Our verdict is in. The Nothing Headphones 1 are good, but not quite up there with the best headphones, and though they do have some laudable features, the Nothing over-ears don’t quite make a dent against the established competition.
No pair of headphones exists in a void, and if you’re buying a new pair, it is worth scouting for the other options that are available in the market. The Nothing Headphones 1 would make for a good versus against the Beats Studio Pro considering the emphasis on style and fashion that bother brands cater to.
So if you’re in the market for a new pair of headphones, what are the differences between the Nothing Headphones 1 and Beats Studio Pro? Let’s find out.
The Studio Pro are less expensive
When the Beats Studio Pro went on sale in 2023, they were priced at £349 / $349. Two years later and if you shop on the Apple website, the price remains static. Look elsewhere and you can find them for around £239 / $299.
In the UK that makes them less expensive than the Nothing Headphones 1, while in the US they’re around the same price.
The Nothing Headphones 1 have longer battery life
Though Beats claims 40 hours of battery life, that’s with noise-cancellation turned off. With it turned on, it’s a much less cushy 24 hours. Though in our tests, we found that it’s possible to get a much longer battery life from the Studio Pro.
On paper, the Nothing Headphones 1 would have the Beats Studio Pro beat. 35 hours with AAC Bluetooth, 30 hours with the higher quality LDAC Bluetooth stream, and a max of 80 hours with noise-cancellation off. The signs would point in the favour of the Nothing Headphones 1.
The Beats Studio Pro don’t have LDAC Bluetooth
The slightly annoying aspect about Beats and Apple headphones in general is that none of them support higher quality Bluetooth codecs such as aptX Adaptive and LDAC.
In essence, LDAC helps widen the bandwidth over a Bluetooth connection for more data to travel through. This in turn makes it possible to listen to tracks at a higher level of quality, which in theory should translate to a better-sounding experience.
The Nothing Headphones 1 come with LDAC support, which should help it in the sound stakes. But it’s not just about the sound, it’s the way in which the headphones are turned too that’ll have an even greater effect.
Both support Hi-Res Audio over a wired connection
It’s not just about the wireless performance. Both headphones support wired audio listening via 3.5mm cable or USB-C.
Plug them and as long as you have high quality audio files, you can listen to lossless audio. The difference is that the Beats Studio Pro only goes as far as 24-bit/48kHz, while the Nothing Headphones 1 can reach up to 24-bit/96kHz.
The Nothing Headphones 1 come with an IP rating
As far as over-ear headphones go, an IP rating is unusual unless it’s one of the best running headphones. While you can assume there’s a low level of IP rating, very few brands go on record stating what that is.
Nothing stands out from the rest with the Headphones 1. The IP52 protects it against some levels of water and dust, and in our experience it’s very rare to see it on a premium over-ear. If you’re in a country that experiences some wet weather, such as the UK, that’d put the Nothing over-ears above the Beats.
Early Verdict
For now, this is just a summary of the differences between the Nothing Headphones 1 and Beats Studio Pro. We’ll be updating this versus guide in the future for a more comprehensive overview.
For now though, the Nothing Headphones 1 stand up well against their competitors, although it’s worth bearing in mind that the Beats Studio Pro are two years older. Battery life is longer, it offers a higher level of Hi-Res Audio over a wired connection, and it comes with an IP rating if you’re wearing these headphones in wet conditions.
Both are aimed at the stylish set, though we do find the Nothing to be the more stylish pair. Tune in for future updates to see which one is the one you should get if you’re considering a purchase between the two.