With their latest Buds Pro 2, CMF by Nothing is changing the game

I’ve been closely following the development of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro for the past few weeks, wondering if they could finally be the primary earbuds to replace the only lingering Apple product I keep with me most days. You see, I generally carry AirPods Pro (the 1st-gen ones) mainly due to a few key characteristics: fit, case size, and sound. The rest of the features on any set of earbuds feel subjective for me, but those three things need to be good.

The AirPods Pro are super comfy (again, for me), they sound great (with solid ANC and pass-through that feel quite necessary these days), and the case is small enough to drop in my pocket. Is the Lightning charger a pain in my butt? Yes. Does the lack of an app on my Android and ChromeOS devices make setup a little clunky? Sure. But they nail my 3 basics, and that’s why they’ve stayed in my pocket.

With the move to a stems-included setup for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro on the way, I’ve been interested for sure. I like the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro in most ways, but they fail the fit test for me. The lack of stems makes them difficult to get seated properly in my ears and makes getting them out more work than it should be, too. The features, sound, and case size are all great, but the difficulty in putting them in my ears and taking them out make me avoid them most days.

But as Samsung seems to be adding stems this time around, I’ve been interested more than usual and the idea of having Samsung’s latest Buds with all the comforts I want to pair up with my Samsung phone sounds pretty inviting. But their reported $249 price tag does not. I bought the AirPods Pro a few years back on sale for just over $200 and still balked at the price a bit. $249 for Samsung’s best attempt feels a bit steep to me.

Bold new products from CMF disrupt things

And then this morning, all the new stuff from CMF (by Nothing) dropped, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t close to ordering a pair of their new Buds Pro 2 right now. As a matter of fact, I’d bet I talk myself into it as I write this post. And the reasoning is simple: I love what CMF is doing across the board with all their stuff and I not only want the products; I want to support the company as well.

If you’ve never heard of CMF, let me get you acquainted. According to their own About page:

CMF, a sub-brand of Nothing, is a London-based consumer technology brand that aims to make great design more accessible while delivering an uncompromised user experience through a focus on core product functionalities.

As designers, it’s our responsibility to question the world. The objects that surround us and their true meaning. That includes technology. The very core of our everyday existence.

But if tech is so important to us, why don’t we take more pride in how it looks?
How it makes us feel?

Let’s make great design accessible for all. By creating thoughtful devices that are both beautiful and functional. That can act as sources of joy and self-expression.

To do that, we reject indifference. Carefully considering every detail. Colour. Material. Finish. To make the necessary, brilliant. The essential, wonderful.

Lofty language? A bit, but with this second wave of products from the sister company of Nothing (the new-ish company from OnePlus founder Carl Pei), CMF (which stands for Color, Material, Finish) feels pretty legit now. They launched a new phone, a new smartwatch, and this new set of earbuds; and each is pretty fun.

I won’t get in the weeds on the phone and watch, but they both come with interchangeable pieces, easily-upgraded add-ons, fun colors, and an attention to detail while keeping the prices wildly low. It’s inspirational and incredibly interesting, and as a Chromebook guy who values low prices and great experiences, I’m 100% here for it.

Pro earbuds for just $59?

And as someone who’s been really wanting a set of earbuds that not only get my 3 essentials correct, but also work a tad bit simpler with my existing hardware, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t deeply interested in the new CMF Buds Pro 2. At $59, even if they are decent, it would still be a great deal. But I feel like they might just be awesome. Here’s the spec rundown:

• Case size: 53.4 x 53.4 x 23 mm
• Total weight: 55.8g
• 11mm bass driver + 6mm micro-planar tweeter
• AAC, SBC, LDAC supported
• Custom EQ
• Hybrid ANC up to 50db
• Transparency mode
• 3-mic array in each ear
• Noise cancelling for calls
• 11 hours of playback / 6.5 with ANC on
• 43 hours with case / 26 hours with ANC on
• 10 minute charge for 6 hours of use with ANC on
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Dual connection support
• IP55 rated
• Google Fast Pair
• Microsoft Swift Pair
• Eartip fit test
• In-ear detection
• Low-latency gaming mode
• Find my earbuds
• Touch controls
• Unique case controls with Smart Dial

That’s the main gist, but I have to ask: is there much on there that you see missing from the high-end earbuds experience? The only thing I can see excluded from this packed list is wireless charging, and if I can get 6 hours on a 10 minute USB Type-C charge, I’m all good on that front. I only use wireless charging on my AirPods because I can never find the one Lightning cable I have, so if I can quick charge with the numerous USB cables I have at my disposal most days, this is a non-issue.

The CMF Buds Pro 2 come in 4 colors, too, from CMF’s signature orange to black, light gray and blue. All 4 look pretty sweet, and all but the light gray ship out in a few days on July 12th.

And on top of the pro-level features, here, the CMF Buds Pro 2 also come with a fun addition built onto the case. There’s a Smart Dial that lets you control a bunch of stuff from a scroll wheel on the corner of the case. While touch inputs are supported on the sides of both Buds, this is a fun addition that I could see becoming quite useful. I generally have my earbuds case sitting on the desk, so being able to grab it and pause music, adjust volume, swap out ANC modes and more sounds very interesting to me.

And again, these things are just $59! If they sound even decent, they represent a wild value proposition, and I can’t stress how important that stuff is to me as a Chromebook enthusiast. Part of what makes great Chromebooks special comes down to the asking price. When you get a knockout experience on a budget that is far less than you’d expect, there’s a certain internal response that comes from that experience. I think CMF is on to something here, and like I said earlier in the post, I’ve gone and talked myself into a pair of them. I’ll let you know how it goes.