Nothing Headphone (1)

Incredible battery life and near-flagship ANC wrapped in the coolest headphone design in years. They're a bit heavy for all-day wear, but you'll be too busy showing them off to care.

The battery life is the standout stat. 80 hours with ANC off is best-in-class, and even with noise cancelling cranked, you're getting around 35 hours. That quick-charge feature is no joke either. Five minutes plugged in gets you five hours of playback, which has saved me more than once. The ANC itself is a pleasant surprise. It's adaptive and genuinely smart about it, ranking in the 92nd percentile in our database. It won't quite dethrone the Sony WH-1000XM6 in pure silence, but it's close enough that most people won't care. The sound, tuned by KEF, leans a little bright out of the box, but the 8-band EQ in the app lets you dial it in perfectly. LDAC support is a nice touch for the audiophiles.

The obvious rival is the Sony WH-1000XM6. Sony still wins on pure comfort and a slightly more refined ANC, but the Nothing Headphone (1) fights back with double the battery life and a design that doesn't put you to sleep. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 sounds a bit warmer and more premium out of the box, but its ANC isn't as strong. If you want the absolute best noise cancelling and all-day comfort, get the Sony. If you want personality, killer battery, and 90% of the ANC performance for less cash, the Nothing is the more interesting buy.

Pricing is a bit of a rollercoaster across vendors, with a spread of over $33,000, which is clearly some weird listing glitch. Ignore the outliers. At the real-world price around $179, these are a steal. You're getting flagship ANC, a unique design, and battery life that embarrasses headphones costing twice as much. If you can snag them at that lower end, it's a no-brainer.

Nothing's first over-ear headphones are a statement piece that actually delivers where it counts. The retro cassette design is the obvious headline here, and in person, it's even cooler than the photos. But the real story is the absurd 80-hour battery life and a genuinely impressive noise cancellation system that puts these in the same conversation as Sony's best. The KEF tuning partnership isn't just marketing fluff either. These sound open, detailed, and surprisingly balanced for a pair of cans that look this wild.

If you're looking for a lightweight, all-day work headphone you can wear for eight hours straight, this isn't it. The 329g weight and just-average comfort will wear on you. Go get the Sony WH-1000XM6 instead. Studio users should also look elsewhere. The sound is fun and spacious, but it's not a flat reference tuning.

The Nothing Headphone (1) is a fantastic first swing at the over-ear market. It nails the basics with incredible battery life and genuinely great noise cancellation, then wraps it all in a design that's impossible to ignore. The weight and just-okay comfort stop it from being a perfect all-day workhorse, but for everyone else who wants their tech to have some soul, this is an easy recommendation.