CMF Watch 3 Pro Review: Subtle changes, big value

Finest Costs At this time: CMF Watch 3 Professional

Nothing’s line-up of price range wearables returns with the CMF Watch 3 Professional, including some new options while taking a vital one away.

For a smartwatch model that hasn’t been round all that lengthy (two years by my depend), it’s shocking to see simply how a lot reinvention the CMF Watch Professional line has undergone.

The unique square-shaped CMF Watch Professional felt like a extra wallet-friendly various to the Apple Watch, whereas the CMF Watch Professional 2 went in a totally completely different course, adopting a round chassis and a modular construct that might allow you to swap in new bezels relying in your tastes.

With the Watch 3 Professional nevertheless, CMF has gone down one more completely different route, seeking to enhance the gadget’s sensible capabilities while removing that aforementioned modularity.

As somebody who liked the thought of being inventive together with your smartwatch’s design, I used to be sceptical about how a lot enjoyment I might get out of the Watch 3 Professional, however after having used the gadget for over per week, I’m glad to say that CMF nonetheless is aware of what it’s doing. 

Design & Construct

• Swappable bezels aren’t any extra
• Nonetheless not appropriate for swimming pools and different water
• CMF has a very good eye for fashion

On the floor, it might sound as if not that a lot has modified between the CMF Watch Professional 2 and its successor, and from a stylistic viewpoint, I’m inclined to agree.

The colourways are principally the identical, though you do get a somewhat fetching near-white Gentle Gray possibility this time round, and CMF has determined to stay with the round chassis. What has been performed away with, nevertheless, is the modularity that got here earlier than.

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With the ability to swap bezels to match completely different moods or outfits was a giant spotlight of the Watch Professional 2, and it confirmed – at the least to me – that CMF understood that one of many greatest options of a timepiece must be its fashion.

I’ve all the time liked having the ability to change to a distinct watch band on my Apple Watch SE 2, relying on what the day has in retailer, and I’m continually swapping between watch faces all year long, so the flexibility to take that freedom of expression one step additional was an enormous win, and it’s a disgrace to see it taken away.

On the very least, the CMF Watch 3 Professional is way from an unpleasant gadget. In actual fact, I truthfully suppose that it’s the nicest-looking wearable that you’ll find for below £100/$100. The brushed stainless steel-look of the bezels (particularly on the Darkish Gray possibility I’ve in for evaluate) makes the watch look far dearer than it really is.

There’s additionally only a single enter within the type of a small rotating crown that will also be pushed to take you again to the homescreen. It adheres to a strictly minimalist vibe that you just’d anticipate to see from a Scandinavian watchmaker, and having used the dearer and much much less eye-catching TicWatch vary for a few years, it’s spectacular to see CMF’s design philosophy come collectively on this method.

I do want that the rotating crown was simply barely greater, although, as I discovered it a tad troublesome to come up with at instances, which made utilizing the touchscreen to scroll by menus a extra preferable possibility.

What is certain to place some consumers off instantly is that, regardless of an official IP68 ranking for mud and water resistance, that means it may be dunked in as much as 1.1m of contemporary water for as much as half-hour, the watch remains to be not appropriate for swimming in a pool or varied different watery conditions.

“The watch shouldn’t be worn in swimming swimming pools, shallow water, sizzling showers, sizzling springs, saunas (steam rooms), scuba diving, deep diving, platform diving, high-pressure rinsing or throughout actions with excessive water stress, excessive temperatures or excessive water ranges,” warns the agency.

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If lane swimming is your exercise of alternative, then chances are you’ll wish to give the Fitbit Cost 6 a glance as an alternative, however for those who’re extra of a runner or bike owner, then it’s not the tip of the world.

Display & Audio

• A barely bigger 1.43-inch show
• May be difficult to learn towards direct daylight
• Audio by way of the onboard speaker is evident

Providing one thing in return for the dearth of modularity, CMF has seen match to bestow the Watch 3 Professional with a barely bigger 1.43-inch show (up from 1.32-inch).

Having that additional actual property offers all features of the UI, whether or not that be the included watch faces or post-workout knowledge, room to unfold out, making all of it straightforward to learn.

Identical to earlier than, the watch makes use of an AMOLED panel, which pairs very well with the principally monochrome however extremely stylised watch faces that CMF has put collectively. In actual fact, I used to be barely bowled over by how a lot I favored the watch faces on provide – that is an space that firms are inclined to overlook, so to see CMF create an thrilling vary of choices is significantly appreciated.

