBoy from 1999. Boy, do I miss it.
While Nothing didn't go with any colorful hues like Nintendo, its Headphone (1) will be available in either white or black — and both have their own spectacular chic to them. As with most of its products, you can see into the back of the headphone cups, which are built around a square design.
This largely steers away from other headphones you'll see in the tech world. The big change is the square look, which might not be as appealing for some at first glance. I find it totally interesting. They don't look like headphones — they look more like cyberpunk earcups for citizens living on Mars.
These are the type of headphones people will stop to ask, "What are those?" and that speaks volumes to Nothing's way of thinking when it comes to style.
I do wish Nothing introduced a bit more to them, specifically the glyph design as seen on Nothing's phone lineup. This would set them in a realm far apart from their rivals (I personally don't know of many other premium headphones with flashing lights on them). But I could see this being a bit too flashy for some buyers.
Overall, I really like how Nothing sets itself apart from the rest here. Where most headphones tend to look mostly the same, sharing that oval shape and mostly identical colors, the Nothing Headphone (1) is a breath of fresh air. It says a lot that Nothing isn't afraid to go against the grain.
Talking to Nothing (AI)
A big part of my infatuation with Nothing audio products is its ChatGPT integration. Say what you will about AI no sooner ruling our lives, but having that extra bit of knowledge at my fingertips — or, more accurately, earlobes — is a pleasant feature few others provide.
ChatGPT can be used in a variety of ways beyond simply providing you with the answers to questions you don't already know. Last year, I tried Nothing Ear with ChatGPT and was impressed, largely by the ways it could give me specific directions around my neighborhood and do things for me on the fly, like searching for flights to Japan.
Speaking of Japan, I'm currently learning Japanese and it's a pretty tough language to get down. ChatGPT has helped in a variety of ways, including understanding the right context to some sentences (casual versus formal) and pronunciations, one of the hardest bits to nail properly.
I can already see the potential for this when travelling through hotspots like Akihabara, Kyoto, and Kobe. Using ChatGPT built right into my headphones to alleviate the language barrier is just an added bonus on top of all the cool features the Nothing Headphone (1) already offer.
And while I definitely like the integration's potential on the Nothing Ear, I tend to enjoy headphones more. That's why I can't wait to revisit this neat concept once we get the Headphone (1) in for testing.
Nothing but competition
There's undoubtedly a slew of competitors Nothing is coming up against. The biggest roadblock is the newly launched Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones, which we gave a respectable four out of five stars in our official review.
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are another major rival to the Nothing Headphone (1), offering some of the best noise cancelling you can buy in tandem with its own sleek design ethos set across a variety of colorways.
Despite their features and performance, both the Sony XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones cost $450, making them quite the investment. That's why Nothing's new pair of headphones act as yet another apt stand-in for some of our favorite brands.
At just $299, the Nothing Headphone (1) could give some of the current best headphones on the market real competition beyond just style points. With 80 hours of playback and sound 'acoustically engineered' by KEF, these could have some serious legs in the market.
Of course, you could always wait for the Apple AirPods Max 2. But if those aren't set to release until 2026 and cost even more than the $549 Apple charged for its original set, my money's on Nothing's new headphones.
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