Nothing again surprises with its headphones, but under the CMF brand. What budget CMF Buds Pro 2 can do is cheaper than 5,000 rubles and why they need a — wheel in the Hi-Tech Mail review.
In a world where most earbuds don’t significantly differ from one another, the team behind Nothing’s sub-brand has released some of the most unusual earbuds — the CMF Buds Pro 2. Unlike competitors, this new product offers a useful charging case that can be used as a remote control. And most importantly, it looks beautiful. But what else could be expected from a brand literally named after a design direction — Color Material Finish?
Release Date of CMF Buds Pro 2
The earbuds were unveiled along with the first smartphone from the Nothing sub-brand and their branded watch on July 8, 2024, and went on sale on July 12.
Technical Specifications of the Device
The key specifications of the CMF Buds Pro 2 have been compiled into a table.
| Drivers | 11 mm driver and 6 mm microplanar twitter |
| Codecs | AAC, SBC, LDAC |
| Microphones | 3 microphones in each earpiece |
| Modes | active noise reduction up to 50 dB, transparency mode |
| Battery | 60 mAh (in the earpiece), 460 mAh (in the case) |
| Communication | Bluetooth 5.3, application Nothing X, double connection (multipoint), Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair |
| Corps | 33.1 x 20.2 x 23.8 mm (headphones) or 53.4 x 53.4 x 23 mm (keys), weight 4.9 g (headphones) or 46 g (keys), water protection IP55 (headphones) |
Prices of CMF Buds Pro 2 in 2024
The CMF Buds Pro 2 earbuds are available in European countries, India, and the USA. They are not yet officially available in Russia.
Prices in Europe
- CMF Buds Pro 2 — €59 (approximately 5,500 rubles).
Prices in India
- CMF Buds Pro 2 — 4,299 rupees (approximately 4,300 rubles).
Where to Buy CMF Buds Pro 2
The CMF Buds Pro 2 are not officially available in Russia. As of the time of writing, Russian stores haven’t yet stocked them, but they are already appearing on marketplaces with international shipping:
- AliExpress — from 5,916 rubles
- Wildberries — from 5,506 rubles
- Yandex Market — from 5,977 rubles
Delivery will take at least two weeks, as indicated on the product pages. If you don’t want to wait for delivery and want to buy and start using them immediately, you can wait for the CMF Buds Pro 2 to appear in Russian stores. For example, BigGeek — where there are plenty of other earbuds at good prices, and only originals.
Review of CMF Buds Pro 2
I tested the CMF Buds Pro 2: transparency and noise-canceling modes, the unique case, and other features.
Design
Nothing quickly turned from a startup into a mass-market brand thanks to its unconventional design approach. The company seems to have so many ideas that they decided to create a sub-brand releasing budget and stylish devices. The brand itself was named after the design direction — Color, Material, Finish (CMF). Thus, Nothing products always have top-notch exterior execution.
The earbuds are hidden in a soft-touch plastic case. While the charging case looks stylish, the design turned out to be not very practical. First, it gets dirty quickly, especially in the summer when hands might sweat. After just a week of use, the case starts to look unpleasant. Second, for some reason, the USB-C charging port was placed on the side rather than the back.
Management
CMF Buds Pro 2 users have many ways to control media. The most common way is directly from the smartphone. You can also control music by touching the touch panels on the stems of the earbuds. There are a total of 8 gestures available for the earbuds (4 per earbud): double tap, triple tap, tap and hold, and double tap and hold. These gestures can be assigned a wide range of functions: play/pause, skip forward and back, call voice assistant, answer and reject calls, switch modes, and control volume.
But the most important feature is the Smart Dial on the case, which can be assigned the above functions for single, double, and triple presses, as well as single and double presses with hold. Moreover, you can rotate the dial to adjust the volume of the earbuds. However, there’s one annoyance: volume adjustment is accompanied by a beep. If you need to increase the volume from minimum to maximum, you’ll have to listen to the beep at each of the 16 levels — all on top of your music.
Sound
In short, for its price, CMF Buds Pro 2 offers decent sound quality with clear vocals and deep bass. If you want, you can play with the equalizer in the Nothing app and choose from six presets, one of which is tuned with the help of Dirac Opteo. In my opinion, this is the best profile, but it cannot be enabled when using LDAC. Other presets, including the custom one, are available regardless of other settings.
Battery
In terms of battery life, the CMF Buds Pro 2 performed excellently — with active noise canceling or transparency mode and at a moderate volume, the earbuds last an average of six hours. This is significantly longer than most competitors. If you don’t use noise-canceling or transparency modes, the earbuds will last even longer. With the charging case, their autonomy increases to 30 or 41 hours with and without noise-canceling — according to the manufacturer.
Conclusion: Should You Buy CMF Buds Pro 2?
CMF Buds Pro 2 are good earbuds for the money, offering very extensive control options, including through the unique case, which, unlike many others, has a functional feature. This solution is somewhat reminiscent of earbuds with a screen on the charging case, but a bit more convenient, as you can control music by touch, even if the case is in your pocket. Otherwise, these are just another pair of earbuds that won’t surprise you much.
