Continuing its streak of summer product releases, Nothing shows no sign of slowing down. Following the debut of the Nothing Phone (2) and the rollout of Nothing OS 2 for the Phone (1), the company’s latest move is the introduction of its CMF brand, spearheaded by CEO Carl Pei, with a strong focus on affordability and accessibility. Now, details regarding CMF’s inaugural lineup of budget-friendly smartwatches and earbuds have surfaced prematurely online. These products are slated for release in just one month’s time.
As first identified by 9to5Google, leaked product banners shared on Twitter unveil CMF’s initial venture into economical tech: the “Watch Pro” smartwatch and the “Buds Pro” earbuds. Both sport a vivid orange hue and adhere to Nothing’s minimalistic design philosophy. Additionally, CMF is set to launch a 65W charging adapter featuring a USB port and two USB-C slots.
According to internal marketing materials, the Watch Pro boasts a 1.96-inch AMOLED always-on display with a refresh rate of 50Hz. This screen is slightly larger than the smallest variant of the Apple Watch Series 8, although with a lower maximum refresh rate. Nothing claims that users can expect up to 13 days of battery life from the watch’s 330mAh battery, albeit with the always-on display disabled. The screen’s peak brightness reaches only 600 nits, which pales in comparison to the Pixel Watch’s 1,000 nits or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6’s 2,000 nits. Nonetheless, the device offers a choice of “100 watch faces,” as indicated by the banners. Notably, the watch will not operate on Google’s Wear OS, as per the leaks from Tech & Leaks Zone.
The Watch Pro’s hardware encompasses a heart rate monitor and a blood oxygen sensor, facilitating sleep and stress tracking. Moreover, it supports Bluetooth calling with AI-driven noise reduction. According to the banners, the device is priced at Rs 4,500 in India, approximately equivalent to $55. While this pricing might not be uniform across various markets, it underscores Nothing’s intention to target the entry-level smartwatch market, where brands like NDur and LetsFit currently thrive. Gizmodo reached out to Nothing for comment, but a response has not been received at the time of writing.
Moving on to the Buds Pro, distinct from the $150 Nothing Ear (2), these earbuds reportedly boast “ultra bass technology” coupled with up to 45 dB of active noise cancellation. Given that ANC didn’t quite meet expectations on Nothing’s flagship earbuds, this aspect appears to be less remarkable. Nonetheless, the Buds Pro are anticipated to provide around 11 hours of usage on their 54mAh battery, aligning with their price point of Rs 3,499, or approximately $42.
Both the Watch Pro and Buds Pro are scheduled for launch on September 26, less than two months after the introduction of the CMF brand. Despite Pei’s assertion that separate teams are dedicated to CMF and Nothing, the overall minimalist design ethos seems to persist from the company’s mid-to-premium flagship offerings. Earlier this year, Pei expressed his journey of understanding the smartwatch category, criticizing the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro as “somewhat pointless.” With its inaugural foray into wearables being a budget smartwatch, it appears that Nothing is cautiously gauging demand in the market before fully committing to the sector.
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