Why CMF (by Nothing) would make a fantastic Chromebook OEM

Yeah, I know Samsung just rolled out a bunch of new hardware today and that is catching a lot of attention at the moment. But I also know the prices for each piece of hardware announced today didn’t go down. Instead, they actually went up, and those price increases stand in direct opposition to what we’re seeing from a vastly different company in CMF.

You see, CMF (by Nothing) is in a nuanced race to the bottom of the price barrel, not the top. Instead of pushing the boundaries of what can be built – cost be damned – CMF is taking the approach of building wildly-inexpensive hardware that is still considered and decent to use.

The reviews over the next few weeks will truly determine how all of that goes, and I’m by no means trying to compare CMF to Samsung: it’s just interesting to see two very different approaches to new hardware launches this week. And my gut-level reaction to both has been equally compelling.

You see, I find a lot to like in CMF even though I’ve not yet tested any of their products. I’m hopeful they are decent to use (we have the Watch Pro 2 and Buds Pro 2 on the way), and if they are, it will confirm a feeling I’ve had about Chromebooks for years: price informs opinion.

Expensive hardware comes with subconscious issues

This week, I’ve been using the new, decked-out ASUS ExpertBook CX54 Chromebook Plus and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t pretty incredible to have in the bag. From the screen to the keyboard to the performance, this device does everything you want in a Chromebook exceedingly well and even comes at a reasonable price for the time being. What’s not to love, right?

But when that sale price dries up, I’ll be weilding a $999 Chromebook much like the HP Dragonfly Pro, and there’s something at a base level in my mind that changes when that price point is reached. I can’t control it and I can’t combat it: it’s just there. I’m picky, I look for flaws, I’m aggravated by the smallest inconsistency when a Chromebook costs this much, and I cannot escape the sheer fact that price informs opinion every single time.

Affordable hardware feels freeing

But with something like the Acer Chromebook Plus 514 we recently reviewed, I was blissfully unaware of the inherent flaws that device ships with simply due to the fact that I knew every time I picked it up that I was working on a device that only cost $249 at the time. It’s back to $349 now, but that’s not the point. The point is, the low price of a solid (far from perfect) piece of hardware changed the way I saw it. And it made all the ways Acer took considered steps to build it shine through.

This is what I see in CMF. As a company, their entire goal is to build hardware people can enjoy using without spending a fortune. Sure, the materials are going to be less expensive, but they can still be considered. Looking at their new phone, it’s mostly plastic, but it was thoughtfully put together to make it look fun and inviting. Their new Buds Pro 2 are all plastic, but contain nearly every perk you could ask for in a set of higher-end earbuds: and they are $59 and gorgeous to look at.

How about a CMF Chromebook?

With this mindset, I would love to see CMF take a stab at building a Chromebook. This device category is the poster child for low-cost, high-reward hardware. People that buy and love Chromebooks absolutely love getting a deal, and when you can pull off all sorts of creative, productive, and entertaining endeavors with a device that cost very little, you tend to get a lot of inherent joy out of it.

And who better to do something like this than CMF? Imagine a Chromebook with modest Plus-level internals (Core i3 or maybe the upcoming MediaTek Kompanio 838), a nice 400 nit screen, and a thoughtfully designed exterior. CMF seems great at finding inexpensive materials to build phones, watches and earbuds out of: why not a Chromebook?

Devices like the Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebook Plus or the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 and 5 come to mind as Chromebooks that feel amazing, don’t come with wild price tags, and are clearly considered from the ground up in their creation. Whether its a clamshell, convertible, or even a tablet, I think CMF could pull off this sort of low-cost, high-value Chromebook with aplomb.

I don’t know that it would ever happen, but I’d love to see it. The design ethos and the low-cost focus CMF operates with goes hand-in-hand with all that ChromeOS is geared towards. While companies like Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and HP all have full-range portfolios to consider when building their Chromebooks, a company like CMF could focus in on the low-price segment and build something unique, inspired, and fun to use. Perhaps they’ve simply not thought about it until now.