The Digits Time face, with its daring numbers and fast show of the date, ended up turning into an instantaneous favorite over the course of this evaluate.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Though the display screen’s brightness has additionally seen a rise from 620 nits to 650 nits, it might do with much more. I used to be upset to seek out that the show is sort of difficult to learn in direct daylight.

When going for a lunchtime stroll on a very sunny day, I needed to maintain the watch up nearer to my eyes than typical, simply to make out what the time was. As you may think, this was by no means a difficulty when trying on the watch indoors, nevertheless it did have me eager for one other watch after I was out and about.

There’s a built-in speaker on the watch, which can be utilized to hearken to Important Information (extra on that later) and take calls. The speaker itself doesn’t get fairly as loud as different smartwatches, however the high quality is evident for what it’s, and also you gained’t have a tough time understanding what’s being mentioned.

Software program & Options

• No entry to third-party apps
• Loads of core smartwatch options corresponding to calendar entry and notifications
• Important Information is an attention-grabbing concept however wants work

Earlier than detailing what this watch can do, I feel it’s price ripping off the plaster immediately with regard to the sensible options it lacks.

There’s no NFC, so that you gained’t be utilizing the watch to pay for something, and since this makes use of Nothing’s proprietary working system and never Put on OS, you gained’t be gaining access to third-party apps. It’s positively a scaled-back expertise in comparison with what you’ll discover on one thing just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, however if you’re reminded of the truth that it’s solely £99/$99, I feel that you just nonetheless get rather a lot for the worth.

For instance, the watch can be utilized to summon your voice assistant of alternative in your telephone, corresponding to Siri or Google Gemini (it’s suitable with iPhone and Android), and you’ll wirelessly activate your telephone’s shutter button, which may help you to take group photos from a distance.

This all sits on prime of the usual smartwatch fare, corresponding to notifications, alarms, calendar entry and extra, however there are just a few options which are distinctive to the watch, chief amongst them being ‘Important Information’.

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Setting this up requires you to enter the Nothing X app, select the subjects that curiosity you essentially the most after which, by the facility of AI, Important Information will learn you the most recent headlines pertaining to your chosen subjects, all with the voice of Nothing CFO Tim Holbrow. It’s weird and really futuristic, however I do prefer it – to a level.

On the one hand, I can see the enchantment in a function like this – utilizing the speaker in your smartwatch to rapidly run by the highest headlines of the day as you’re preparing for work. The issue is that with AI concerned, I can’t say for sure whether or not or not a number of the info is the results of a hallucination or human error.

For instance, the primary story that was prompt to me was about poor Tom Holland receiving a concussion on the set of Spider-Man: Model New Day. The report famous that the movie was to be Holland’s fourth look because the famed web-slinger, however anybody who’s seen the final two Avengers films (and even Captain America: Civil Battle) will know that that’s not the case.

Both method, as a result of I can’t say for certain the place the error got here from, it’s not a function that I can depend on for correct information. Having a hyperlink to a written model of the story would assist.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Nonetheless, the software program expertise that CMF has put collectively is sweet total, particularly in comparison with another low-cost wearables. Every little thing is clearly labelled and I didn’t decide up on any main stuttering as I scrolled from one menu to the subsequent, though it could be good if the primary app drawer did have a bit extra color because it at present leans a bit too onerous into CMF’s signature palette.

On a aspect word, the haptic suggestions on the watch might do with being only a bit extra highly effective. You may crank it up within the settings menu, however the default mode is pretty subdued, and it’s straightforward to overlook as an alarm, particularly for those who’re a deep sleeper.

Health & Well being Monitoring

• Loads of exercises to be tracked
• Operating coach included
• Can’t monitor swimming and water sports activities

Apart from the dearth of swimming choices, the CMF Watch 3 Professional does have lots going for it in terms of operating and different actions. In actual fact, I used to be slightly shocked to see simply what number of exercises may be tracked from the near-endless checklist that CMF allows you to select from within the accompanying Nothing X app.

There are all kinds, from soccer to karate, javelin and even ballet, so in case you have a distinct segment exercise that you just wish to partake in then there’s a very good likelihood that the Watch 3 Professional can monitor it.

In case you’re extra into operating, otherwise you’re seeking to make it a part of your common routine, then there are much more options to utilize.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

There’s a built-in operating coach that can assist you meet whichever objective you bear in mind, providing you with sensible recommendation if you’re out on the monitor, and because of dual-band GPS (usually discovered on costly watches), you don’t even should convey your telephone with you to trace your route.

In my testing, it solely took six seconds to determine a GPS connection on my typical route, so that you gained’t be ready round lengthy.

The watch additionally comes with sleep monitoring, which, much like what Apple now offers because of its most up-to-date replace, offers a sleep rating to let you recognize at a look whether or not or not you’ve had a good quantity of relaxation.

