CMF Buds Pro 2 review: Innovative budget TWS earbuds

While Nothing Inc. caters to premium users, its subsidiary CMF (Colour, Material, Finish) offers cost-effective mobiles and smart wearables.

With the latest Buds Pro 2, the company is bringing improved hardware and visually pleasing design language. Here are my thoughts on the latest True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds from CMF.

Design and build quality

Like the company's first handset Phone 1, the new Buds Pro 2 comes with eye-catching design elements.

The earbuds come in vibrant colours--orange, grey (ivory), dark grey (black) and blue. Our review unit is the latter.

They come in minimalistic in-ear design language. The tips feature removable silicone buds that fit perfectly into the ears.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

The charging case and the earbuds are made of sturdy polycarbonate materials. Also, the latter comes with an IP55 water-splash-resistant rating. It can survive sweaty workouts at the gym.

The charging case comes in a curved square design with a rotating knob. It should be noted that CMF Phone 1 too comes with the knob, but it had no function. It was just a placeholder to dock an accessory such as a kickstand, a cardholder wallet (four cards) and a lanyard.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

Both the buds and case feature a matte finish. The latter also flaunts a light indicator on the front to show the pairing status and battery capacity. On the side, it features a USB-C charging point.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

On the top, it has the dotted logo of the CMF brand. The silver-hued rotating dial is very tactile and works amazingly. With the Nothing X mobile app, users can program it with multiple functionalities.

CMF Buds Pro 2's smart dial.

With a single tap, you can play or pause the music played on the earbuds. With the double tap, the user can answer a call or skip to the next track. With the triple tap gesture, the user can go back to the previous song. If you long-press the knob, you can switch between noise control and ambient mode.

CMF Buds Pro 2's smart dial can be programmed to perform multiple function.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

Even also, the touch sensor on top of the earbud's stem is of top class quality and responds quickly to the tap gestures without any noticeable lag-ness. But, of course, with every new earbud, it takes a few hours to get the hang of tap gestures. After that, the muscle memory of the hands and fingers kicks in control of music and answer/reject calls without any hassle.

Performance

With the Nothing X mobile app, it is very easy to set up the Buds Pro 2. It takes hardly three minutes to complete the pairing process and programme the earbuds and the smart dial of the charging case.

Inside, the Buds Pro 2 features dual drivers. They come integrated with an 11 mm bass driver and a 6 mm tweeter. They do an incredible job of delivering immersive audio output to the ears.

The sensor on the top of the CMF Buds Pro 2 earbud's stem can programmed to perform different function via Nothing X app.

Also, Buds Pro 2 houses six HD mics, and comes with Clear Voice Technology 2.0 and Wind-Noise Reduction 2.0, for clearer calls in any environment. With Spatial Audio Effects, it can offer three-dimensional audio.

It also boasts LDAC technology, Dirac Opteo and is certified for Hi-Res Audio Wireless to deliver clear audio.

During our tests, the Buds Pro 2 did its job fine without any pressing issues to complain about.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

It also supports advanced Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation can reduce audio disturbance up to 50 dB and supports an expansive frequency range of up to 5000 Hz.

In reality, the effectiveness of the noise cancellation differs in different scenarios. For instance, when attending virtual seminars via phone while sitting at the office with chatty colleagues around, the earbuds do a fantastic job of blocking the outside noise with just 50 per cent volume on.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

But, when riding in the bus during peak traffic hours in the morning and the evening time, the volume has to be more than 80-90 per cent, to block the outside noises such as blaring horns and engine sounds of the vehicles on the road.

However, when compared to other rival brands, CMF Buds Pro 2 is the best in the budget segment.

As far as battery life is concerned, it can last up to 11 hours of music playback and six hours of talk time on phones without noise cancellation.

And, with noise cancellation on, it can last up to 6.5 hours of music playback and a little over four hours of phone calls.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

With the charging case, it can go up to 43 hours of music play and 23 hours of talk time on the phone.

It delivers good on long battery life. During my testing, I only charged once a week. I usually listen to music and watch video vlogs on YouTube during the commute between the office and the home, which averages around two and a half hours a day.

Also, users can always keep track of battery life with the Nothing X app, so there won't be any anxiety about Buds Pro 2 running out of juice during an important phone call as such.

It also supports fast charging. With just ten minutes of charging, it can deliver up to seven hours of music playback.

Final thoughts

CMF Buds Pro 2, like the predecessor, is a really good budget TWS earphones. The noise cancellation capability of the Buds Pro 2 is the best I have seen on budget earbuds under Rs 5,000.

CMF Buds Pro 2.

Also, the company has made good use of the rotating knob of the Buds Pro 2's charging case. It is really useful and functions smoothly without any noticeable lag-ness. This makes the Buds Pro 2 stand out among rivals and make for a compelling reason to buy it.

The Buds Pro 2 is priced Rs 4,999 (MRP). Currently, the official e-commerce partner Flipkart is offering it for Rs 3,799 ahead of the festive season in India.

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