CMF by Nothing Watch Pro 2 review

Unlike product segments such as audio where Nothing has its own presence, the CMF brand is the company’s entry into the smartwatch space. That said, the CMF Watch Pro 2 very much looks and feels like a Nothing product, thanks to its use of colours and branding on the device itself. It’s also quite unlike other smartwatches priced at under Rs. 5,000, thanks to its radical and rather interesting looks.

The metal case and thick, raised border surrounding the screen give the CMF Watch Pro 2 a rather unique look, with the added benefit of protection for the screen at the edges because of the raised case. The ‘CMF by Nothing’ logo at 8 o’clock and the crown-button at 2 o’clock somehow feel like they’re exactly where they need to be, giving the device a rather noticeable and distinct look. Usefully, the crown works for scrolling across the interface, including in the main app menu and the notification drawer.

The look and feel of the CMF Watch Pro 2 varies ever so slightly, depending on the variant you buy. The orange and blue variants come with replaceable leather straps and rounded edges around the scree, while the black and grey options have a flatter look on the case. The actual colour of the case itself is either dark grey or light grey, depending on the strap colour, which is where the variants actually distinguish themselves. Interestingly, the bezels themselves can be removed and replaced.

I personally prefer the rounded edges, but the leather straps are obviously not waterproof like the silicone straps, even if the Watch Pro 2 itself is IP68 rated for dust and water resistance. The straps are, of course, replaceable.

The CMF Watch Pro 2 has a 1.32-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 466x466 pixels, and a peak brightness rating of 620 nits. There is a built-in speaker and microphone which lets you place and receive calls once you’ve paired using Bluetooth. Sensors and tracking capabilities include heart rate and SpO2 monitoring, step tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, sleep tracking, GPS and other satellite-based location tracking, and Bluetooth 5.3. There is also an ambient light sensor to allow the device to set brightness levels automatically, and the box includes the magnetic charging cable.

Most smartwatches priced at under Rs. 5,000 tend to have similar software setup, running on a basic interface that doesn’t allow for external apps to be installed, and one that links up with your smartphone entirely through Bluetooth and the companion app. The CMF Watch Pro 2 doesn’t deviate from this method, but there has been a fair amount of thought and effort put into customising the UI itself.

Interestingly, it’s absolutely on point with the brand’s aesthetic thus far, from the fonts to the colours. There is a decent collection of watch faces - all on theme with Nothing and CMF’s aesthetic - that you can choose, and the device also saves a handful to the device to let you quickly switch between without needing the app. You can also choose an always-on display watch face from the device itself, or opt to switch it off entirely to improve battery life.

I personally preferred the digital watch faces with plenty of on-screen info on the CMF Watch Pro 2, but you can choose from the many analogue or minimalist ones as well. Beyond that, you can fully customise the swipe screens with widgets to quickly view and access info, or go directly into the app list to directly go to specific apps. 

The quick settings shade and notification drawer are fairly straightforward and to-the-point as well. However, like most watches in this category, you have limited ability to act on notifications directly from the CMF Watch Pro 2 itself, with only a handful of template replies available for text-based messages. You’ll need to use your smartphone for most of it.

The CMF Watch Pro 2 links to your Android or iOS smartphone using the appropriately titled CMF Watch app. It gives you quick and easy visuals on health and fitness tracking, the ability to start and stop exercise sessions with location tracking, various device settings for pretty much everything on the smartwatch, and a bit more. 

It looks good and works well, for the most part. Connection stability was largely without issue, but there were a couple of occasions that the smartwatch disconnected from the paired smartphone overnight and needed to be manually reconnected to ensure uninterrupted access to notifications. Tracking data synchronises on its own regularly when connected, without much trouble.

Design and styling are the strong points of the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro 2, but that doesn’t take away from its abilities as a smartwatch. As an on-wrist notifier for your smartphone, the Watch Pro 2 is among the best that you can buy in this category, thanks to stable connectivity, easy control over which notifications you receive, and how you can react to them. That said, it doesn’t learn from your smartphone on how to treat notifications - a feature that is typically limited to high-end smartwatches.

This can be solved by turning off notifications for entire apps, which prevents the CMF Watch Pro 2 from buzzing for things that aren’t necessary. For phone calls, you need to be connected using the Bluetooth speaker protocol, after which you can take calls or even be notified of incoming calls to take on your smartphone. As with other smartwatches, it’s fine for occasional short calls, but you won’t want to use it for longer conversations because of the obvious need to have the watch near your face.

Health and fitness tracking is usually hit-or-miss on budget smartwatches, but the CMF Watch Pro 2 does a decent job with this for everyday tracking. Step tracking overestimates a bit, detecting around 1050 steps when I manually counted 1000 steps - an error margin of around 5 percent. Heart rate, SpO2, and sleep tracking are fairly decent, with the automatic detection modes usually working to get a reasonably accurate reading even when active. GPS helps to get accurate tracking related to distances and paths taken during outdoor activities.

While battery life on the CMF Watch Pro 2 is claimed to be up to 11 days on a single charge, the reality is quite different. With always-on display active and regular tracking of heart rate and SpO2, the device ran for about three days on a full charge. This is admittedly the least efficient way to use the smartwatch when it comes to battery life, and it might be possible to get 2-3 more days by setting the watch up more efficiently. However, that’s still far from the claim of 11 days, and this means you’ll be charging the 305mAh battery of the Watch Pro 2 more fairly often.

The CMF by Nothing Watch Pro 2 is perhaps the most sharp looking affordable smartwatch that you can buy right now, both on the outside and inside. Where the smartwatch really stands out is in the user interface, which is on theme with CMF and Nothing’s excellent aesthetic. Tracking and overall usability are great as well.

The only weakness of the CMF Watch Pro 2 is its battery life; roughly 3-5 days isn’t too good for a device that is supposed to be efficient and reliable in terms of how long it runs on a single charge. If you’re willing to see past that, though, the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro 2 is a solid smartwatch for the price.