New from Nothing – the over-ear wi-fi Headphone (1) is a primary step into high-end audio

The brand new Headphone (1), alongside the brand-new flagship Cellphone (3) have been revealed to the Nothing devoted at a sweltering occasion close to London’s 02. It’s clear that the corporate is constructing cultish momentum. The present wasn’t fairly on the identical scale as Apple’s momentous, headline-making keynotes, but it surely was a critical step up from the modest-scaled firm’s different product launches.

Carl Pei, who based Nothing in 2020, took to the stage to speak by way of the characteristic set of each merchandise, however not earlier than re-stating the corporate ethos. ‘Tech right this moment feels extra like a entice than a device,’ Pei informed the assembled media. ‘We’re nonetheless caught on tapping on apps, on screens… smartphones have turn into engines for doomscrolling. Tech is doing the other of creating us really feel inventive.’

Nothing was established to counter this picture, ranging from the premise ‘what if tech may really feel thrilling once more?’ ‘We began with design – creating merchandise that have been iconic and might be recognised from 10m away,’ Pei continues. ‘We then translated our {hardware} design language to software program. In simply 4 years we’ve constructed a product eco-system that spans smartphones and headphones – we’ve created a model that stands out in a sea of sameness.’

It’s a reasonably exceptional story, taking a tech start-up from, effectively, nothing, to over $1 billion in income in simply 5 years but it surely’s value remembering that Nothing has simply 0.2 per cent of the market. The key gamers aren’t going anyplace quickly. Nevertheless, the large scale of the market does give Nothing scope for enlargement, particularly with its uncommon and devoted give attention to neighborhood, design and longevity.

‘All our earlier merchandise have been in mature classes like smartphones and earbuds,’ Pei admits, ‘Now we’re taking extra dangers, first with ear (open) then with our personal Important House AI. Now it’s time for us to shift from being followers of the market to being innovators. We’ve to give attention to software program – it goes hand in hand with {hardware}.’

Pei describes these two launches as Nothing’s ‘two most bold merchandise so far’, a pair of high-end headphones and the model’s first true flagship smartphone. ‘With Headphone (1) we wished to create one thing radically totally different,’ Pei says. ‘It’s a brand new expression of transparency, with the circle gadgets represented [by] the acoustic chambers.’ With a daring use of aluminium, quirky particulars and geometric touches, Headphone (1) presents what Pei describes as ‘a showcase for architectural precision’.

One other departure for the Headphone (1) is the reliance on clear bodily controls. In addition to a central ‘Button’, absolutely customisable within the Nothing X app, there’s additionally a Curler management for quantity and switching noise-cancelling on and off and a Paddle for navigating. ‘Controls are guesswork on most headphones right this moment,’ Pei says. ‘We wished to make it much more intuitive with Headphone (1).’

Tactile, simple to search out and absolutely programmable, the controls give swift entry to digital assistants, totally different audio apps and occasion ChatGPT. There’s additionally Important House, Nothing’s new voice memo, which might be triggered with the Button.

‘With Headphone (1), we got down to create one thing that doesn’t simply sound nice, it feels totally different the second you decide it up,’ stated Adam Bates, head of design at Nothing. ‘From the tactile controls to the clear building, each element is intentional. Interplay has turn into an afterthought [with headphones], so we’ve completed the other, with controls which can be proper the place you anticipate them to be.’ The KEF partnership can also be vital.

‘We’re new to this class, so we wished to deal with sound with a whole lot of respect,’ Bates explains. KEF’s 60-plus years of expertise have been put to make use of honing the headphone acoustics. The result’s a customized 40mm driver, with dimensions which can be bigger than regular to be extra exact and responsive than rivals. AI-powered lively noise cancellation scans the surroundings to dynamically adapt in actual time to exterior sounds.

Different options embody hi-res audio assist and spatial audio, making a shifting 360-degree soundstage. Outdated-school customers will admire the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack, whereas the Nothing X app permits for eight-band EQ tweaking in addition to customized presets which were tuned by KEF. In complete, Headphone (1) can present as much as 80 hours of listening with out ANC, or 35 hours with noise cancelling engaged. It takes 5 minutes to supply 2.4 hours of playback.

Sound high quality is implausible and the physicality of the buttons and even the headphones themselves makes for a welcome change from the common kind issue. Nothing’s ‘clear’ aesthetic remains to be an acquired style for some, however the firm has constantly paired its progressive design language with {hardware} and software program that basically delivers, normally at a powerful worth. 5 years after the corporate was based to divert and disrupt the tech business, it’s pleasing to see that Nothing remains to be capable of shock.