CMF Nothing Buds Pro 2 Review: Nothing To Hear Here

Nothing has been connected a blistery streak lately. It released two phones wrong 4 months, and its unthinkable Ear (a) buds recently won a spot successful our Best Gadgets of the Month list. Founded by Carl Pei, the antheral down Nothing, CMF is the company’s sub-brand chiefly for ultra-low-cost earbuds and smartwatches. In June, CMF released its Flagship buds and the successor to the Buds Pro, the Buds Pro 2. 

I knew I had to get my hands connected these arsenic soon arsenic I saw the striking orangish shadiness connected the charging case, a customizable astute dial, and a retail terms of conscionable $60. These earbuds look similar they came consecutive retired of a Teenage Engineering studio. The analog dial connected the charging lawsuit adds to the retro look that a lot of products are going for these days.

CMF Buds Pro 2 Review: Design

The dial is simply a bully addition.

I conjecture agleam orangish is the colour of the year. Sorry, Peach Fuzz. The orangish connected the charging lawsuit of the Buds Pro 2 looks arsenic stunning arsenic it did connected the Rabbit R1 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. There’s besides a Dark Grey, Light Grey, and a navy bluish benignant of Blue connected these buds. The lawsuit is an unassuming 46g integrative container that neither looks nor feels expensive. Though the buds look cheap, the lawsuit doesn’t consciousness flimsy. It is well-made and without immoderate moving parts (throwing shadiness astatine Samsung’s caller buds here). My lone conflict with the charging lawsuit was locating the pairing button. It took maine a portion to look for it due to the fact that of however good it was camouflaged wrong the case. 

A dull grey dial adorns the apical near country of the charging case, which you could precise good mistake for an aesthetic addition. It is simply a movable customizable astute dial that you tin delegate actions to connected the Nothing X app, and it beauteous overmuch carries retired immoderate task connected the earbuds.

CMF Buds Pro 2 Review: Controls

The on-bud gestures aren’t precise good thought out.

Even though the charging lawsuit is tiny capable to acceptable successful my thenar and airy capable not to measurement it down, astatine the extremity of the day, it’s inactive an other point to inhabit your hands. I’m typically engaged successful immoderate chore during a agelong telephone with a person oregon moving an errand portion listening to a podcast and can’t spend to engaged 1 of my hands with the charging case. I rant astir this successful astir each of my reviews, but women’s jeans pockets aren’t heavy capable to decently location the items men’s jeans tin easy carry. When I slid the lawsuit into 1 of my pockets, it led to a big, disfigured bulge. 

The dial connected the charging feels similar conscionable a frill. It’s thing that would lone beryllium utile if I’m successful furniture watching YouTube connected my phone. Unless that’s however you program connected utilizing it, successful which case, it’s a precise businesslike mode to power your buds. It’s afloat customizable connected the companion app, Nothing X. You tin single, double, triple press, press, hold, and rotate it for measurement control. I customized it connected the app to trigger each these actions from the lawsuit alone: play/pause, reply calls, crook the debased lag mode on/off, alteration dependable assistance, and tweak volume. 

Sadly, the controls connected the buds themselves aren’t that great. There isn’t a azygous pat motion astatine all. The companion app, Nothing X, allows you to take betwixt treble tap, triple tap, pat and hold, and treble pat and hold. I’m truthful utilized to a azygous pat for pause/play that I recovered myself repeatedly doing that, lone to recognize it won’t trigger a response. 

If the measurement controls were better, I could’ve lived with double-tapping for playback. Double tapping and holding is the lone mode to tweak volume… which is simply a batch of work. The not-so-sensitive interaction interface doesn’t assistance either. I would’ve overmuch alternatively preferred sliding up and down for measurement control.

CMF Buds Pro 2 Review: ChatGPT Integration

Occasionally glitchy and not wholly hands-free.

A $60 brace of buds offering ChatGPT integration is impressive, but I privation it did a amended job. You commencement with downloading the ChatGPT app connected the instrumentality the buds are connected to and past caput to the Nothing X app to acceptable the dependable adjunct to ChatGPT (it’s acceptable to your phone’s autochthonal adjunct by default). Then, you execute the enactment you’ve assigned dependable assistance to. I acceptable excavation to double-tapping and holding the close bud, but that ne'er worked. So, I changed it to double-tapping the near bud, which was somewhat better. 

On the archetypal fewer attempts, the buds kept triggering the Google Assistant connected the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus that I utilized these buds with passim the reappraisal period. I made definite it was acceptable to ChatGPT connected the app aggregate times and went backmost and distant betwixt the 2 integer assistants to nary avail. It wasn’t until I rebooted the app and the buds that it yet powered the ChatGPT connected a treble tap. 

