The Nothing Headphone (a) is an over-ear wireless headphone made by Nothing, launched alongside the Phone 4(a) series, priced at $199.99 in the US and €159 in Europe, available now worldwide through Nothing’s website and select retailers. It is the most affordable over-ear option the company has ever released, and its headline claim — 135 hours of battery life — is the kind of number that stops a scroll dead.
What Makes the Nothing Headphone (a) Stand Out
Nothing has built its brand on making hardware that looks different from everything else in the category, and the Headphone (a) continues that tradition. It comes in black, white, pink, and yellow, with the black and yellow variants arriving from April 6. The design weighs 310g and uses breathable memory foam cushions, which matters more than spec sheets suggest — comfort over multi-hour sessions is where most headphones quietly fail their owners.
The control scheme is genuinely distinctive. Rather than the usual touch panels or generic buttons, Nothing has fitted the Headphone (a) with a Roller for volume and media control, a Paddle for calls and ANC switching, and a Button that handles voice assistants and — unusually — a camera shutter function. Whether you will actually use the camera shutter trigger regularly is debatable, but it signals that Nothing is thinking about ecosystem integration rather than just shipping another pair of cans.
Audio hardware includes 40mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers with a frequency response of 20Hz to 40kHz, and the headphones support Hi-Res Audio alongside LDAC, AAC, and SBC codecs. Bluetooth 5.4 handles connectivity, with dual-device support across Android, iOS, and Windows. The Nothing X app adds an 8-band EQ, custom profile sharing, and a real-time Bass Enhancement algorithm for those who want more low-end weight. An IP52 rating means sweat and light dust are not a concern.
The Nothing Headphone (a) Battery Claim Deserves Scrutiny
Nothing is leading with 135 hours of playback, and that figure is real — under specific conditions. The 135-hour number applies to AAC playback with ANC switched off at 50 percent volume. Switch ANC on and that drops to 75 hours. Use LDAC instead of AAC and you are looking at 72 hours without ANC or 50 hours with it on. These are still exceptional numbers by any measure, but buyers should calibrate expectations based on how they actually listen, not how a lab test runs.
Nothing claims the 135-hour figure outlasts an unnamed market leader by half, which is a bold assertion without a named rival attached to it. What is verifiable is the 1,060mAh battery capacity, a full charge time of two hours via USB-C, and a five-minute quick charge that delivers between five and eight hours of playback. A 3.5mm jack is also included for wired use when the battery eventually runs dry — which, at these numbers, will not happen often.
How the Nothing Headphone (a) Compares to the Headphone (1)
The Nothing Headphone (a) is explicitly positioned as the affordable alternative to the Nothing Headphone (1), and the differences are meaningful. The Headphone (1) carries KEF tuning — a collaboration with the British hi-fi brand that lends it genuine audiophile credibility. The Headphone (a) drops that partnership entirely, which is the most significant trade-off at this price point. Whether KEF tuning justifies a premium depends entirely on how seriously you take audio fidelity.
On paper, the Headphone (a) wins on battery by a significant margin. The Headphone (1) tops out at 80 hours without ANC and 35 hours with it on, using AAC. Its five-minute quick charge delivers five hours of playback versus the five to eight hours the Headphone (a) claims. The Headphone (1) also runs Bluetooth 5.3 compared to 5.4 on the newer model, and it weighs 329g — 19g heavier than the Headphone (a). For most listeners, the Headphone (a) is the more practical daily driver. For those who care deeply about tuning pedigree, the Headphone (1) remains the reference point in Nothing’s lineup.
Is the Nothing Headphone (a) worth buying?
At $199.99, the Nothing Headphone (a) sits in a competitive bracket where Sony, Jabra, and Anker all have established options. Nothing’s pitch is battery life that makes competitors look conservative, a design language that genuinely stands apart, and a feature set — LDAC, Hi-Res Audio, adaptive ANC, dual-device connectivity — that would have cost significantly more two years ago. The absence of KEF tuning is a real omission for audio purists, but for commuters, remote workers, and anyone who wants to stop thinking about charging, the Headphone (a) makes a compelling case.
Does the Nothing Headphone (a) work with iPhone?
Yes, the Nothing Headphone (a) supports dual-device connectivity across Android, iOS, and Windows via Bluetooth 5.4. iPhone users will be limited to AAC rather than LDAC, since LDAC is an Android-optimised codec, but AAC still delivers solid audio quality and the full 135-hour battery figure applies at AAC playback.
What colors does the Nothing Headphone (a) come in?
The Nothing Headphone (a) is available in black, white, pink, and yellow. The black and yellow color variants are available from April 6, while white and pink are available immediately at launch through Nothing’s website and retailers.
The Nothing Headphone (a) is a rare thing in audio: a budget-tier product that does not feel like a compromise on the features that matter most. The 135-hour battery claim will attract attention, and rightly so — even at its lowest real-world figure of 50 hours with LDAC and ANC running, it outpaces most of the competition. The missing KEF tuning is the honest asterisk on an otherwise strong debut, and at $199.99, it is a price point that makes the Headphone (a) hard to dismiss.
Where to Buy
Edited by the All Things Geek team.
Source: Android Central