Sadly, there isn’t any written rationalization or recommendation which may assist to interrupt down the sleep knowledge that’s captured – one thing that you just do get with the Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional and the cheaper GT 6.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

In relation to coronary heart price monitoring, the CMF Watch 3 Professional did shock me slightly, nevertheless it’s removed from being bang on the cash. When used alongside the chest-worn Garmin HRM 600, the Watch 3 Professional was sometimes inside 1-2 beats per minute of the height captured by Garmin’s band, which is respectable, however on common BPM, the distinction was generally off the mark by 5BPM, which is extra of a difficulty.

In consequence, I’d suggest utilizing the center price knowledge from the Watch 3 Professional as an inexpensive estimate versus an goal metric.

One gripe I do have with CMF’s software program, and I’m shocked that it’s been missed, is that you may’t entry your exercise data and the info therein in your smartphone. With the intention to return and examine in your efficiency, you’ll have to do all of it on the watch, which is way from supreme.

Whether or not or not it’s a Garmin gadget, Apple Watch or one of many many Put on OS watches I’ve examined, I’ve all the time used the accompanying smartphone app to examine my efficiency after a exercise, so for that to be unavailable right here feels unusual.

Battery life & charging

• Longer battery lifetime of as much as 13-days
• Roughly 4 days of use with always-on show plus exercises
• Charging to full takes roughly 1 hour and half-hour

Due to its barely bigger show, the CMF Watch 3 Professional now packs a much bigger battery capability as properly, with a claimed endurance of as much as 13-days on a single cost.

I all the time discover that stats like which are captured when a smartwatch is used for nearly nothing apart from notifications and sleep monitoring, so I wished to see what the longevity would actually be like with the always-on show toggled and a number of other exercises tracked.

With this utilization, I used to be capable of get by simply over 4 days of use (together with five-nights of sleep monitoring) earlier than the battery died. Whereas that’s fairly a distinction in comparison with CMF’s 13-day declare, I’m certain that you may stretch the battery life for fairly a bit longer by disabling the always-on show and opting towards utilizing the dual-band GPS monitoring.

Plus, even activating these options, you’ll nonetheless have the ability to get by a weekend with out fear, which is greater than may be mentioned for many big-brand smartwatches, which may battle to final 24 hours in some circumstances.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Charging isn’t the speediest expertise, because it took about one hour and 28 minutes to completely prime up the battery from 0%, however I did claw again 47% after a 30-minute stint, which must be greater than sufficient to get you thru a day or two.

Phrase of warning, although, chances are you’ll wish to double examine that the charging cable is firmly secured earlier than leaving it to get on with its enterprise. The proprietary magnetic connector is a bit on the flimsy aspect and may come free for those who’re not cautious. 

Worth & Availability

All 4 colourways of the CMF Watch 3 Professional (Darkish Gray, Gentle Gray, Gentle Inexperienced and Orange) are priced at £99/$99/€99, and are actually accessible to buy within the UK, US and the EU.

You should buy it from Nothing’s official retailer in addition to Amazon UK and Amazon US.

At this finish of the market, there aren’t too many smartwatches that may compete with the Watch 3 Professional, with the closest various from massive manufacturers being the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, which retails at £199/$249.99 and the Huawei Watch Match 4 at £149.

Take a look at our rundown of the most effective price range smartwatches to see what the wearable is up towards. You may additionally wish to think about a health tracker, though there’s a trade-off with the sensible performance on provide.

As an illustration, the Fitbit Cost 6 can present Google Pay and YouTube Music controls, nevertheless it doesn’t have fast entry to Siri and Google Gemini.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Must you purchase the CMF Watch 3 Professional?

Though it has misplaced one of many defining options that allowed its predecessor to face out available in the market, I nonetheless discover myself very impressed with the CMF Watch 3 Professional.

With a price ticket that massively undercuts most different smartwatches, and a method that additionally exhibits them up, it’s very straightforward to suggest to people who don’t wish to spend an excessive amount of cash however don’t need a primary health tracker both.

You may monitor loads of exercises on this factor, and entry key features of your smartphone on a big show that’s a pleasure to take a look at, more often than not. It’s solely actually held again by its lack of true waterproofing, NFC and display screen brightness.

Apart from that, CMF has as soon as once more proven why it’s a pressure to be reckoned with on the price range market.

Specs

• 1.43-inch show
• AMOLED panel
• 650 nits peak brightness
• 350mAh battery
• As much as 13-day battery life
• Twin-band GPS
• Bluetooth 5.3
• IP68 mud and water-resistant
• Android & iPhone suitable