CMF by Nothing debuts affordable TWS Earbuds, Smartwatch and a Utilitarian 65W GaN charger

Nothing started its maiden journey with a pair of earbuds, followed by the radical phone design, backed by loads of hype and anticipation. Carl Pie’s brand has since then consolidated with stellar second-generation products. Now Carl wants to cater to the more affordable section of the market with the newly launched CMF by Nothing.

Abbreviated Color, Material, Finish – the brand is a direct aspiration of the parent company to bring great accessible design to the masses. The budget-friendly brand announced today has three products in its kitty – smartphone, earbuds and charger. According to Carl, CMF is, “here to question the world.” By our understanding that statement is clearly focused on the high price tags of some of the gadgets out there.

Designer: CMF by Nothing

Keeping with the trend of revealing earbuds as the first product, CMF by Nothing has the $49 Buds Pro earbuds to offer. At that price tag, the active noise cancellation, 11 hours of standalone battery in the buds and 39 hours of battery in the charging case are worth the deal. Compared to the now premium Nothing Ear (2) earbuds, the sub-brand’s buds have a more contoured look.

There’s no transparent aesthetic, normally associated with the Nothing products. Also, the case design is different from the Big Brother as they are stored in a circular puck case. The Buds Pro features like equalizer, ANC settings and more can be toggled via the Nothing X app earbuds. For now, the earbuds will be available in grey, black, and vibrant orange colors.

Next, there is the CMF Watch Pro which is a reflection of the brand’s ‘accessible’ motto. The price tag of $54 will shake up the smartwatch market. There are clear traces of the unannounced Apple Watch design and the Watch Ultra’s orange strap here. At one-tenth the price of Apple’s wearable, the 1.96-inch AMOLED display smartwatch touches important bases with a dedicated heart rate sensor, blood oxygen saturation sensor and multi-system GPS. Also, it comes with a claimed battery life of 13 days and 110 sports activities for fitness tracking to choose from.

The most interesting product in the line-up from the perspective of utility is the CMF Power 65W Charger. The GaN (Gallium Nitride) charger juices up most of your gadgets including phones, earbuds, smartwatches, or portable speakers. With the inclusion of three ports, two USB Type-C and a USB Type-A, the branded accessory is cheaper than most other brands at $39.

The wide range of compatibility for  PD3.0, QC4.0+/3.0/2.0, SCP, FCP, PPS, AFC, Samsung 9V2A, DCP, and Apple 2.4A protocols will make it a value-for-money proposition for users buying new flagships or products that don’t have the charger included in the package.

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Nothing launches ultra-affordable $54 Watch Pro with Bluetooth Calling and Heart Monitoring

It’s about 80% cheaper than Apple’s Watch SE, but has all the features you’d expect from a good budget smartwatch.

Pretty much following exactly what the leaked images said, Nothing’s sub-brand CMF has announced its first three products, the Buds Pro TWS earbuds, the Power 65W GaN charger, and the Watch Pro, an affordable but mighty smartwatch that hopes to bring the Nothing experience to even more users with its pocket-friendly price tag. At just Rs. 4,499 INR (or $54 USD converted), the Watch Pro shouldn’t really come with any expectations, but it exceeds whatever I have with a feature-packed design. It sports a “mighty” 1.96-inch AMOLED always-on display accompanied by a single hardware button. The watch lets you answer calls via Bluetooth (with an AI noise reduction algorithm), tracks as many as 110 sports/activities, has a comprehensive heart monitor, a built-in GPS, IP68 dust and water resistance, and a whopping 13-day battery life. Did I mention it costs just $54 bucks?

Designer: CMF by Nothing

What immediately stands out with the Watch Pro is the fact that it’s nothing like Nothing. There’s no transparency, no fanfare, not even as much as an online event or even a video. The reason lies in Nothing’s underlying strategy to pretty much conquer the budget market with well-made gadgets that are recognizable, but don’t affect Nothing’s own brand positioning. The CMF devices aren’t transparent because that’s the Nothing visual DNA. Instead, they come with opaque designs that are punctuated by the use of a bright orange, either in the hardware, or in the software. The name CMF stands for Color, Material, Finish – a reference to the abbreviated term used by designers and engineers.

