CMF Buds Pro
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Last week, CMF, the subsidiary of Nothing Inc made its global debut with the launch of three new products--Buds Watch Pro, Buds Pro, and a Power 65W GaN charger.
DH has received all three gadgets. I will start with the Buds Pro, which is available on Myntra and Flipkart for Rs 3,499. For a limited time, it will be available for as low as Rs 2,999.
I have been using this for a week and here are my thoughts on the latest Truly Wireless Stereo (TWS) buds from the house of CMF.
Design and build quality
CMF's new Buds Pro comes in a minimalistic in-ear design language. The tips feature removable silicone buds that fit perfectly into the ears. The module that houses the drivers and other important components looks like a smooth chocolate ball with a glossy texture. And, the stem of the earbud resembles a long pill with a matte finish and also features the CMF's unique brand logo.
Besides the dark grey colour, the company also offers the Buds Pro in light grey and orange. The latter is the most refreshing among the lot.
CMF Buds Pro's case.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The Buds Pro comes in a round sturdy plastic case with flat edges and features a matte finish. It also flaunts a light indicator on the front to show the pairing status and battery capacity. On the back, it features a USB-C charging point below the hinge, which comes in a metallic chromium finish. Inside, just below where earbuds dock to the charging pin, the company has incorporated a physical reset/pairing button.
Though it cost Rs 3,499, the build quality is way superior than I anticipated. You can't find any noticeable feature that indicates the company has cut corners as such.
Also, the touch sensor on top of the stem is really good and responds fast to the tap gestures without any lag-ness at all. But, I did take a couple of hours to get the hang of them and from then on, it was smooth sailing.
CMF Buds Pro's case.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Add to that the Buds Pro comes with an IP54 rating and this means, it can sustain accidental water splash or a drizzle outdoors, but it will come most handy against sweating during heavy workouts at the gym or while jogging at the park. It should be noted that the Buds Pro case has to protected from liquids.
Speaking of outdoors, the earbuds, which come with medium-sized silicone tips pre-fitted with the case, fit perfectly onto my ears and remain stable even during the short streak of fast running.
However, personally, I always have an anxiety of losing TWS buds while getting onto the bus during the rush hour. Thankfully, CMF Buds Pro was able to hang to my ears without ever dropping even once in the past week of usage.
CMF Buds Pro.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
User interface
Like the Nothing's Ear series buds, CMF Buds Pro is really easy to set up on any phone be it iPhone (iOS) or Android.
However, using the Nothing Phone is different and refreshing thanks to the lively detection animation when opening the Buds Pro case.
It takes a few minutes to complete the pairing process. It supports Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. And, thanks to Bluetooth 5.3, it maintains a stable wireless connection. One can leave behind a companion phone in the bedroom and walk through out house listening to music or answering a voice call without any distortion of audio as such.
As noted earlier, the sensors on top of the stem are very sensitive and very responsive to the touch of the finger. I never face any issues controlling music with tap gestures.
1) Double tap to move or answer/hang up a call
2) Triple tap to skip back or previous song or reject call
3) Press and hold to switch between ANC and Ambient mode
4) To control volume (up and down) or to summon voice assistants, users can program the double tap and hold gestures on left and right earbuds with the Nothing X app.
CMF Buds Pro audio delivery can be customised with Nothing X app.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Performance
Inside, it comes with custom custom-developed dynamic boost bass driver and is backed by an N52-grade N Neodymium high-performance magnet to deliver crisp audio with less distortion. I tried all genres of music and even listened to podcasts, the overall experience was really good.
Also, with the Nothing X app, users can customize audio delivery to have that 'More Bass' option to listen to rock or heavy metal or even hip-hop genres for that matter. There is also Voice, Balanced, More Treble, and also personalisation option to custom adjust frequencies according to your taste.
Each earbud comes with three mics clear voice technology and a custom-developed algorithm (trained with two million noise models), which promises to deliver clear voice calls even in a buzzing atmosphere in the workplace or outdoors in a rush hour traffic situation.
The mics were able to pick up my voice pretty well and ensured the person on the other side of the call heard it clearly.
However, I was even more impressed with the hybrid ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) feature. It can reduce up to 45Db noise level and as advertised, it managed to deliver a great listening experience.
Also, it should be noted that earbuds come with two holes at the top of the stem, which combine with an advanced Wind Noise Reduction algorithm, to reduce wind interference to a great extent.
Given its low price tag, I did not expect Buds Pro to perform this well. Yes, sometimes high-pitched horns of vehicles on a busy day at Hebbal Flyover, get in, but in the rest of the journey, the engine noise of the bus is greatly reduced to have a pleasant ride to the office in the morning and while coming back to the home in the night. It is way better for some of the earphones in the range of Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000.
If you happen to own Nothing Phone, you can turn on Game Mode on CMF Buds Pro via Nothing X app. This will ensure there is less audio lagness, which is very important while playing battle royale gengre games.
CMF Buds Pro.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Battery life
I never really had to worry about the Buds Pro dying out in the middle of a call or while listening to music during a long commute between the office and home or vice versa. And, also I never had to charge it not more than once a week.
Thanks to the Nothing X app, one can always get information on how much the battery level is. So, one can plan accordingly to charge the case when it is needed.
Without ANC on, it can deliver up to 11 hours of listening time and up to 39 hours with the help of the case's power bank. With ANC on, it can last for 6.5 hours and up to 22 hours with the case.
Final thoughts:
With CMF, Nothing has chalked out a neat plan to cater to different price segments. The parent brand will churn out premium devices and CMF will offer a wide range of products to consumers with tight budgets. The latest Buds Pro comes with a modern design and ANC feature and yet costs just Rs 3,499.
CMF Buds Pro.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
It is way superior to any of its peers in the Rs 5,000 segment and beats even a few under the Rs 10,000 range in terms of delivering a good listening experience.
The most impressive aspect of the Buds Pro is the ANC. It does an exceptional job of reducing outside buzzy noise to deliver pleasant phone calls.
Even the build quality and touch-sensitive stem of the earbuds are really good and as far as battery life is concerned, it never gave any anxiety of dying out anytime during a phone call or commuting long distances.
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