CMF Nothing Buds Pro 2 review: Nothing great here

CMF Buds Pro 2 review: Design

The dial is a great addition.

I guess bright orange is the color of the year. sorry, peach fuzz. The orange color on the Buds Pro 2 charging case looks similar to the Rabbit R1 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. These buds are also available in dark grey, light gray and navy. The casing is an unassuming 46g plastic box that neither looks nor feels expensive. Although the buds look cheap, the shell is not flimsy. It’s well made and has no moving parts (in Samsung’s latest headphones here). My only gripe with the charging case is finding the pairing button. It took me a while to find it because it was well camouflaged in the box.

The upper left corner of the charging box is decorated with a dark gray dial, which you could easily mistake for aesthetic decoration. It’s a removable, customizable smart dial that you can assign actions to on the Nothing X app, and it can perform almost any task on the earbuds.

CMF Buds Pro 2 review: Controls

The gesture on the bud was not well thought out.

Even though the charging case is small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and light enough not to weigh it down, at the end of the day it’s still an extra item that takes up both of your hands. I’m usually busy with some household chores during a long call with a friend, or running errands while listening to a podcast, and can’t keep one hand busy with the charging case. I complain about this rant in almost every review, but the pockets on women’s jeans aren’t deep enough to properly accommodate the items that men’s jeans can easily carry. When I stuffed the box into one of my pockets, it caused a big, ugly bulge.

The charging knob feels like a decoration. It only works when I’m lying in bed watching YouTube on my phone. Unless you plan on using it that way, in which case this is a very effective way to control your headphones. It’s fully customizable on the companion app Nothing X. I customized it on the app to trigger all these actions from just the shell: play/pause, answer calls, turn low-latency mode on/off, enable voice help, and adjust volume.

Unfortunately, the control of the buds themselves is not that great. There isn’t a single tap gesture at all. The pairing app Nothing X lets you choose between double tap, triple tap, tap and hold, and double tap and hold. I’ve gotten so used to pausing/playing with one click that I find myself doing it over and over, only to find that it doesn’t trigger a response.

I could live with double-click play if the volume control was better. Double-clicking and holding is the only way to adjust the volume… which is a lot of work. The less than responsive touch interface doesn’t help either. I like to swipe up and down to control the volume.

CMF Buds Pro 2 review: ChatGPT integration

Occasionally it glitches, and it’s not completely hands-free.

ChatGPT integration is impressive for a $60 pair of headphones, but I wish it was better. You first download the ChatGPT app on the device the headset is connected to, then go to the Nothing X app to set up your voice assistant as ChatGPT (which defaults to your phone’s native assistant). Then, you perform the action assigned to the voice assistance. I set mine to double tap and hold the correct bud, but that never worked. So, I changed to double-clicking the left bud, and the effect was slightly better.

During the first few attempts, the headphones kept triggering Google Assistant on the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus I used these headphones for throughout my review period. I made sure it was set to ChatGPT on the app multiple times and switched back and forth between the two digital assistants, to no avail. It wasn’t until I restarted the app and the headset that it finally powered ChatGPT with a double click.

I asked ChatGPT a bunch of questions, including what the Ten Commandments are and whether it loves me. The response time is appropriate and close to what you type in the app or web application. I don’t like that I can’t interrupt the sound by speaking or clicking somewhere on the headset interface, which defeats the purpose of integrating the LLM directly into your headset. The only way to interrupt Breezy (my voice of choice) is to tap my phone screen. The only option is to hear the full answer before asking follow-up questions.

Breezy has also had several glitches, resulting in some frequent stuttering. In some cases it’s completely out of sync so the same response plays in both ears at different times and I hear nothing. You might be fine using ChatGPT on these headsets occasionally, but you’ll notice its inconsistencies if you use it regularly.

CMF Buds Pro 2 review: Sound and ANC

Painfully average.

These headphones come with 11mm bass drivers and 6mm tweeters. The frequency range is 20 to 40KHz, exceeding the 20 to 20KHz found on most standard audio peripherals. However, since human hearing ranges between 20 and 20KHz, the extra 20K is usually a marketing gimmick. The Nothing X app offers standard default presets and the option to customize sound profiles. Even at $60, it’s still a pretty barebones audio experience.

Listening to Ooyy’s Black Spur, I initially felt that the sound was bass-heavy and lacked brightness. I also felt like the vocals weren’t emphasized enough. Overall, there wasn’t a lot of space in the orchestra and I often couldn’t distinguish individual elements. I tried custom EQ settings and turned the treble and mids (where the vocals are) up and the bass down. Adjustments help, and the added treble helps add brightness to the sound profile. As expected, it doesn’t inject enough space into the orchestra.

I’m not a big fan of the Buds Pro 2’s ANC. It made my AC window unit a little quieter, but the sound of my loud typing on the keyboard still came through. I didn’t test these in a subway station, but considering its ability to gently silence my air conditioner and air purifier in turbo mode, I’m pretty sure it’s not enough for the roaring No. 6 train.

CMF Buds Pro 2 review: Battery

Enough to last you for more than a week.

I haven’t had a chance to fully test the 43 hours of battery life, but I’ve done some quick calculations on my usage so far, and that claim isn’t an exaggeration. During my nearly three days/ten hours of use, which included calls and music playback, the charging case’s battery dropped by 30%.

If you’re listening to music, the headphones can last up to 11 hours of battery life and 6 hours of talk time. Turning on ANC reduces those figures to 6.5 hours and 4.5 hours respectively. It does not support wireless charging, but it does support fast charging. Charging for 10 minutes provides enough power for 7 hours of battery life.

Multipoint connectivity for up to two devices allowed me to test the devices simultaneously using my laptop and phone. Setup is easy and there are no lags. The Buds Pro 2 are IP55 rated, so I wouldn’t rely on them if I’m around a pool or in a puddle. There’s no support for mono listening, but they do support wear detection, so they pause playback when you take them out of your ears and resume playback when you reinsert them into your ears.

CMF Buds Pro 2 Verdict

If the only flaw with the CMF Buds Pro 2 is the mediocre sound, I can still recommend them as entry-level headphones for kids or people who don’t care much about audio quality and are on a tight budget. But aside from battery life, these headphones aren’t great in any way. Navigating the controls on the buds is a difficult task, and the knob on the charging case only helps in limited situations. The ANC’s performance is lackluster, and the $60 price is no excuse. Samsung Galaxy Buds FE deals far away Better ANC is $80 (new discounted price at time of review). The ChatGPT integration could have been the star of the show, but it was cumbersome and annoying to use.

If you’re looking for great sound imaging and a rich, airy form factor at a low price, the OnePlus Buds 3 are a solid choice at $70. If your top priorities are secure fit and simple controls, the Galaxy Buds FE will perform well. Both budget alternatives offer excellent ANC and long-lasting battery life.