Nothing undoubtedly makes some of the most striking gadgets you can buy today. The Nothing Phone (2) has been a game-changer in the premium smartphone category and all of Nothing’s accessories do the same in their respective categories. The Nothing Ear (2) is currently a good alternative to the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen and the Nothing Ear (Stick) offers a funky take on basic TWS earbuds. While these look good, their relatively higher price keeps them out of everyone’s reach and that’s something Nothing is willing to sort with its newest sub-brand, titled CMF.
CMF by Nothing is Carl Pei‘s first attempt at having a solid presence in the entry-level smart accessories category. It’s beginning its journey in India with three distinct products across categories that usually see a lot of footfall. The first one is a pair of TWS earbuds called the CMF Buds Pro while the second is the CMF Watch Pro which is planning to penetrate the budget smartwatch category. The third product is a surprisingly normal 65W charger with multiple USB ports! That’s quite an unusual collection of accessories for a new brand!
By the way, CMF stands for Colour, Material and Finish, in case you were wondering. However, if you’re interested in knowing more than just its full form, come along as we try to figure out what these CMF products have to offer.
CMF by Nothing kickstarts its journey
CMF, as a sub-brand of Nothing, will play in the budget accessories category, making inroads into more households and slowly luring customers to upgrade to Nothing products. On the other hand, the Nothing brand is likely to venture off into the premium segments, tackling the likes of Apple and Samsung. We have already seen the first phase of those plans in action with the pricier Phone (2) and Ear (2). CMF’s first products, however, are much more affordable and at first glance, are quite interesting.
One of the most distinctive features of the CMF Buds Pro is its choice of colourways, specifically the orange variant. Similar to how Nothing sticks to a binary choice of black and white colours with an occasional dash of red for all its products, CMF’s iconic brand colour seems to be orange. Anticipating that it may be too loud for some, CMF is also offering its products in dark and light shades of grey, subtly portraying its Nothing DNA (as if the brand logo didn’t make that evident enough).
Looking at the specifications, the CMF Buds Pro earbuds offer an Active Noise Cancellation system rated at 45dB across a wider range of 5,000Hz. Nothing…sorry…CMF claims that the audio output is tuned for a stronger bass performance. These earbuds can last up to 6.5 hours with the ANC switched on but the maximum stamina of 11 hours is only possible when you are ready to deal with ambient noise.
The CMF Buds Pro earbuds are currently priced at INR 3,499.
Presented as a feature-packed budget smartwatch, the CMF Watch Pro will make for an interesting choice in the fitness wearable category. Flaunting an Apple Watch Ultra lookalike design with bold flat sides, it features a 1.96-inch AMOLED display with a 58Hz refresh rate and over 600 nits of brightness. There’s also an onboard GPS to help with precision tracking of activities like running, walking, cycling and hiking. Not to mention, it can monitor your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation levels, sleep cycles and stress in real-time. As part of its ‘smart features’, the Watch Pro’s microphone and speaker combo lets you take and make calls from your paired smartphone via Bluetooth. You can also choose between a couple of watch faces from the companion app.
The CMF Watch Pro is available in a Dark Grey colourway paired with Dark Grey and Ash Grey straps at a price of INR 4,499. The eye-catching Metallic Gray colourway with an orange strap costs INR 4,999.
CMF Power 65W GaN Charger
It may seem a tab bit unusual to talk about a charger but this product could be useful for a lot of people who have just bought an iPhone 15 or are seeking a single multi-port charger that takes care of their laptops and smartphones simultaneously.
The CMF Power 65W GaN charger features a single USB-A port and two USB-C ports for power output. The maximum power is capped at 65W and depending on the number of devices connected, it can intelligently alter the power output across these ports. The charger supports major charging protocols like PD 3.0, QC 4.0+/3.0/2.0, SCP, FCP, PPS, AFC, Samsung 9V2A, DCP and Apple 2.4A. It also works with Apple MFI-certified cables, which means your iPhone, iPad and MacBook can charge at the highest supported speeds via this charger.
For this rather electrifying charger, CMF is charging a price of INR 2,999 (see what we did there?). And following the norm, you can have it in black or…(cue drumroll)… orange.
