Nothing Announces CMF Sub-Brand in Community Update, Carl Pei Teases Launch of Smartwatch and Earbuds

Carl Pei says CMF by Nothing will make devices that are accessibly priced, to get more users to access Nothing's ecosystem.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 4 August 2023 11:38 IST

CMF by Nothing will be run by a separate team that will operate within the UK startup

Highlights

Nothing by CMF will launch products that affordable prices
The UK startup recently announced the launch of the Nothing Phone 2
Nothing by CMF and the main brand will have distinct roles, Carl Pei says

Nothing has announced the launch of a new sub-brand — CMF by Nothing. The UK startup, led by OnePlus Co-Founder Carl Pei, is aiming to reach more consumers and will provide access to more affordable devices, starting with a smartwatch and a pair of earphones. The announcement comes a month after the company unveiled its second smartphone, the Nothing Phone 2, that is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and features a reworked version of its unique Glyph Interface.

In a community update posted to YouTube on Thursday, Pei announced the launch of CMF by Nothing, a sub-brand that is aimed at "making a new range of products that make better design more accessible". Stating that the value segment doesn't have a lot of devices to "get excited about", Pei says that the sub-brand will have a design-led organisation like Nothing, but doesn't mention whether CMF devices will feature Nothing's unique transparent design.

According to Pei, Nothing and CMF will have distinct roles to play. The former will continue to create premium, design-focussed products that feature the latest technology, while CMF by Nothing will make devices that are accessibly priced, to get more users to access Nothing's ecosystem.

Nothing Phone 2 Review: Playing It Safe

The CMF by Nothing sub-brand will be run by a separate team that will operate within the UK startup, according to Pei — a decision that was taken to prevent any "distraction from our main products". He also teased the launch of a pair of wireless earphones and a smartwatch, which will debut later this year. Other details, including availability in markets like India, are yet to be revealed.

It appears that Nothing's new sub brand will compete with affordable products from competitors like OnePlus, Oppo, Xiaomi, and other brands that offer devices that are cheaper than its Nothing Ear 2 and Nothing Ear Stick truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds. These products are priced at Rs. 8,999 and Rs. 4,999, respectively.

The announcement of the CMF by Nothing sub-brand comes a month after the company announced the launch of the Nothing Phone 2, a smartphone with notable upgrades over its first-generation handset. The phone is powered by last year's flagship-grade Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC and features a 50-megapixel dual rear camera setup. It also sports a redesigned version of the LED-based Glyph Interface on the rear panel that has been updated with support for displaying progress bars from third party apps.

Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company's recently launched handset and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Nothing Ear 2 True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design / Comfort
Audio Quality
Battery Life
Value For Money

Good
Looks great, comfortable fit
Improved controls
Decent battery life despite smaller charging case
LHDC codec support, Bluetooth 5.3
Very good app
Detailed, fun sound

Bad
Needs the Nothing Phone 1 for optimal performance
Underwhelming ANC

Read detailed Nothing Ear 2 True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones review

Headphone Type In-Ear

Microphone Yes

Connectivity True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

Type Earphones

More Nothing Headphones & Headset

Nothing Ear Stick True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design / Comfort
Audio Quality
Battery Life
Value For Money

Good
Looks great, very comfortable fit
Easy, customisable controls
Good app
Bright sound suits vocals

Bad
Dust stuck inside the case is hard to clean
No wireless charging
Dull, underwhelming bass
Expensive for what’s on offer

Read detailed Nothing Ear Stick True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Earphones review

Colour White

Headphone Type In-Ear

Connectivity True Wireless Stereo (TWS)

Type Earphones

More Nothing Headphones & Headset

Nothing Phone 2

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Iconic design, unique notification system
Excellent software
Very good battery life
Improved main camera
Slick system performance

Bad
Average low-light performance with secondary cameras
Video recording quality needs improvement
No bundled charger
Top variant isn't great value

Read detailed Nothing Phone 2 review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

Front Camera 32-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 50-megapixel

RAM 8GB, 12GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

Battery Capacity 4700mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 1080x2412 pixels

More Nothing mobiles Nothing mobiles price in India

Comments

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Further reading: CMF by Nothing, CMF, Nothing, Carl Pei, CMF smartwatch, CMF earphones

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More