CMF Clip Pro open-ear earbuds launch at $99 — half the price of Sony and Bose rivals
CMF, Nothing's budget-focused sub-brand, has launched the Clip Pro — its first open-ear clip-style earbuds, priced at $99 in the US and £79 in the UK. That puts them well below the Sony LinkBuds Clip and Huawei FreeClip (around $180) and above the Bose Ultra Open, which costs even more. The catch: open-ear means no active noise cancellation, so you hear the world around you whether you want to or not.
CMF Clip Pro open-ear earbuds in Coral, Dark Grey, and Light Grey colourways.
The design
Each earbud weighs 5.9 grams and attaches via a three-point clip system with a flexible C-bridge and a 0.5mm titanium memory wire. CMF says the soft-touch TPU plastic is comfortable for long wear. IP54 means they handle sweat and light rain but aren't waterproof. Colours are Dark Grey, Light Grey, and Coral.
The three-point titanium clip system keeps each 5.9g earbud in place during activity.
The sound
The Clip Pro uses a 10.8mm dual-magnet dynamic driver with CMF's Ultra Bass Technology for low-end emphasis. They support Hi-Res Audio with LDAC, AAC, and SBC codecs — LDAC being relevant only if you're streaming lossless audio from a compatible Android device. Four HD microphones with VPU-powered AI noise-cancelling (called Clear Voice) handle call quality by filtering wind and street noise. A Sound Seal design aims to keep your audio from bleeding out to people nearby.
The battery and controls
Battery life hits 10 hours per charge, with 32.5 hours total using the charging case. Ten minutes on USB-C gets you four hours of playback — useful if you forget to charge overnight. The case carries a Smart Dial: a physical rotary control for volume, playback, call answering, and switching Bluetooth pairing modes without touching your phone. Bluetooth 5.4 supports simultaneous connection to two devices.
Up against Nothing's own lineup
At $99, the Clip Pro sits at exactly the same price as the Nothing Ear (3a) — an in-ear model with active noise cancellation. That's a real trade-off: open-ear awareness versus ANC isolation. CMF's bet is that gym-goers and commuters who want situational awareness will pick the Clip Pro, while those in noisy environments stick with ANC earbuds. Whether the market agrees remains to be seen.
CMF Clip Pro — available from August 15 in the US and UK at $99/£79.
The CMF Clip Pro goes on sale August 15 in the US, UK, and Japan via Nothing's website and selected retail partners. Europe follows on September 15 at €79.