While the design isn’t overtly revolutionary or innovative, the watch does deliver quite the bang for its buck. On the hardware front, there’s a whole lot to write home about. The watch obviously tells the time, lets you monitor the weather, has GPS tracking, and even has Bluetooth support so you can answer phone calls without taking your phone out. The folks at Nothing say their AI noise reduction algorithm was trained on over 100,000 noise models, allowing it to work remarkably well at isolating your voice when you’re in a crowded or noisy space.

It even supports up to 110 sports modes, letting you track all your sports and activities right on the watch, with a comprehensive breakdown of your reps duration, calories, heart rate, pace, steps, and distance. The comprehensive health monitor tracks your heart rate, blood SpO2, sleep, stress levels, etc. to enhance your health journey. There’s even a water reminder thrown in there so that the Watch Pro constantly ensures you stay hydrated.

What really does set the Watch Pro apart from any other smartwatch we’ve seen, however, is the OS. Most smartwatches distil down their respective smartphone OS or rely entirely on Android Wear to power their experience, but the Watch Pro is an entirely different experience. The smartwatch’s UI quite literally uses just a combination of 4 colors – black, white, grey, and orange, but achieves so much with its limited palette. The interface is this minimalist Bauhaus-inspired work of art that practically uplifts every screen, from the multiple watch faces to the functions/features within the watch. It might be a $54 smartwatch, but it feels nothing like one, with a kind of cleanliness that’s only reserved for flagships.

The Watch Pro comes with a respectable 13 days of battery life with moderate use, going down to 11 days with heavy use. This includes the fact that the Watch Pro has an always-on display that’s ever ready to give you the time of the day, the date, the weather forecast, or any notification you may need to see. Partnering with your smartphone, the Watch Pro has Find My features to help locate both your phone as well as your watch. There’s also a built-in Voice AI as well as music control for playback on your phone or your TWS earbuds.

For now, the Watch Pro along with other CMF products are just limited to an India launch. It makes sense, given Nothing’s flagship production center is in India too, as is a majority of its audience.

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BREAKING: Carl Pei’s Latest Brand “CMF” is launching a Smartwatch, TWS Earbuds, and GaN Charger

Earlier this year, Nothing teased a sub-brand by the name of CMF with nothing more than just a logo reveal. Today, leaked images obtained by Twitter-user @techleakszone show three CMF products in the works. We upscaled these low-res images to get a clearer picture of the three products – a smartwatch, a pair of TWS earbuds, and a 65W GaN charging brick, all scheduled for an end-September release in India. All products have one thing in common – the use of a vibrant orange that draws instant attention to them, in a way contrasting Nothing’s transparent approach to design rather wonderfully!

This is an AI-upscaled Image (Ignore warped graphics on product)

The most prominent of the products is the smartwatch, which is priced at a budget-friendly ₹4499 ($54.48 USD) and comes with a 1.96″ AMOLED always-on display. Styled to somewhat lock horns with other budget watches/wearables like the Fitbit, the CMF smartwatch comes with an aluminum alloy case and a silicone band. A 330mAh battery gives it up to 13 days of use on a single charge, and the wearable works as a comprehensive fitness/sports tracker with support for 110 sports, along with features like heart-rate monitoring, blood-oxygen monitoring, stress monitoring, sleep tracking, etc. The spec sheet below compares the watch with other budget smartwatches on the Indian market, comparing features along with an incredibly competitive price tag.

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The second product (code-named Corsola) is a ₹3499 ($42.3 USD) pair of TWS earbuds designed to compete with other brands in the low-budget segment. CMF’s earbuds are significantly different in appearance from the Nothing Ear (2) earbuds. They aren’t transparent, and they come in a circular case instead of a square one. The earbuds have up to 45dB of active noise cancellation and an impressive 37-hour battery life with the charging case. Just like the Ear (2), they are IP54-rated as well, although at half the price.

