CMF Buds Pro 2 — The Earbuds Made To Be Seen
Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive a small commission on products featured in this article.
The number of times we see headphones with truly intentional case design is few and far between, but CMF, a Nothing brand, sought out to change that with its CMF Buds Pro 2.
Available in four colorways, these headphones pack a punch with high-fidelity sound quality, extended battery life, physical dial on the case and small form factor. All of this and more costing consumers a total of $59.
The body of the earbuds are familiar and serve as a callback to Apple’s AirPods Pro. With silicone tips available in multiple sizes, the earbuds are secure in your ear and comfortable.
The Dial
A programmable dial that doubles as a button is odd, but not in a bad way. Being able to control your music without taking out your phone is a nice change of pace and encourages the user to keep the earbuds case where it’s visible, which wasn’t a difficult decision given the vibrant orange of the case. The dial can be programmed five different ways maximizing the customization that can take place.
The Earbuds
Similar to Apple’s tap functions on the original AirPods, the Buds Pro 2 offers the same functionality but adds in a tap and hold as well as a double tap and hold, which can be programmed to control volume or invoke your phone’s virtual assistant. The earbuds boast a 5000 Hz frequency range with the earbuds’ Smart Adaptive Mode. On a full charge with the case, the CMF Buds Pro 2 provide 43 hours of playback. The 50 dB noise cancelation is also a pleasant surprise at this price point. For comparison, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 provide around 27 decibels of active noise cancelation.
The Bigger Picture
Taking a step back, the CMF Buds Pro 2 are humbling to the consumer. Not only do they make you realize just how much we’ve been overpaying for technology such as active noise cancelation, the sound quality is consistent with CMF parent brand Nothing’s quality, which drives a higher price point for more premium materials.
The Area For Improvement
While the rest of this article speaks to the strengths of the earbuds, there is one area where they fall short, and that’s the customization. While it’s great to be able to customize four ways on each earbud, not having a single tap to pause or play feels like a miss. When every other brand has gotten consumers to use the tap to pause function, a double tap to pause, or even a triple tap, is a difficult habit to adopt and a difficult decision to justify.
My Rating
★★★/5
