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Nothing Headphone (1), the helmet that can shake Sony, Bose and Apple and many others

The first Nothing helmet, called Headphone (1), aims to shake up the high -end headphones market thanks to a transparent design, a collaboration with Kef for acoustics and an affordable price for less than 300 euros.

Nothing Headphone (1) // Source : Nothing

Founded in London in 2020, the Nothing brand quickly established itself as an atypical actor in the universe of tech, focusing on products with singular design and neat user experience. With more than 10 million units sold in four years, the company today reveals its first Circum-Aurral audio helmet, the Headphone (1).

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After rumors and a recent video leak, this model definitively marks a turning point in the brand’s desire to make technology more expressive and more personal, based on an international community of more than three million members and certainly others to come.

A design at the Nothing

Headphone (1) is immediately distinguished by its approach: it is not only a question of offering a quality sound, but also of proposing an object which arouses emotion and the desire to interact. The brand claims to have concentrated all its know-how in terms of design, engineering and ergonomics to create a helmet that attracts the eye while guaranteeing a extensive listening experience. He offers retrofuturist lines that some will love while others will hate. It was nonetheless expected that the London brand, which has always endeavored to offer particularly successful and counterclockwise designs, with transparency.

Nothing Headphone (1) // Source : Nothing

This transparency, associated with clean lines and chosen materials, gives the product an immediately recognizable look. This original positioning aims to compete with market references, in particular the models of Sony, Bose or Apple, by standing out by a strong visual identity.

The structure of the helmet combines aluminum formed for robustness, molded plastics for balance and memory foam for comfort. The pads (not removable except by the after -sales service) in polyurethane are designed to withstand oils and makeup, ensuring pleasant contact and lasting cleanliness. The adjustable banner wants to distribute the pressure in a homogeneous manner, while the telescopic arms allow precise adjustment. The atria rotate on 90 degrees for a completely flat position which allows it to be stored in the case delivered with. In it, there are also two cables, a mini-jack to Mini-Jack and a USB-C to USB-C.

Nothing highlights the sustainability of its product. Indeed, the brand has told us that each component has been subject to more than 50 reliability tests, including falls, twists, exposure to sweat and extreme temperatures. In addition, the helmet also displays IP52 certification against dust and water, and plastic packaging, from renewable energies.

Nothing Headphone (1) // Source : Nothing

An advanced sound experience, signed Kef

At the heart of the Headphone (1), the fruit of the partnership with the famous Audio Kef brand, Nothing has chosen to integrate a 40 mm dynamic speaker, designed with a high linearity suspension and a polyurethane membrane (PU) of 8.9 mm, supposed to offer deeper and reactive bass than traditional materials. The membrane, nickel -plated on its entire surface, promises increased rigidity for a faithful restitution of the treble and a controlled power in the bass. The brand insists on the uniform texture of the dome, a guarantee of a clean sound output even at high volume.

For acoustics, Kef sought to guarantee a faithful, balanced and immersive restitution, whatever the musical genre or the listening environment. Thus, the different elements-speakers, acoustic rooms and software-are rigorously tested and adjusted in Kef laboratories, in order to optimize the balance of frequencies and the richness of details. In addition, the software part has also been optimized by the audio brand.

Nothing Headphone (1) // Source : Nothing

In terms of features, the Headphone (1) offers a hybrid active noise reduction, based on internal and external microphones to analyze the sound environment every 600 milliseconds and adapt the deletion of no time in real time. A wear detection system also adjusts noise reduction according to the position of the helmet on the head. A transparency mode allows, by a simple gesture, to let the ambient sounds pass without interrupting the music, useful to remain attentive during travel or conversations.

The helmet also takes on a spatializer, capable of transforming any stereo source into a three -dimensional sound scene, with dynamic monitoring of head movements to maintain the centered sound, a characteristic appreciated for films, video games or live concerts.

Haut-define sound and clear calls

The helmet supports the simultaneous connection to two Bluetooth devices, to facilitate the transition from a computer to a smartphone without having to reconnect. It is compatible with the AAC, SBC and LDAC codecs, and offers a low latency mode for the game or the video, according to Nothing. Hi-Res wireless certification and 24-bit/96 kHz management provide high quality sound restitution, wired (USB-C or 3.5 mm jack) as in wirelessness. It also benefits from compatibility with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair for rapid pairing, as well as automatic port/break detection.

The helmet is compatible with the Find my device function.

For calls, four microphones associated with artificial intelligence technology, trained on more than 28 million scenarios, promise a clear capture of the voice and an effective reduction in ambient noise, even in noisy environments.

Physical controls and intelligent features

Unlike many competitors who bet on touch surfaces, Nothing opts here for integrated physical commands: a clickable dial (rollerblading) for volume and reading, a palette (paddle) to navigate in the pieces and a button whose function can be customized.

Source : Nothing

The button can be configured via the Nothing X application, available on Android, iOS and Nothing OS, to launch a voice assistant (default function), open a musical application or activate exclusive features on NOTHING smartphones, such as Channel HOP (rapid audio application change) or taking vocal notes with Essential Space.

Source : Yazid Amer / Frandroid

Thanks to these means of physical control, the interaction is more precise and more reliable, a plus in the face of potential approximations of touch controls.

Up to 80 hours of non-stop listening

Headphone (1) is enduring. Indeed, the brand advances an autonomy of up to 80 hours of listening without no noise reduction, or 35 hours with the activated active reduction (AAC codec). Still according to Nothing, in LDAC mode, autonomy reaches 54 hours without anc, 30 hours with. The helmet offers quick recharge: five minutes are enough to recover 2.4 hours of listening with ANC, or five hours without ANC. The lithium-ion battery of 1040 mAh recharges completely in two hours.

Availability and price of the Nothing Headphone helmet (1)

The Nothing Headphone (1) will be offered at a price of 299 euros. Two colors are available: white and black. At this price, it is positioned in front of references such as the Sony Wh-1000XM6, the Bose Quietcomfort Ultra or the Apple Airpods Max, while displaying an aesthetic and functional identity specific to Nothing. On paper, he has very solid arguments to defend. It remains to be seen what is really worth in the field.

To go further
Test of the Nothing Headphone (1): the retro-futuristic helmet that crushes competition


amelia.fisher
amelia.fisher
Amelia writes about tech startups and the evolving digital economy, with a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship.
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