Nothing's $399 Headphone (1) Pro Adds Triple Drivers and Studio Tuning but Loses Battery Life

Nothing has launched the Headphone (1) Pro, a $399 flagship over-ear headphone that sits $100 above the original Headphone (1) and marks the company's first real push into premium audio, against Bose's QuietComfort Ultra and Sony's WH-1000XM6. Sales began on September 29 (Android Authority, FoneArena).

Price and availability

Market	Price
US	$399
UK	£349
Europe	€349
Singapore	S$549 (Alvinology)

The headphones come in black or white from Nothing's website and retailers including Amazon and Best Buy in the US. No Indian price or launch has been announced.

What justifies the jump to $399

The headline change is a triple-driver setup per earcup: a 40mm dynamic driver for bass, a 13 by 8mm dynamic driver for mids and a solid-state xMEMS driver for treble, which Nothing says improves clarity rather than asking one driver to do everything. Nothing claims 15 percent greater bass impact and 26 percent higher sensitivity than the original Headphone (1).

Active noise cancellation moves to a 10-microphone adaptive system, five per side, rated at up to 46dB, which Nothing says is 5dB stronger on average with 40 percent broader frequency coverage than the original's 42dB. Materials move upmarket too: aluminium, a titanium alloy headband and scratch-resistant 9H Panda Glass over the earcups, with an IP52 rating and Nothing's transparent design.

A studio partnership and a physical switch

Nothing worked with London's Metropolis Studios on the tuning, which includes five custom EQ profiles and a Studio B spatial audio mode designed to replicate a mixing room (MusicTech). A physical switch on the earcup drops into a neutral Flat EQ mode that disables all processing and spatial effects at once, aimed at producers who want an unprocessed reference.

The headphones support Bluetooth 6.1 with two-device multipoint, Auracast reception with the LC3 codec, and lossless USB-C playback up to 24-bit/192kHz, with Hi-Res Audio certification for wired and wireless use and SBC, AAC and LDAC support.

The one number that went backward

Battery life is the clearest compromise: up to 30 hours with ANC on and up to 68 hours with it off, in AAC playback, against the original Headphone (1)'s 35 hours with ANC on. A five-minute charge gives about four hours with ANC off or two hours with it on.

What to watch next

Watch independent reviews for whether the triple drivers and studio tuning deliver enough over Nothing's cheaper headphones and over Bose and Sony to justify $399, and for an Indian launch.

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