The wireless headphones market is crowded with brands trying to reinvent the wheel, but Nothing manages time after time to attract attention thanks to a combination of radical design and aggressive pricing. Now, the company is taking another step toward the heart of the mainstream with the unveiling of the Headphone (a), a model designed to make the company’s cutting-edge technology accessible to a wider audience, without sacrificing the visual identity that has made it a prominent player in the market.
While the flagship Headphone 1 model is aimed at the premium segment, the new (a) arrives with a price tag of only $200 – a saving of $100 compared to the flagship model. Despite the drop in price, the company did not cut back on the specifications, and in a certain sense even managed to surpass competitors that are much more expensive than it, especially when it comes to the device’s endurance.
The highlight is the battery: Nothing declares 135 hours of operation on a single charge. To put this into perspective, Sony’s WH-CH520 model, which is considered outstanding in the field, provides only about 50 hours. In addition, five minutes of charging will provide you with five hours of listening.
The (a) weigh 310 grams and include breathable Memory Foam cushions for prolonged comfort. They maintain the physical control array from the more expensive model, including buttons, “paddles” and a scroll wheel for volume. A programmable dedicated button allows switching between streaming apps or even activating the phone’s camera remotely.
On the technical side, you will get adaptive active noise cancellation (ANC) based on three microphones, support for spatial sound and full integration with the Nothing X app. The headphones will be offered in four colors: White, black, pink and yellow. Pre-orders have already opened, with shipments of most models beginning on March 13 (the yellow model will arrive in April).