CMF by Nothing release sub-$100 smartwatch and earbuds perfect for Christmas
Walking in a wearable wonderland.
Nothing, the brand responsible for the impressive Nothing phone (2), may have just saved your Christmas. If you're looking for the perfect stocking stuffers for the smart tech specialist in your life, then look no further as the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro and CMF by Nothing Buds Pro are now available to buy.
Better still, both these devices are available for less than $100. However, don't let that fool you into thinking you're getting a lesser product. Both the Watch and Buds Pro are well worth their association with Carl Pei's popular Nothing brand.
C(olor) M(aterial) F(inish) by Nothing
CMF by Nothing is, as the name might manage to make plainly obvious, a sub-brand of the popular design-focused Nothing. However, that doesn't mean it compromises on the same great design, user experience, quality performance, or affordability of its parent brand.
In fact, both the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro and CMF by Nothing Buds Pro closely follow the same design principals of modern simplicity that make products like the Nothing phone (2) and ear (2) some of the more attractive bits of smart tech on the market.
Even more attractive is the price tag of these two items, with the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro releasing for just $78 (typically $89) and the CMF by Nothing Buds Pro available for just $43 (typically $49) at Amazon.
CMF by Nothing Watch Pro
CMF by Nothing's Watch Pro might be one of the more affordable options when it comes to big brand smartwatches, but it doesn't concede on on any of the core features that make these wearables so popular.
Outfitted with a 1.96-inch AMOLED display, the aluminum framed Watch Pro can track over 100 sports modes and measure various health metrics including heart rate and Sp02 along with calorie, steps, stress and sleep tracking. It'll even monitor your water intake to ensure you're hydrated throughout your day.
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It's a more stripped down smartwatch experience than some of the more premium options from Apple, Samsung, or Google. However, it still manages to pack in a number of key features including GPS, voice assistant control, camera control, weather monitoring, music control, timers, stopwatch, and alarm, a flashlight, and find my phone/watch options. All of this alongside the ability to take calls via Bluetooth through the watch's built-in microphone and speaker which use AI tech to reduce background noise.
Maybe even more impressive is the Watch Pro's battery life. The smartwatch has a 13-day lifespan under typical use (11 days under heavy use), and an incredible 45-day lifespan while making use of the device's power saving mode. That's enough juice for 18 hours of continuous Bluetooth calls or 27 hours of continuous GPS use and more than enough to see you through even the most demanding day for your wearable.
CMF by Nothing Buds Pro
Similarly to the Watch Pro, CMF by Nothing's Buds Pro offer a similarly excellent level of performance for a price that seems undeniable. While it may differ from Nothing's ear (2) in terms of design, they're still up there in terms of experience and quality.
Each earbud makes use of three mics to provide hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) with a depth of up to 45dB at a super-wide 5000 Hz frequency range for impressive immersion in your favorite media.
Aiding that immersion is the custom LCP driver with Ultra Bass technology for an even richer sound from the N52 grade neodymium magnet and HCCAW voice coil. You can even fine-tune and customize the sound even further with the Nothing X app's adjustable EQ available on both Android and iOS.
Once again, battery life is a key feature with CMF's offering, with the Buds Pro able to deliver 11 hours of playback time (6.5 with ANC on). Pair that with the charging case and you can squeeze up to 39 hours of playback out of them (22 hours with ANC on), with a 10 minute charge affording you an extra 5 hours of listening time!
The Bluetooth 5.3 earbuds also work flawlessly with Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair for fluid connectivity between your smartphone or laptop.
Outlook
The CMF by Nothing Watch Pro and Buds Pro are an impressive one-two combo to launch any brand with, pairing quality and affordability to great effect. Nothing's unique style is still present, even if it does offer a slightly toned down Teenage Engineering aesthetic this time around. And, it's safe to say that both devices are more than capable of delivering when it comes to performance.
It's an exciting expansion for the Nothing brand, and who knows, if this takes off maybe we'll see a full Nothing smartwatch release in the future. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves just yet.
Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.