Nothing and their sub-brand CMF have lately developed a habit of releasing products at affordable prices, only to increase them with subsequent releases. We saw this with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, and now the CMF Watch Pro series follows suit. The CMF Watch 2 Pro retailed at $70 / AED 199 and offered a pretty sizable smartwatch experience for its price.
The CMF Watch 3 Pro, however, retails for $100 / AED 325, but the price bump comes with a slew of minor and major upgrades. You get a slightly larger 1.43” screen, a brighter display, dual-band satellite positioning, a 6-axis accelerometer and a 4-channel heart rate sensor for better accuracy. There are also more sports modes, ChatGPT integration, voice recording with auto-transcription, a Custom Running Coach mode, and a slightly larger battery pack.
For those already rocking the Watch 2 Pro, the need to upgrade will be on an individual basis. However, for first-timers who want to get into the smartwatch business without spending a lot of money, the CMF Watch 3 Pro is a great starting point. It does everything you need to, feels robustly made and gets the job done.
While it may not be a generational leap over its predecessor, or have any sort of ‘wow’ factor, it’s undeniable that the CMF Watch 3 Pro is a solid device for the price. It has a sleek look, robust build, plenty of health and tracking features, and smooth OS that gets the job done.
- Sleek albeit basic looks
- Robust build quality
- Plenty of health and fitness tracking features
- Bright and colorful display
- Reasonably long battery life
- GPS takes a while to get going
- Recording transcription is kinda of meh
- Call quality is below par
Design and Features
I have only used the CMF Watch 2 Pro sparingly, so I can’t assess how much the device has changed with the latest iteration. However, judging from the pictures, it appears to maintain a similar approach.
We received both the Grey and Black versions of the CMF Watch 3 Pro, the former featuring a more prominent and rounded bezel, while the latter is flat and more traditional. It looks very similar to its predecessor; however, the interchangeable bezels have been removed entirely, keeping aesthetic changes to the bands.
What has changed about the design is the larger screen size. It’s now 1.43” compared to 1.32” of the previous model, and gets slightly brighter at 670 nits of peak brightness (vs 620 nits). While the display resolution remains the same (466×466 pixels), images and text look pretty sharp and vibrant, and the display gets bright enough to be legible under direct sunlight.
The internals have been upgraded, too. You get a 6-axis accelerometer and a 4-channel heart rate sensor for better accuracy, plus new sports modes and AI coaching, which we will discuss in the next section.
The most notable upgrade is the battery pack. The Watch 3 Pro features a 350mAh battery, which CMF claims lasts 13 days, exceeding the 11 days of the Watch 2 Pro’s 305mAh battery cells. I think 13 days is a bit of a stretch, especially if you like to use features like Always-On Display and wrist gestures, but I could comfortably get around a week’s use before it needed to be plugged in.
The crown remains, supported by subtle haptic feedback and smooth operation. It can also be double-clicked to perform a pre-defined action. I have set mine to enable AI Voice Assistant access – on Android, it could be ChatGPT or Google Gemini, and on iOS, you can have direct access to Siri. I did not see an option to change this anywhere – I would rather use ChatGPT, to be honest.
The Watch 3 Pro feels robustly made, even though nothing about it screams ‘premium’ – but hey, for the price, the watch feels really nice. It has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, so it has a certain level of endurance on its side. The relatively lightweight construction, at 51.9g and 15.2mm thickness, feels comfortable for all-day use, particularly in the Grey version. I have worn the watch for multiple gym sessions, while working, taking walks, and sleeping, and I never felt that it was too heavy, cumbersome, or was getting in the way of basic motor function.
It’s not the most beautiful looking device, but CMF strikes a reasonable balance between price, form and functionality. I quite like the Grey version – it’s simple, sleek and nothing too fancy, which, for my old bones, sits quite well.
Software Experience
I am going to be upfront about this: there is very little distinguishing factor between me and a panda – we are both lazy and like to lay around whenever an opportunity arises. So, most of the 130 sports modes of the Watch 3 Pro are kind of lost on me. But you don’t have to be like that. You have to be better.
