CMF Buds 2

Nothing usually produces gear where competitiveness is paramount, which translates to being cheaper than the closest competitors. For example, they have just launched the CMF Phone 2 Pro, which at £200 really pushes the boundaries of what we can expect from a budget-friendly phone. It is also accompanied by the new CMF Buds 2, but this one has a slightly different sound.

CMF's pricing here is a bit of a mixed bag, it has to be said. Some retailers offer them at different prices, both above and below the MSRP on Nothing's own site at £39, which can almost be described as something of a bargain. Should the price jump up, they are not alone, as you can get a pair of Samsung Galaxy Buds FE, a pair of OnePlus Buds 3, or almost Nothing's own Ear(a), so CMF is really not alone here. But again, if the price stays at £39, so you can disregard this.

And you can especially because the specifications are pretty wild for this money. No, unfortunately you don't get Qi wireless charging, that's a big sacrifice, but that said, it's perhaps to be expected at this price point.

But you also get 11 millimetre PMI drivers with a Dirac Opteo DAC, and active noise cancellation of up to 48 decibels. There are six microphones mounted, three on each, and each charge gives you 13.5 hours of use (without ANC), totalling 55 hours between charges. There's even Spatial Audio support and an IP55 certification.

It's small stuff here, but there's Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair, Dual connectivity, and Bluetooth 5.4, and the gorgeous matte case is even available in slightly cooler colours than the boring black we received.

So apart from the fact that you can't charge wirelessly, are these worth the modest price tag? Well, almost on spec alone, at £39 (assuming that price holds) this is an absurd amount of functionality for the money. There's almost everything you could want here.

In practice, it all works pretty much flawlessly too. Sure, the touch control via each "stem" on the devices isn't quite as responsive as Apple or Bowers & Wilkins, and the fit isn't quite as intuitive either. That said, the sound is surprisingly spacious and can hold its own against in-ears that are twice as expensive, if not three times as expensive in some cases. This Hybrid ANC functionality works adequately - it's not the vacuum you get with the flagships, but it's capable of removing both harsh and sudden noise.

Whether you're listening to Queens of the Stone Age, The Gamereactor Show (give us a listen), or YouTube videos on the train, there's not a scenario where CMF Buds 2 doesn't give you everything you need, and there's no sign in build or sound quality that anything is amiss here.

This is truly impressive, just as we've come to expect from Nothing and CMF.