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SimplyAmplifying

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What the experts found, in one honest verdict

Nothing Headphone (1) Pro review roundup: what the experts found

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by

Jarna Rik

in

SimplyAmplifying score: 7.9/10 · Confidence: Medium · Based on 6 in-depth review(s) from 5 outlets, and 12 article(s) read in full

Launched: 29 September 2026 · Launch price: $399 · Source: 9to5google.com

First published 12 October 2026 · Last updated 12 October 2026 · Updated 1 time as new reviews came in

Reviewers’ own scores: Trusted Reviews 4.5/5 · The Verge 8/10 · TechRadar 4/5 · SoundGuys 8.4/10 · T3 3/5

The verdict

Across six reviews from five outlets, the Nothing Headphone (1) Pro is a well-liked pair of noise-cancelling headphones with detailed sound, effective ANC, good comfort and a flexible app. Battery life and the heavy case draw criticism, and the price is the main point of disagreement: Trusted Reviews sees it as competitive against big-name rivals, while T3 and TechRadar say the jump over cheaper Nothing models needs justifying. Confidence is medium, so treat this as a solid but not final picture.

Best for: Listeners who want detailed sound, strong noise cancelling and a customisable EQ, and who are comfortable paying more than for Nothing’s cheaper models.
Skip it if: You want the longest possible battery life, a compact travel case, or the best value, since the original Headphone (1) and Headphone (a) cost less.

Scores by category

CategoryScoreConfidenceOutlets
Sound quality8.5/10High3
Noise cancelling7.9/10High5
Comfort & fit8.8/10High5
Battery life6.8/10High5
Call quality9.0/10Low1
App & connectivity8.6/10High5
Value7.0/10High4

What reviewers liked

  • Detailed, clear sound from a triple-driver design, with more high-frequency detail than several pricier rivals according to Trusted Reviews
  • Strong noise cancelling that handles hums, wind and nearby conversation well in testing
  • Comfortable for long sessions, with softer earcups and a wider headband
  • Nothing X app offers deep EQ control, parametric EQ and Auracast sharing
  • Fast charging: five minutes gives about two hours of listening with ANC on

What they didn’t

  • Battery life with ANC on is about 30 hours, which both Trusted Reviews and TechRadar found underwhelming
  • The hardshell case is heavy and leaves the headband exposed; T3 weighs it at 384 grams against 327 grams for the headphones
  • Price is a step up from the original Headphone (1) and Headphone (a), and T3 does not think the upgrades justify it
  • ANC weakens when your jaw moves, such as when talking or chewing, according to SoundGuys

In detail

Sound quality: 8.5/10

Trusted Reviews called the audio clear and detailed, crediting the triple-driver setup of a 40mm dynamic driver, a precision driver and an xMEMS treble driver. In its comparison, the default Balanced EQ showed more detail in the higher frequencies than the Sony WH-1000XM6, AirPods Max 2 and Bose QC Ultra. It also found the Flat EQ clearer for professional work and video editing, though less lively. The Verge liked the Balanced profile’s extra bass without boom and its warm vocals, but said Flat EQ is not truly flat, with bass roll-off from around 100Hz and a peaky high end. Overall the sound is well regarded, and the default tuning is the safer choice.

Noise cancelling: 7.9/10

Noise cancelling is a clear strength. Trusted Reviews tested it and found about 5dB more noise reduction than Headphone A, with wind noise almost entirely removed. Background hums disappeared and nearby conversation was noticeably quieter. It also judged the transparency mode good for use at home. TechRadar said Nothing claims ANC is 40% more effective than the Headphone (a), using 10 repositioned microphones, and found it very strong across different environments in its own testing. The one caveat comes from SoundGuys, which found ANC degrades noticeably when the jaw moves, as in chewing or talking, because the seal is disturbed.

Comfort & fit: 8.8/10

Reviewers agree these are comfortable. Trusted Reviews said the earcup cushions are softer than before, suit glasses-wearers better and improve passive isolation, while a thicker, wider headband eases pressure on the head. In its testing they were comfortable for almost a full workday despite a heavier metal build than Headphone A. TechRadar described comfort as very good after two weeks of use in different places, and noted thicker padding and a wider headband than the original Headphone (1). The headphones weigh 327g, so they are not light, but no reviewer reported this as a problem while wearing them.

Battery life: 6.8/10

Battery life is the weaker area. Trusted Reviews and TechRadar both put it at about 30 hours with ANC on, rising to 68 hours with ANC off. TechRadar said it falls to 28 hours with both LDAC and ANC enabled, and found real-world results less impressive than the specifications suggest. Trusted Reviews tested it and found it falls short of Headphone A’s 75 hours with ANC on, needing a charge about once a week with several hours of daily use. On the plus side, Trusted Reviews noted a full charge takes 2 hours and five minutes of charging gives roughly 2 hours of listening with ANC on.

Call quality: 9.0/10

Evidence on call quality is thin: only SoundGuys covered it. It tested the microphone in phone calls and found that it suppresses background noise well, though noise removal causes some audible loss in voice quality. That is a reasonable result, but one outlet is not enough to say how the headphones will perform across different environments. If calls are a priority, look for more testing before buying.

App & connectivity: 8.6/10

The Nothing X app earns praise. Trusted Reviews highlighted comprehensive EQ control, with up to six bands for the main drivers and four for the precision driver, plus Metropolis Studios presets. SoundGuys noted that the parametric EQ lets you set a custom centre frequency for each filter, which the older Headphone (1) did not allow, and that Auracast can share audio with nearby devices. Spatial audio with head tracking got mixed reactions: Trusted Reviews found it changes the sound a lot without hurting quality, while SoundGuys called it hit-or-miss. The headphones use Bluetooth 6.1 and connect to two devices at once, but SoundGuys said this is not true multipoint.

Value: 7.0/10

Value is where reviewers split. Trusted Reviews tested the headphones at £349 and said they undercut the AirPods Max 2 and Bose QC Ultra Headphones Gen 2 while offering more high-frequency detail. T3 disagreed: it said the £100 rise over the original Headphone (1) is not justified by the modest sound and feature gains, and that at £349 in the UK they face better-value rivals such as the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Sennheiser Momentum 5. In a later piece, T3 again found them less good value than the standard Headphone (1). TechRadar cited $399, which is $200 more than the $199 Headphone (a), and said that gap needs significant justification.

Sources

How we put this together

We read the reviews and articles listed above and weigh each by how much it should count: in-depth, hands-on testing with measurements counts most; launch news and press-release rewrites count least; sponsored content is penalised. Category scores are our trust-weighted summary of what those sources found, set to the same 10-point scale reviewers use; the reviewers’ own scores, where published, are listed above. This page was compiled with AI assistance and checked against the source notes. All findings belong to the outlets credited above; follow the links to read their full reviews. How we score.

Header image: AI illustration by SimplyAmplifying, drawn with reference photos of the product as a guide (not a copy of any one photo); scores drawn from this page’s data.

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