AN OPINION ON NOTHING’S HEADPHONE (1)

… well, at least regarding the headphone’s design. The Headphone (1), as they are called, are both bold and beautiful to look at. Reminiscent of cassette-tapes from the 80s, the Headphone (1) feature a striking, transparent design that is unmistakable Nothing. But… what makes something Nothing?

Nothing is a British consumer electronics brand based in London. It was founded in 2020 by Carl Pei, the co-founder of the well-known smartphone manufacturer OnePlus. Nothing’s philosophy is to develop products that combine simplicity, transparency, and distinctive design at an affordable price. And so far in their young company history, it’s widely acknowledged they have been successful with their approach. In a field often called out for its lacking user-feedback integration, Nothing sets out to provide user-first experiences. Whether that be through smartphones, smart-watches or headphones – they stick close to their community’s wishes and listen to feedback.

Amidst the rapid, ever-changing tech-industry, Nothing manages to stay true to its core principles. With the Headphone (1), they challenge their iconic design-language in innovative ways while adhering to their heritage’s inspiration, Teenage Engineering. Handled by some as the design-first tech-company of the 21st century, their timeless, industrial inspired design calls back to the 1980s. Beautiful, functional and intuitive. – Just like Nothing’s products. Teenage Engineering isn’t the only brand that influenced the design of Headphone (1) though. Global Design Director at Nothing, Adam Bates, worked many years as Head of Design at Dyson. The company mainly known for their vacuums gained a lot of recognition for their beautiful and durable industrial design. Adam Bates made it his mission to continue developing appealing, functional products when he joined Nothing in 2022. And appealing and functional products he developed!

Back to the Headphone (1): Of course, design isn’t everything, but even when focusing solely on the features and specs, the company’s first entry into the over-ear headphone market doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. They feature an ambitious sound profile, developed in cooperation with British speaker manufacturer KEF. Even though the quality is by no means perfect, it fits the expectations coming from a 300€ pair of over-ear noise-canceling headphones. And the added bonus of an integrated equalizer in the dedicated app makes for a flawless adjustment of the sound, whenever needed. As a cherry on top, the Headphone (1) feature a broad pallet of quality-of-life features, like intuitive button-controls on the outside, a transparency mode and support for spatial audio.

Considering the style-factor of the headphones, Nothing managed to create a package, worthy of competing with the best of the best in the high-end over-ear headphone market. But really, the main selling point of the Headphone (1) is their design…– We are excited to see what is next for Nothing‘s headphones. The industry needs more innovative companies, that challenge the given and question the status quo. When happening in terms of product-design, even better!