CMF Watch Pro Review: The Good and the Bad of CMF’s first wearable
Despite still being relatively new in the consumer tech market, it seems the Nothing brand is ready to expand its outreach into the affordable tech segment with its new sub-brand, CMF by Nothing.
In case you’re wondering, CMF here stands for Color, Material, and Finish.
CMF debuted its first wave of products back in September, offering the Watch Pro and Buds Pro in bright eye-catching (some would say lurid) orange; and a black Power 65 GaN charger which surprisingly misses the orange fanfare.
Of the three products available, we got our hands (or wrists) on the Watch Pro to see what Nothing can bring to the affordable wearables segment.
Here’s what we thought about the new CMF Watch Pro.
Design and Built
The orange straps are probably the first thing you’ll be drawn too, perhaps even before the shiny reflective silver casing. Orange typically isn’t the first colour of choice for many, but CMF looks to be challenging the norm in true Nothing fashion.
Admittedly, orange would usually be the colour I’d steer clear from, but having been given this unit, I went with it anyway and it seems to have grown on me. It’s definitely bright enough for someone to catch from the corners of their eye, so be prepared to receive a few glances coming your way. However, for the more lowkey persons like myself, you’ll be glad to know the Watch pro also comes with a Dark Grey frame with matching Dark Grey straps, or an Ash Grey strap.
The straps are connected via quick release pins, but CMF doesn’t sell straps separately so what you purchase is what you get.
The CMF Watch Pro has a pretty solid aluminium alloy frame which lends a premium touch. It’s got the right amount of thickness so that it doesn’t come off as too delicate, yet it only weights 47g. It doesn’t have dials, coming only with a single side button located next to the speakers.
Display and Controls
Onto the display itself, I appreciate large watch faces as it just seems more practical, so I truly appreciate 1.96″ AMOLED on the Watch Pro.
Pressing the side button will bring up the watch face. From there, swiping downwards will bring down the quick settings menu where you’ll have one-tap access to Do not disturb mode, flashlight, brightness levels, power saving mode, raise to wake, and settings.
Swiping upwards from the watch face will bring up your notifications menu, which is where you can see the latest messages from your connected phone. While swiping right will give you access to health measurement widgets, including activity status, heart rate, weather, sleep readings, and phone call menus (recent calls, contact list, and keypad).
Pressing the side button while the watch face is on is where you can select your type of exercise and view past exercise records. Other than that, you’ll also have access to various other functions including stopwatch, alarms, timers, music, camera remote, Find My Phone, and voice assistant. You can also take a deeper look at your health measurements and attempt guided breathing exercises.
You will need to connect the Watch Pro to the CMF Watch app, available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
What I like about CMF Watch Pro
The casing itself scores some pretty good marks in my books. It’s a simplistic design no doubt, but the aluminum alloy frame really lends that premium touch.
The AMOLED displays are good and responsive – but that’s kind of expected from a RM339 device. It’s not the most expensive, but it isn’t cheap either. On that note, I’m glad the CMF Watch maintains the dot matrix UI that’s becoming more and more synonymous with the Nothing brand. It’s a good move branding-wise, and the way I see it, good for consumers seeking to breakaway from the same ol’ watch interfaces.
Haptics on the watch are pretty decent. You can toggle the strength by going into Settings > Haptic Standard, where you can toggle between Off, Standard, and Strong. The CMF Watch also has a Torch feature, where it basically just layers the display with a full white screen. There are 5 brightness levels, which is more than enough for indoor use.
The IP68 rating is the standard for most smartwatches, including this one. So, there’s nothing to add except you’ll have solid protection under a slight drizzle or during a sweaty run.
The GPS was what I was most excited for as there aren’t a lot of wearables that offer a built-in GPS at this price range. There’s a good and bad to this. The good is that a built-in GPS removes the need for bringing your phone around whenever you’re off on a run or an outdoor walk.
It is usable, and I’m confident you’ll find it useful. But the bad is…
What I don’t like about CMF Watch Pro
There seems to be some alignment issues with the tracking done on the built-in GPS. The tracks are very squiggly, or maybe it’s just the way the map is drawn out that makes me look like I’m trespassing into other people’s property. Plus, there’s also the case of random squiggles probably caused by some disconnection.
It does look fine when zoomed out, and the distance it measures is quite accurate. I Suppose it isn’t too much of an issue for casual running or outdoor walking. But, if you’re a little more serious with your training and need accurate timing and distance travelled measurements, you may want to take note of these anomalies.
The other major problem I experienced is connection issues. The Watch Pro can’t seem to stay connected to my phone when my phone is in standby mode. There were numerous times in the day I had to re-open my CMF Watch app just to reconnect. It’s a pretty frustrating process, especially if you’re the kind that relies on your smartwatch for WhatsApp notifications and calls. Not just me, it seems other users are having a similar problem too, as seen on the Nothing Community.
And lastly, – not really a problem but more of a pet peeve – is how obscure the music control is. Unfortunately, music isn’t one of the widgets you can simply swipe right to. Instead, you’ll need to press the side button to open the menu, then scroll about half way down to finally gain access to the controls. What was even more irritable is that when the watch is in sports mode, it does not allow you to exit that mode without ending your workout altogether. Which means, you essentially have zero control of music on your RM300+ watch when exercising.
Yes, you can always just control it via your phone. Still, it was quite baffling that my significantly cheaper Redmi Smart Band 2 (RRP: RM139) can provide far better music control simply by swiping right – even when in sports mode.
CMF Watch Pro – Final Verdict
CMF has got the design down to the tee – at least for me. It feels and look premium, and most importantly, you do feel like you’re still part of the Nothing eco-system with the bold colours and dot matrix interface.
Some serious issues need to be addressed, with the most urgent being the unstable Bluetooth connection which can hopefully be resolved via software updates. In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t be recommending the CMF Watch Pro without at least warning about these issues.
Nevertheless, I’ll still be looking forward to what CMF has in store in the future.
If you do wish to purchase the CMF Watch Pro, you can do so on their official Shopee and Lazada store.
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