Hands-on: Nothing’s $25 CMF Buds Neo are way better than the price suggests

Ben Schoon | Sep 8 2026 - 12:30 pm PT

Last month, Nothing’s CMF brand launched a new pair of $25 earbuds in the CMF Buds Neo. Too good to be true, I figured, but after getting my hands on them, I’m pleasantly surprised by what they bring to the table despite some expected downsides.

The CMF Buds Neo bring a lot to the table on paper. 52-hour battery life, active noise cancellation, some flashy colors, and even dual-device connections alongside support for the Nothing X app and EQ presets. For $25, it’s a compelling package.

How does it deliver in real life?

I’ve spent a few hours listening to CMF Buds Neo and, honestly, I’m pretty impressed!

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At their core, they get the job done. The earbuds have decent sound quality, though they’re a bit hollow on default settings. I found that turning down the bass enhancement improves the sound quality, and they’re more optimized for speech (podcasts, etc) than music. Nothing Ear (3a) sound far better; don’t get me wrong, but probably not 4x better as the price on paper suggests.

The sound quality is the most important thing here when the price is so low, and it’s certainly more than good enough to make these a good deal. And there’s clearly more weight put in the price than anything else. CMF Buds Neo have some clear and obvious downsides. The case is cheap-feeling despite looking very nice, and the same goes for the earbuds – the materials feel cheap, but they fit nice in my ear and stay comfortable over a few hours of use. The touchpads on the earbuds are responsive, but lack a play/pause gesture by default. Another downside is the range, as I found these disconnect from my Fold 8 more quickly than other earbuds I’ve tested in recent memory. The case magnets that hold the earbuds in place work well, and there are some nice touches such as a snappy hinge and the lanyard hole on a rotating corner piece.

There’s also no pairing button on the case, something that will never fail to annoy me, but at least there’s Google Fast Pair – humorously, the Fast Pair pop-up lacks a picture of the earbuds and just says “blue” on the variant I bought.

Downsides are aplenty here, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise. But, at the core, you’re getting earbuds that sound good enough, have most important features, and cost just $25. If you need a spare pair of earbuds to throw in a backpack or at your bedside, or a daily driver on a budget, these are a winner in my book.