Nothing Goes Big on Audio with $549 Headphone (1)

• Nothing is launching its first major foray into high-quality on-ear audio with the Headphone (1) on 15 July for AU$549
• The design-first headphones will last 35 hours per charge, while using ANC
• To deliver great audio in a new form factor, Nothing partnered with 60-year-audio-veterans KEF

UK-based tech company Nothing has finally lifted the lid on one of its most ambitious products to date: the Nothing Headphone (1). It’s the company’s first foray into the over-ear audio, marks a new collaboration with Hi-Fi pioneers KEF, and importantly is launching on 15 July, 2025 for AU$549.

Nothing has built its brand on doing things differently from a design point of view, and the Headphone (1) very much delivers on that.

So many headphone brands fall into the same design language, but here Nothing has produced something that looks like old-school cassette tapes jammed against your head – but in a way that I’m super into.

Sound by KEF

It’s not just a bold design, though: the Headphone (1) delivers the goods. By partnering with the audio legends at KEF, Nothing have been able to pack some serious quality into what is its first real attempt at an over-ear product.

Custom-built 40mm dynamic drivers are set to output deep bass, detailed mids, and crisp highs – all dialled-in by experts with more than 60 years’ experience in producing and replicating high-fidelity sound.

Plus, it seems like the Headphone (1) adds in all the modern amenities you’d expect: support for Hi-Res Audio, LDAC, USB-C lossless playback, a 3.5mm audio jack, a precision damping system, and on-device spatialisation and built-in head tracking – which effectively allows the Headphone (1) to turn stereo audio into a “360-degree soundstage” that responds to your movement. We’re looking forward to testing that.

It’ll also include real-time active noice cancelling to help you drown out the busy city around you (or busy office), while a transparency mode will serve to keep you alert when you need it. By pairing the device with the Nothing X app, which is also used to control the brand’s earbuds, you can activate AI-powered ANC which has been trained on more then 28 million noise scenarios, and will raise and lower the ANC as needed to keep unnecessary sound out while also potentially keeping battery life high.

Speaking of battery, the Headphone (1) feature a pretty beefy internal battery which will, by Nothing’s tests, deliver up to 35 hours of listening time per charge with ANC turned on.

The ‘Button’

At the centre of this listening experience, according to Nothing, is the Button. What is the button? Well, it’s a button, of course, but it highlights a unique approach to how the brand sees people using the Headphone (1).

A single press will activate something Nothing is calling ‘Channel Hop’, which will switch the Headphone (1) between a number of recent audio apps or favourite functions without the user needing to actively using their device. It’s meant to make hands-free use a bit easer, and, again, it’s something we’re keen to test out ourselves.

It can also be configured to trigger voice commands or open the brand’s AI product, Essential Space.

When Can I Get the Nothing Headphone (1)?

The Nothing Headphone (1) is available to pre-order on 2 July, 2025 through Nothing’s website, as well as Optus and JB Hi-Fi, and is set to launch on 15 July for AU$549.