CMF Watch Pro 2 in for review

The CMF Watch Pro was part of the first batch of products launched by Nothing’s budget sub-brand, now CMF is launching its first phone and is pairing it with a new watch and new buds. If you look closely, you will notice that the CMF Watch Pro 2 is round rather than rectangular like its predecessor. In a way, this makes it less of a sequel and more of a separate model.

The review unit we have at the office has a dark gray bezel and a blue leather strap. The bezel is raised and rounded, which offers some protection to the screen in case you bang it on something.

However, the Watch Pro 2 is part of the brand’s newfound passion for modularity. The bezel is replaceable with two main options – rounded and flat – and several color choices. The watch body underneath the bezel is made out of aluminum alloy. The wrist straps are standard 22mm kind and can be replaced too. CMF offers both leather and silicone straps.

The new model comes with several upgrades. You may have already noticed the crown – this can be rotated to navigate the UI, it’s not just a simple push button like on the original watch.

And, of course, the screen is round. It’s smaller than the rectangular display of the Watch Pro (1.32” vs. 1.96”) and, due to its shape, it fits less content. However, it has more pixels (466 x 466px) and is a bit sharper (353ppi) than that display. It’s marginally brighter too and it now features an auto-brightness mode. The CMF team has prepared over 100 watch faces to further customize the look of the watch and you can choose which widgets should be visible on the home screen.

Unfortunately, the battery inside the CMF Watch Pro 2 is slightly smaller too, it has 305mAh capacity (vs. 340mAh), so Nothing advertises up to 11 days of battery life (2 days less than the Watch Pro).

There are a few additions to the watch’s skills as a sports and health tracking device. There are the usual suspects: heart rate and SpO2 sensors, plus a built-in GPS for outdoor tracking. The watch is rated IP68, so it’s protected against rain but isn’t suitable for swimming. Nothing did add a few more sports modes, as well as warm-up exercises and interval training. The watch also comes with an updated sleep detection algorithm.

The Bluetooth connectivity allows you to take calls on the watch and now you can add up to 30 contacts that can be dialed from the watch. You still need to be in Bluetooth range of your phone (there is no GSM connectivity on the watch itself), but that’s still really handy.

The upgrades on the CMF Watch Pro 2 aren’t free, though it’s still far from expensive. The new model costs $70/€70/£70/₹5,000, compared to $50/€50/£50/₹3,500 for the original (which remains available, of course). It’s time to strap this to our wrist and put it through its paces, expect a detailed review soon.