This is an AI-upscaled Image (Ignore warped graphics on product)

The third is probably the most interesting product of the lot – a GaN charger designed to compete in the accessories market and probably bring in the green for CMF by selling to both Android and iOS users alike. In a world where phone makers are increasingly deciding to ditch the idea of packaging chargers along with their phones, CMF’s 65W GaN charger makes quite an impact. With three ports (two USB-C and one USB-A), the charger can simultaneously power three devices, giving you a multifunctional power brick that takes care of your phone, tablet, and earbuds or power bank. The GaN semiconductor keeps the charging brick’s size extremely compact, and that bright orange color means you’ll never misplace it! The charging brick is expected to have a ₹2499 ($30.2 USD) price tag at launch a month from now.

Images via @techleakszone

The post BREAKING: Carl Pei’s Latest Brand “CMF” is launching a Smartwatch, TWS Earbuds, and GaN Charger first appeared on Yanko Design.

Computer accessories look like delicious hard candy on your desktop

From keyboards to mice to webcams, computer peripherals have existed since the dawn of computers themselves, and most of these were designed for technical function more than anything else. It has only been in the last few decades that ergonomics and comfort have become a core focus for some but not all of these products, and aesthetics have arrived even more recently only. Of course, function, ergonomics, and form aren’t mutually exclusive, but it takes a lot more work to make sure that all three boxes are checked. It requires a lot of back and forth between designers and engineers and definitely a lot of prototyping and waiting time. With the right tool, however, that waiting time could take only minutes, or at most two days, allowing manufacturers to play around with materials and finishes that lead to eye-catching results like this almost literally sweet collection of peripherals for desktops and laptops.

Designer: Beta Design Office

It’s not really that much of a surprise that computer accessories have traditionally been labeled as utilitarian or even geeky products. The most common designs don’t inspire much appreciation because of their, well, common forms, and they aren’t even that comfortable to use for long periods of time. Fortunately, we have come to a point where good ergonomics and good lucks have become more important and also more common, like these prototypes for three of the most common computer accessories that look almost delicious enough to lick.

The Mayku Accessories collection comprises a keyboard, a mouse, and a more traditional webcam that attaches to the top of a monitor. While their designs don’t show anything functionally new, it’s their appearance that really catches the eye. Instead of using the usual flat surfaces and sharp corners, these products use “softer,” more curved forms, like the sides and tops of the keycaps, the entire surface of the mouse, or the body of the webcam.

While the designs themselves are already interesting, the story behind their creation is equally so. It is the result of multiple iterations and prototypes that played around with different colors, materials, and finishes, more commonly known as “CMF” in the design world. The end result is a series of shells that use soft colors and sometimes transparent materials, making these usually cold and impersonal devices look like hard candy or even soft marshmallows.

What actually made this possible is a novel machine called the Mayku Multiplier that allows the creation of molds and parts in just minutes rather than hours. This has made it easier to create those prototypes with different CMFs, allowing designers to quickly discuss and change designs in just days instead of weeks. With tools such as this multiplier and 3D printers becoming more accessible, it will be easier and more feasible to create designs that buck trends and appeal to the sensibilities of different people while still maintaining their technical features and ergonomics.

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By looking more ‘fashionable’, this insulin injection helps break stereotypes

Spectacles, walking sticks, both are products that started as medical devices but slowly evolved into objects of fashion and style. You see, somewhere down the line people with walking difficulties and weak eyesight felt that their affliction shouldn’t make them look inferior. Thus, the stylish monocle and the fashionable walking cane were born. Youtrust brings that very approach to insulin injections.

Injections are inherently scary looking, and the fact that you’ve got to get approximately 3 of them a day doesn’t help soothe the pain, metaphorically speaking. Youtrust reinvents how they look by overhauling their clinical design for something that’s functional yet also trendy. Its form language is simple and sophisticated, and is upgraded by gradients, vibrant hues, and speckled CMF (although orange speckles on injections may irk some folks).

The Youtrust Insulin Injector comes with a concealed needle (like the ones found in blood sugar monitors). The vial sits inside the device, with a meter letting you know how much insulin is inside. You can calibrate your insulin units using the knob on the top, and a digital display on the side helps you track your daily and monthly doses as well as see step-by-step instructions for administering them (just in case someone else has to help you out). The Youtrust device comes with a pod-shaped flat design with rounded edges, which makes it easy to carry around in a bag or your pocket. Ever so often (a couple of months, maybe), its display and electronics will need charging too, and a nifty wireless charging tray lets you charge your injection by simply placing it on the tray’s surface overnight!