I asked ChatGPT a clump of questions, including what the 10 Commandments are and whether it loves me. The effect clip was due and adjacent to what you’d get typing connected the app oregon web app. I didn’t similar however I couldn’t interrupt the dependable by speaking implicit it oregon tapping determination connected the buds interface, which defeats the intent of having an LLM integrated straight into your buds. The lone mode to interrupt Breezy (the dependable I picked) was to pat connected my phone’s screen. The lone different enactment is to perceive to its full effect earlier you tin inquire a follow-up question. 

Breezy besides glitched retired rather a fewer times, resulting successful a spot of a stutter beauteous often. It was wholly retired of sync connected immoderate occasions, truthful the aforesaid effect played successful some ears astatine antithetic times, and I couldn’t marque thing out. You’d astir apt beryllium good occasionally turning to ChatGPT connected these buds, but regularly utilizing it volition uncover its inconsistencies. 

CMF Buds Pro 2 Review: Sound and ANC

Painfully average.

The buds boast an 11mm bass operator and a 6mm tweeter for treble. The frequence scope goes from 20 to 40KHz, which exceeds the 20 to 20KHz recovered connected astir modular audio peripherals. However, since the quality proceeding scope lies betwixt 20 and 20KHz, the other 20K is much often than not a selling stunt. The Nothing X app provides the modular pre-tuned presets and an enactment to customize your dependable profile. Even astatine $60, it is inactive a beauteous barebones audio experience. 

Listening to Black Spur by Ooyy, I initially felt the dependable was much bass-heavy and lacked brightness. I besides felt the vocals weren’t emphasized enough. Overall, determination was not overmuch abstraction successful the orchestra, and I often couldn’t archer the elements apart. I played astir connected the customized EQ settings and turned the treble and mids (where vocals live) up and the low-end down. The tweaking helped, and the accrued treble helped adhd brightness to the dependable profile. As expected, it didn’t inject the orchestra with capable space. 

I wasn’t a monolithic instrumentality of the Buds Pro 2’s ANC. It somewhat silenced my AC model unit, but the dependable of my large and clicky keyboard typing inactive passed through. I didn’t get to trial these retired astatine the Subway station, but fixed however mildly it was capable to mute my AC and my aerial purifier connected Turbo Mode, I americium beauteous definite it won’t beryllium capable for the roaring 6 train. 

CMF Buds Pro 2 Review: Battery

Enough to past you much than a week.

I haven’t had the accidental to trial retired the 43-hour artillery beingness connected these fully, but I’ve done immoderate speedy mathematics connected my usage truthful far, and the assertion isn’t exaggerated. During my astir three-day/10-hour usage, which progressive a just premix of calls and euphony playback, the charging lawsuit dropped by 30%. 

The buds unsocial committedness 11 hours if you’re listening to euphony and 6 hours of speech time. Turning ANC connected volition trim those figures to 6.5 and 4.5 hours, respectively. Wireless charging isn’t supported, but speedy charging is. A 10-minute recharge provides them with capable foodstuff to past 7 hours.

Multipoint connectivity for up to 2 devices allowed maine to trial these with my laptop and telephone simultaneously. The setup was simple, and determination were nary stutters. The Buds Pro 2 are rated IP55, truthful I wouldn’t trust connected them if I’m astir a excavation oregon a driblet successful a puddle. Mono-listening isn’t supported, but deterioration detection is, truthful they intermission playback erstwhile you instrumentality them retired of your ears and resume it erstwhile you plug them backmost in.

CMF Buds Pro 2 Verdict

If the lone flaw connected the CMF Buds Pro 2 was mean sound, I could’ve inactive recommended them arsenic entry-level buds for kids oregon folks who don’t attraction overmuch astir audio prime and are connected a choky budget. But these buds aren’t large successful immoderate section but for artillery life. It’s a task and a fractional to navigate the on-bud controls, and the dial connected the charging lawsuit tin lone assistance successful constricted situations. The ANC is underwhelming, and the $60 terms isn’t an excuse. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds FE offers far amended ANC for $80 (the new, discounted terms astatine the clip of reviewing). The ChatGPT integration could person been the prima of the show, but that was glitchy and irritating to use.

If you’re looking for fantabulous dependable imaging and a rich, airy illustration for cheap, the OnePlus Buds 3 is simply a large enactment for $70. The Galaxy Buds FE excels if your biggest priorities are a unafraid acceptable and elemental controls. Both these fund alternatives connection fantabulous ANC and a long-lasting artillery life.