At the moment, there are not as many wireless audio products as there are now. First there was Ear 1, then Ear 2, then Ear Stick (RIP), then Ear, then Ear A, then Ear Open. However, there’s one type of audio product that the company has never released: in-ear headphones. That’s all about to change, according to recent leaks from the Nothing_fan_blog on Instagram, which posted information about the Headphone 1.
Apparently, these are Nothing‘s first over-the-ear headphones, and it’s not just a precedent, it looks like a damn big step forward. First, the appearance. As you can see, the characteristic Nothing transparency is still present – you can see a little bit inside the headphones, just like in the Ear series headphones, but with a slightly different effect. I don’t know about you guys, but I feel a lot of cassette/tape recorder vibe, which goes well with Nothing’s canonical respect for old technology like Game Boys and Walkmans. There’s even a new soft blue color that goes beyond the typical white and black and builds on the theme established by the Ear A wireless headphones, which debuted in Playdate-like yellow.
Perhaps even more notable than the color or transparency is the shape of these things. You’ve probably noticed that the ear cushions – or indeed the entire device that holds them – are rectangular, not round or elliptical like most headphones.
Wireless in-ear headphones also have something to do with price and quality. Regarding the latter, price, we can reasonably expect the Headphone 1 to be more expensive than any previous wireless headphones. In terms of quality, we can expect the Headphone 1 to be definitely hi-fi. Nothing has already announced a collaboration with KEF, a well-known manufacturer of hi-fi audio equipment, and the Headphone 1 seems to be the first Nothing product born out of this partnership. As WhatHiFi notes, the leaked images show “Sound by KEF” right on the headphones themselves, making them the first clear step into the more premium audio space.