Now if only someone went back 20 years and made braces look cool too…

Designer: Dorian Famin

YD JOB ALERT: Bang & Olufsen is looking for a CMF Designer

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Bang & Olufsen was founded by Peter Bang and Sven Olufsen in 1925, starting with manufacturing radios and growing to become one of the world’s best producers of high-end audio equipment with a design style that’s sculptural, and that puts form on a pedestal, without sacrificing function. B&O has a distinctive design appeal that Wired described as “quality media delivery via striking objects”. The company is looking for a seasoned CMF designer to join their team in Copenhagen, Denmark.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Do you have 3+ years of experience working with color, materials and finish, and would you like to use this experience in the design of Bang & Olufsen’s luxury lifestyle audio products? And are you looking for an opportunity to:
– Improve your CMF design skills and apply them to Bang & Olufsen products?
– Join one of the best-known luxury brands in the world?
– Gain an international network of competent and collaborative colleagues?

Join the Design team
As our new CMF designer, you will join the Design team in Lyngby, Denmark, consisting of 6 design managers with different competencies. Together with colleagues based in Lyngby, Struer and Singapore, we participate in cross-functional projects, contributing with our product design expertise. Doing so, we work as one team to share knowledge, run design reviews and provide feedback on a weekly basis. And now, we are looking to expand our CMF team with a designer.

Implement world-class CMF across Bang & Olufsen’s luxury products
As our new CMF designer, you will work closely with our CMF manager to implement colour, materials and textures across speakers, headphones and earphones. Working with inline products, special editions as well as fashion and interior collections, you will ensure that our products live up to our CMF strategy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

– Design and visualize versions of existing products by applying color, texture and materials
– Create CMF briefs and specifications based on CMF strategies, brand language and manager input
– Work closely with manufacturing teams to ensure they understand specifications and deliver quality execution
– Engage with external partners such as agencies, suppliers and artists, e.g. international musicians and athletes, for our fashion and – interior collections, ensuring compliance with our CMF strategy
– Play a major role in managing our overall color activities across inline products, collections and special editions
– You can expect approx. 20 travel days a year to review color samples at supplier factories in China.

REQUIREMENTS

– You have 3+ years of experience from a CMF position within fashion, lifestyle, design or consumer electronics
– You can tell a compelling CMF story
– You have knowledge of all phases of the CMF design process – from palette development through manufacturing and sample approvals
– You are fluent in spoken and written English
– You thrive in a fast-paced environment
– You master Photoshop and Keyshot, and experience with Grasshopper is a plus
– As a person, you have excellent collaboration skills, and you know how to reach results through teamwork. It comes naturally to you to coordinate your own tasks and drive many projects at a time.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information about the position, please contact Head of Design Michael König on +45-42414261.
Applications are continuously assessed, so please send your application as soon as possible.

LOCATION

Copenhagen, Denmark

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

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Someone give Huawei’s CMF team a medal!

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In this dull Space Gray and Rose Gold world, Huawei’s designers are working on a great phone that doesn’t just perform well. It breaks the barriers of smartphone CMF. So much focus has been given to phone’s fronts that the back now seems like an afterthought. Huawei’s P20 treats the back with just as much importance, making it look as pretty as a picture because if you can set a beautiful wallpaper on your display, your phone’s back needs to shine through as well, looking just as visually pleasing as the front. Sorry, Google Pixel. You tried, but your Kinda Blue was rather insipid and unimpactful.

There’s a great deal of composition in the P20’s colors. The hues look remarkable, and you stop to notice the phone in its entirety, rather than how most phones use super-glossy finishes and creative lighting to showcase beautiful highlights on their bodies. Their colors usher in what I believe is a renewed Nokia Lumia movement (Nokia’s Lumia phones were famous for their dazzlingly delicious colors). These shades and finishes elicit joy out of me the way scrolling through Design Seeds would. There’s something refreshing about them and makes them look premium and great at the same time (my heart belongs to that purple-blue gradient). It’s a shame most of us would cover them with protective cases, however.

Designers: Huawei

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