CMF by Nothing's new Buds Pro and Watch Pro look like affordable bargains
Inexpensive yet packed with powerful hardware and features
CMF, a sub-brand of smartphone company Nothing, has revealed its first set of low-cost products: the CMF Buds Pro, Watch Pro, and the Power 65W GaN charger.
With the new earbuds, you’ll notice they resemble the Nothing Ear (2) minus the transparent design. Everything announced, in fact, adopts this solid color look as they'll come in either light grey, dark grey (basically black), or a shade of dark, blood orange. It’s quite striking. Inside, each bud comes with a “custom dynamic bass boost driver”, said to be capable of outputting accurately reproduced sound and a deep bass.
What’s interesting is that the Buds Pro can “cancel out noise with a depth of up to 45 dB”, which is better than what the Ear (2) can do. It can only block noise up to 40 dB. Even the battery life is superior as CMF’s model can last up to 39 hours with active noise canceling off. Under the same conditions, the Ear (2) peaks at 36 hours.
Other notable features include six internal microphones with Clear Voice Technology for high-quality phone calls, touch controls, Transparency Mode to hear external sounds, plus a “special channel structure… to reduce wind interference.”
CMF by Nothing. Wonderful by design.Say hello to Buds Pro, Watch Pro and Power 65w GaN.Learn more at https://t.co/DUzYbwqZx0 and @cmfbynothing pic.twitter.com/PtIqCagdrYSeptember 26, 2023
Nothing's first smartwatch
Next, we have the star of the show: the CMF Watch Pro. As other people online have pointed out, it looks similar to the Apple Watch Ultra thanks to its square-shaped display and brightly colored wrist strap. The Watch Pro, however, won’t be as capable as Apple’s wearable since it lacks support for third-party apps. CMF’s device also won’t be able to integrate fully with a smartphone nor does it have access to an app store.
What you see is what you get, but fortunately, you get a lot. The Watch Pro sports a 1.96-inch AMOLED display with resolution 410 x 502 pixels making it a tiny bit bigger than the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s 1.92-inch screen. The large 340mAh battery for CMF’s wearable is said to last 13 days straight under typical usage. With Power Saving Mode on, the company claims it can last 45 days.
The Watch Pro makes up for its lack of apps by having a wide variety of functions. Internal sensors can monitor key bodily functions like your heart rate or remind you to drink water every so often. It can connect to a phone for certain features like controlling a mobile device's camera and receiving important notifications on the watch face. CMF also states you can make calls via Bluetooth on the wearable, which itself is backed up by AI-powered noise reduction.
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Availability
By comparison, the Power 65W GaN charger is more humble. It’s sort of a mini-docking station, with two USB-C ports next to a single USB-A input. As the name suggests, it is capable of 65W fast charging. Connecting your Nothing Phone (2) to the brick can charge it up to 50 percent in about 25 minutes, according to CMF.
At launch, the Buds Pro will cost £49/$49, the Watch Pro will be £69/$69, and the charger will have a price tag of £39/$39. A release date has not been given although the line will see a limited drop at the Nothing Store Soho in London on September 30. We reached out to Nothing for information on a widespread launch. This story will be updated at a later time.
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Cesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity.