At the tail end of last year, we saw reports of Nothing potentially releasing a pair of earbuds under a sub-brand. More recently, the company has confirmed the existence of a sub-brand, going by the name of CMF.
The announcement is hidden in a recent Nothing community Update video on the brand’s YouTube channel, with CEO Carl Pei delivering the news. You’ll have to jump to the 8:46 timestamp to get immediately to it though. But in the segment, Pei explains that CMF will be a different brand compared to the parent company, and run by a separate team. While the parent will continue pushing design innovation and releasing premium products, the sub-brand will focus on “clean and timeless design”, with the products themselves being “accessibly priced”.
As for products being made by this new sub-brand, CMF is currently working on a smartwatch, as well as a pair of earbuds. Pei says that these will be launching later this year, but shared no further details about what they are.
Also, the phrase “accessibly priced” here probably means affordable, and compared to other products in the market, that may very well be true. But things don’t usually translate that well when currency exchanges come into play. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait for their products to get a local price tag before it would be a fair evaluation of the claim.
This also echoes the strategy of OnePlus, the company that Pei previously led. Said brand started as the “flagship killer”, offering top tier specs while massively undercutting the competition. Over time though, its products became more similarly priced to other flagship devices, with the new Nord line carrying the affordable mantle instead.
(Source: Nothing / YouTube)
