A CMF Clip Pro review from The Verge finds Nothing’s budget brand has made a credible low-cost entry into clip-style earbuds: a $99 pair that favors comfort and awareness over the isolation conventional in-ear buds provide. The conclusion comes with the usual open-ear fine print, which physics remains stubbornly unwilling to negotiate.
CMF’s first clip-style earbuds place a speaker just outside the ear canal and use a band that wraps around the ear to hold it there. That arrangement avoids the sealed, in-ear fit some listeners dislike while leaving the wearer able to hear surrounding traffic, colleagues, or a question from across the room. The Verge gave the Clip Pro a 7/10, highlighting comfort, ambient awareness and sound it judged good for this category. Its review also said comparable open-ear pairs from Bose, Sony and Shokz can reach $200.
The list price is $99 in the US, according to The Verge and reviewers Picky Audio and Tech Spurt. The Verge reported a $79 sale shortly after launch, which makes the value case more compelling but is not a permanent price. Tech Spurt reported a £79 UK price.
Are CMF Clip Pro earbuds good for commuting?
Probably not if the trip is loud. Tech Spurt found the open-ear construction offered effectively no active or passive noise cancellation, making podcasts and audiobooks difficult to follow on busy streets and public transit. The Verge likewise noted that listeners may need to turn up the volume to overcome surrounding sound, which can leak audio to people nearby.
That trade-off is the product’s point, not an overlooked missing feature. Open-ear buds work best for listeners who want background music or calls while staying aware of their surroundings, particularly at home, in an office, or outdoors where hearing the environment is useful. Tech Spurt judged quieter settings more suitable than transit.
What do reviewers say about fit and features?
Comfort is the consistent positive. Picky Audio scored both comfort and fit security at 9.5 out of 10 after all-day wear and a wet, jump-around workout simulation. Tech Spurt said the pair was comfortable for hours and worked with glasses, though perspiration made the earbuds slide down and require adjustment during its week of testing.
Picky Audio reported IP54 dust and water resistance for the earbuds, an IPX2-rated case, physical controls, Bluetooth multipoint and a low-latency mode. It also reported 10 hours of earbud battery life and 32.5 hours including the case, figures that were not independently laboratory-verified in the available reviews. Its call tests rated quality usable rather than exceptional, and it noted the lack of mono mode for one-ear use.
There are smaller annoyances. The Verge found the three-band equalizer awkward to tune and called the charging-case controls gimmicky. Tech Spurt reported one unexplained right-earbud connection failure that required a phone restart and did not return during testing.
CMF has not erased the limits of clip earbuds. It has, according to these reviewers, packaged the core compromise competently at a price below several premium rivals. That makes the Clip Pro a plausible option for people who cannot stand earbuds in their ear canals, not a replacement for sealed buds on a train.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
