The CMF Clip Pro are open-ear, clip-on earbuds from Nothing's budget-minded headphone division. While the Clip Pro employ a similar cuff design to open-ear competitors, like the Shokz OpenDots 2, they come with some distinctive features that help them stand out from the crowd. These include LDAC compatibility for high-quality audio streaming, a leakage-reduction feature, and a unique case that comes equipped with an additional control, case-mounted control interface.
Our Verdict
The CMF Clip Pro are excellent for sports and fitness use. Their clip-on design provides a very comfortable, highly stable fit for most people that won't get dislodged during high-intensity activities, like box jumps. The buds are rated IP54, meaning they'll survive sweaty workouts and rain showers alike. Plus, their nifty case comes with a dial to input controls manually if your hands are too sweaty for the touch controls on the buds. The open-ear design keeps you aware of your surroundings during jogs around the block, but, by the same token, leaves you at the mercy of clacking treadmills and your gym owner's taste in music.
Comfortable, lightweight fit.
Great stability, even with high-intensity workouts.
Leak quite a bit of audio.
The CMF Clip Pro are poor for travel. While they're very comfortable, lightweight, and portable, they have a few caveats that limit their use on the go. Chief among them is their complete lack of noise isolation, allowing you to hear fellow travelers chit-chatting or coughing in transit. Their battery life, though serviceable at a little over six hours, won't get you through a trans-Atlantic flight on one charge either. They also leak quite a bit of audio, especially at higher volumes, which can bother others around you. While there is a leakage reduction feature to help mitigate this, it rolls off quite a bit of the treble range.
Comfortable, lightweight fit.
Leak quite a bit of audio.
Continuous battery life on the shorter side.
The CMF Clip Pro aren't conventionally good office earbuds. Their open-ear design provides no isolation against scraping chairs and water-cooler talk, though this can be an advantage if you need to remain constantly reachable by your co-workers. They leak a fair bit of audio, however, which is mostly concentrated in the treble range. However, you can mitigate this with the leakage reduction feature. They're very comfortable earbuds that can be worn all day without weighing down your ears much. While the built-in is serviceable for brief check-ins, your voice sounds distant and unnatural, so you'll want to try something different for long, virtual sales pitches.
LDAC support.
Comfortable, lightweight fit.
Leak quite a bit of audio.
Continuous battery life on the shorter side.
Poor mic recording quality.
The CMF Clip Pro aren't suitable for wireless gaming. Even with the 'Low Lag' mode enabled, latency is too high for anything remotely competitive, though they'll do the job with turn-based RPGs.
The CMF Clip Pro can't be used with a wired connection, so they're not suitable for this use case.
The CMF Clip Pro are okay for audio reproduction accuracy. The frequency response doesn't deviate too much from their bright sound profile. There are some small peaks in the treble range, but this range is already quite emphasized and harsh-sounding. Similarly, the deviations in the bass range aren't audible as these buds struggle to reproduce this range anyway. Our unit exhibited great stereo matching between the L/R drivers, resulting in a balanced stereo image.
The CMF Clip Pro have terrible noise isolation by design. They leave your ear canal totally open, so environmental noises, like passing cars and plane engines overhead, are clearly audible. That said, this can be an advantage if you prefer to stay aware of your surroundings. They also leak quite a bit of audio, so you'll need to be wary of disturbing those around you if you're blasting your tunes in a quiet place. You can always enable the 'Leakage Reduction' mode to help mitigate this, though.
The CMF Clip Pro's built-in microphone is disappointing. While it can render your voice in an understandable way, you'll sound distorted and distant. As a result, it's best suited to shorter, informal calls, rather than online meetings. It can separate your voice from consistent, moderate background noise, though this can introduce more distortion into the signal. Audio cuts out altogether in the face of sudden, loud noises, like passing subway cars.
The CMF Clip Pro's frequency response consistency isn't bad. There's some flexibility in their positioning, depending on where you clip them on your ear, which can cause subtle deviations in the frequency response between wears. The anatomy of your ear can also influence the sound, as it'll affect where you can clip the buds on.
Performance Usages
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The CMF Clip Pro come in three color variants: 'Coral' (our unit), as well as 'Light Grey' and 'Dark Grey.' We took a photo of our unit's label for you to view, too. If you encounter another variant of these earbuds, please let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphone Comparisons
The CMF Clip Pro are budget-minded, clip-on open-ears. Released in 2026, they compete with a host of other open-ear designs, as manufacturers aim to capitalize on the their popularity. As with many of their competitors, the CMF have a highly stable and comfortable design, with cuffs that fasten themselves to your outer ear, making them a great match for sports and workouts. Most open-ears we've tested have had comparably bright sound profiles, as well as the customary lack of noise isolation, and the CMF are no exception. While they undercut the Shokz OpenDots 2 and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds in price, they also have the shortest battery life of the three at a little over six hours. Their built-in mic has considerably worse recording quality compared to the Bose, too. However, their impressive Bluetooth connectivity helps them stand out from the crowd, thanks to two-way Bluetooth multipoint and LDAC support. The carrying case, equipped with its own control interface, will be a selling point for some, too, not just for its unique aesthetic; it lets you input controls via the dial's clicky, mechanical interface in case your hands are too sweaty or sticky for the buds' controls.
If you're looking for other workout options, check out the best bone conduction and open-ear headphones, the best headphones and earbuds for running and working out, and the best wireless Bluetooth earbuds.
The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are more premium open-ear buds compared to the CMF Clip Pro, but that doesn't necessarily make them the best choice for everyone. Both buds are similarly comfortable and stable, and, as with most open designs, they lack bass presence and noise isolation capabilities. That said, the Bose have a much longer battery life, clocking in at over nine hours compared to the CMF's six hours. The Bose also have a better mic performance and leak slightly less audio. That said, the CMF have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Bluetooth connectivity: they boast both Bluetooth multipoint and LDAC support. Their case will also appeal to some who prefer a more mechanical, tactile control interface to the buttons found on the buds themselves.
The SoundPeats PearlClip Pro are a more budget-conscious alternative to the CMF Clip Pro if you're looking for open-ear buds with a clip-on design. That said, the CMF's performance and feature set justify their higher asking price, making them a better choice if you can afford the extra outlay. The CMF are more comfortable and more stable, making them a better choice for workouts, and their battery life is almost double that of the SoundPeats' 3.25 hours. The CMF also come with LDAC support and a nifty case that can double as a second control interface. That said, the SoundPeats have a better built-in mic, making them a better choice for calls.
The Shokz OpenDots 2 and the CMF Clip Pro are both clip-on, open-ear designs, though the Shokz come in at a higher price point than the more budget-oriented CMF. However, for most people, the Shokz don't offer the performance or feature set to justify the higher asking price. Both buds are similarly comfortable, but the CMF offer slightly more stability, though ultimately both will do the job for jogs and high-intensity workouts alike. The Shokz' built-in mic is slightly worse, too, though it's able to separate your voice from its background slightly better than the CMF. The CMF also have a few distinctive features that'll endear them to certain people: LDAC support is a bonus, as are the leakage reduction feature and case-mounted controls.
The CMF Clip Pro are better open-ear buds than the Sennheiser ACCENTUM Clip. This is especially the case if you're looking for workout buds, as the Sennheiser fall short of the CMF when it comes to build quality, comfort, and stability. In particular, the Sennheiser's case seems flimsy and susceptible to damage in the long term. While the two have a very similar battery life performance, the Sennheiser do have a better built-in mic that can render your voice more clearly. Both pairs offer similar Bluetooth connectivity, with support for multi-device pairing, as well as high-quality streaming via LDAC.
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