Nothing Headphone (1) Pro Brings Studio Tuning and Travel Noise Cancellation Together at $399
Nothing has announced Headphone (1) Pro, its new flagship headphones, priced at $399 and available now in the US through Nothing's site, Amazon and Best Buy stores. Engadget
The official product name is Headphone (1) Pro. Nothing Nothing calls it its most advanced headphone to date, sold under the tagline "Studio-level precision." The launch date was September 29, 2026. In Europe the price is €349, which is $100 more than the current Headphone (1). 9to5Google
Design follows Nothing's current style. The headphones come in white and black, keep physical buttons and see-through panels, and use machined metal construction. They ship with a hard case that encloses the earcups. The headband is 10 percent wider than the prior model. The ear cushions are 50 percent softer than Headphone (1) and fit better around glasses. The enclosure is rated IP52, which means limited protection against dust and dripping water.
Sound is handled by three separate drivers, with one each focused on bass, vocals and instruments. Wireless options include LDAC, a Bluetooth format that carries more data, plus 24-bit high-resolution audio and wireless lossless connections. A physical switch turns off the equalizer, which adjusts tone, and spatial audio, which simulates surround sound. The flat equalizer setting, which leaves the sound unaltered, was developed with Metropolis Studios, the London mastering studio.
Most flagship noise-cancelling headphones add their own tuning and spatial processing with no full bypass. Nothing includes both options in one product. Processing can stay on for daily listening. The switch turns it off for unprocessed monitoring.
Noise control uses active and passive methods. The Headphone (1) Pro uses 10 microphones for active noise cancellation. It also uses a silicone baffle wall to form a tighter physical seal. Passive isolation blocks sound before cancellation starts, with consistency across different fits and with high frequencies where the two standard microphone methods, feedforward and feedback, are less effective.
Battery life is rated at up to 32 hours with noise cancellation on and up to 68 hours with it off. The headphones support Auracast, a Bluetooth feature for broadcasting audio, as both transmitter and receiver when used with the companion app. With app control to select the role, the headphones can receive a broadcast stream and can send one.
US sales are direct and through retail at launch. Nothing says purchases on nothing.tech include free delivery, 30-day returns, flexible payments, price matching and warranty. For the launch, Nothing named V from BTS as global brand ambassador, with an "On set with V" campaign built around V as Global Brand Ambassador for Headphone (1) Pro.
In my view, the choice worth noting is convergence. Tri-driver layout, LDAC and lossless wireless, 10-microphone cancellation, two-way Auracast, and a hardware bypass for tone and spatial effects are not normally combined at $399. Nothing is treating studio-style playback and travel-grade noise cancellation as modes of one device. That fits how people will likely use them, for mix checks on the road, for work in noisy offices, and for long sessions where comfort with glasses and long battery life decide whether the other specifications get used. If the tuning holds, the bypass switch could become the most useful part, giving engineers a clear baseline and giving listeners a direct way to hear what processing changes, which makes longer, more focused listening more practical.
