Nothing is making over-the-ear headphones and they might be better (and cheaper) than AirPods Max

Nothing is officially making its own pair of over-the-ear wireless Bluetooth headphones. The company confirmed the news in an almost four-minute video where the London-based design team discussed their goals for the still-unnamed audio gear.

The news follows Nothing's announcement earlier this week that it will be partnering with British hi-fi institution KEF on new audio products, although there was no mention of this venture in the video.

While the details were sparse, we did learn about a handful of key elements that may set the Nothing over-ear headphones apart from competitors like Apple and Sony.

In fact, the video kicks off with the designers pondering what "XM6" means, possibly referring to the trio of characters in the rather unwieldy name of Sony's newest and, for the moment, industry-leading headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM6.

Mostly, though, the team focuses on the choices they're making for Nothing's first over-ear headphones.

Price

Price is a huge consideration. Calling out the $549 AirPods Max from Apple, which cost about as much as two last-gen Nothing phones, the team said it wants to produce cheaper headphones, ones that cost far less than AirPods Max.

As for how much less, well, one designer mentioned the price, but in that moment, his voice was muted and his mouth was covered with a little message saying that Nothing has to keep some secrets.

Of course Nothing has form in this area. We awarded its budget earbuds the Nothing Ear (a) a five-star review and consider them to be among the best earbuds you can buy, and they cost a mere $99 / £99 / AU$169.

Meanwhile, the Nothing Ear earbuds, now on their third generation, are slightly more expensive – but we still proclaimed them to be "punching well out of their price class."

Ease of use

The designers complain that with most headphones, the buttons all feel the same, and it is impossible to know if you're touching the volume, pause, or Bluetooth controls. Nothing will, it seems, do it differently, designing all buttons to be "completely distinct."

The hope is that there will be "no doubt about which control you're about to touch, [so] you don't make mistakes and we get out of the way of that music listening experience."

Make it special

Nothing's designers say they can do things with headphones that the big companies cannot, because the big tech companies "just can't take risks; they've got to think about this whole global program...and millions and millions of users."

Nothing, by contrast, contends it can just take an idea, build it, test it, and "put it out there." To be fair, that's certainly how it seems with Nothing's unusual and iconic smartphones.

Make the best audio

Nothing's already got a significant experience and a quite good track record in the audio space. Its wireless headphones currently sit near the top of our Best Wireless Earbuds of 2025.

As for how good these over-the-ear headphones sound right now, one Nothing designer said, "I'm already impressed. They're not finished, but you know, I think these might be some of the best sounding on the market."

Not just in their price range, either; Nothing believes these headphones will "punch above their weight."

Nothing's confidence goes even further, as the team muses that these headphones are as good as those you might pay twice as much for, and then adds that they're "better than AirPods Max, and that was always the goal."

A clue

One interesting takeaway is that while Nothing isn't sharing the price, they appear to note that these headphones are as good as ones costing twice as much, and then mention the $549 AirPods Max. Does that mean the Nothing Headphones might list for $275?

While no name was mentioned, we're willing to guess that "Ear" will be in the name and that the full name could be "Nothing Ear (Pros)".

That's all the detail we gleaned from Nothing's unusual announcement video, with the only other tidbit being that these headphones will ship this summer.

It's too early to say if they will truly beat AirPods Max or approach Sony's excellent audio quality. But considering Nothing's audio track record, this will surely be a launch to watch.

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• Nothing teases new audio gear made with KEF coming in 2025, and I'm excited for this one
• Nothing Ear review: the third-generation wireless earbuds bring major upgrades
• Waiting for new Nothing cheap earbuds to go with the Phone 3a? It won’t be long – but audiophiles should skip 'em