After launching the Headphone (1) back in 2025 and the CMF Headphone Pro in the budget segment, Nothing has launched the Headphone (a) over-ear cans. Falling in between the Headphone (1) and CMFs, the Headphone (a) aims to offer the same experience as the Headphone (1) but at an affordable price point by dialling back on the build.
Headphone (a) Specifications
Starting with the design, the Headphone (a) feature a similar design to the Nothing Headphone (1). While the dimensions are pretty similar, the main difference boils down to the build material. The Headphone (a) uses plastic to keep the price in check, while also making it a tad lighter at 310 grams (vs 329 grams on the Headphone (1)).
Sound-wise, the Headphone (a) features the same 40 mm Dynamic drivers found on the Headphone (1), without the KEF tuning, though. Supported codecs include LDAC for lossless audio, alongside the standard SBC and AAC codecs.
Besides, they feature 40 dB Active Noise Cancellation with 4 mics in total, alongside real-time adaptive ANC and a Transparency Mode. Controls-wise, you get Headphone (1)'s switch up, switch down controls with a roller, a paddle to adjust volume and go to the next track. The headphones support Google's Fast Pair and Microsoft's Swift Pair technologies.
However, unlike the Headphone (1) which feature on-head detection, the Headphone (a) skimp on the same. Although they do retain the Low Lag mode and Low Latency mode with IP52 water and dust resistance.
The Headphone (a) gets a slightly larger 1,060mAh battery that's rated for 135 hours without ANC and 75 hours with ANC on AAC. On LDAC, that number is crunched down to 90 hours with ANC off and 62 hours with ANC. These are significantly larger claims than the Headphone (1), at just a 2% increase in capacity.
Nothing Headphone (a) price in Europe
The Nothing Headphone (a) are available in four colours – Pink, Yellow (limited edition), White and Black. These match the colours of the Phone (4a) series. The headphones are priced at 159 euros (approximately Rs 17,000) and will go on sale from March 13, 2026.
Although Nothing has launched these headphones globally, their India availability is unknown. Nothing's official account did mention that the headphones will be available in the newly opened Nothing Store in Bangalore.
Therefore, although Nothing already has its CMF Headphone Pro positioned as a budget headphone, we assume the Headphone (a) will launch in India and will be positioned in the middle. More information about the potential India launch should be unveiled soon, so stay tuned.