The sports modes include indoor and outdoor walking, cycling, hiking, soccer, basketball, swimming, skiing, cross-trainer, yoga, stair stepper, Pilates, karate, fencing, aerobics, long jump, high jump, dumbbells, and many more.
The Watch 3 Pro also comes with a Custom Running Coach, an AI-based program that helps you achieve your running goals. You have to first input your name, health details, your running goals (how many KMs in how much time) and then it will cook up a program for you to follow based on the number of days you want to train for. I have attached the screenshot for it, but of course, I haven’t done any running – please refer to the opening line of this section.
But it’s not like I am a lazy bum, alright. I do hit the gym five times a week, and I have used the watch to track my output. I chose the Strength Training mode to track my daily routine, which displays my total calories burned, workout duration, average BPM, fat-burning zone, training load, and more.
The problem with this mode – and this is relevant to most smartwatches – is that it doesn’t track my reps or sets, and is purely based on the heart rate to track any progress. Since my routine is mostly lifting weights, this information – while informative – doesn’t give me any meaningful insights. This might be different for other modes, and I assume the information presented will be especially helpful for running and other cardio exercises, so your mileage may vary.
I also take daily walks to and from the gym, and use the watch to track my jaunts. It tracks well, but the watch does take a few seconds to lock in on the GPS. It could be anywhere from 5-10 seconds to more than that, which was a bit annoying, as I just wanted to get going. But once it does lock in, it never loses signal.
The app, Nothing X, and the watch show you most of the same information, except the app also tracks you on the map, which is helpful for planned walks and workouts. You also get average steps, calories burned, average pace and stride, and other fun stuff to track your walking abilities.
Besides that, the Watch 3 Pro can also track your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, sleep cycles and stress. Whether they are accurate is anyone’s guess, but it seems to be pretty consistent with other watches I have used. It can also show the Activity Ring popularised by the Apple Watch.
You can also set custom face watches and widgets, but unfortunately, you can only store six for each of them at once. So if you like a particular face watch or want to have more widgets, you are out of luck.
The face watches are quite nice, if they are your vibe. You get a bunch of digital, analogue and multifunctional designs that are very Nothing-esque. I quite enjoy them, but if you are looking for something brighter and colourful, these won’t exactly cut it.
There are also some Nothing-exclusive features like Essential News (which will require a Nothing Phone in your pocket), as well as recording transcription. The latter allows you to take voice notes through your watch, and then send them to the Nothing X app, which can also transcribe your voice to text.
It’s a nice feature on paper, but the execution is a bit lacking. If and when the transfer to the phone actually works (it’s a bit wonky and gets stuck sometimes), the result is rather poor. The Watch 3 Pro’s mics don’t pick up a whole lot of volume, so even on the phone, the voice note is tinny and barely audible, just like they are directly from the watch.
The transcription is just about okay – it will get the gist of it, but because the microphones are so poor, they will prove to be unreliable for any important voice notes that you might want to jot down. It’s not bad, and in a pinch, it could work, but I wouldn’t rely on them for any serious tasks.
Pigging back on this, the Watch 3 Pro can also be used to answer calls, but again, the speakers are rather poor to have any serious conversations. You can probably get by in a quiet environment, but out on the streets or at work, they just won’t cut it.
The Watch 3 Pro works on both iOS and Android with no noticeable feature loss, except for interactable notifications. The watch does allow you to reply to messages, but that only works on Android phones due to iOS limitations.
Should You Buy the CMF Watch 3 Pro?
Let me put it this way: I am also reviewing another smartwatch alongside the CMF Watch 3 Pro, which costs three times as much, and I don’t find myself missing anything over it. Sure, that other watch has a more premium build quality, nicer band, and additional health features, but for a basic Joe like me, the CMF Watch 3 Pro delivers the goods and then some.
I think the watch looks really nice, feels good in the hands, and has a ton of features and tracking sensors to provide a holistic view of your fitness and workout goals. The screen is nice and bright, the animations are gorgeous, the OS runs smoothly, and everything syncs with the phone and the app without any issues.
For around AED 340, the CMF Watch 3 Pro is a fine offering from CMF and Nothing, and comes easily recommended.
