Remember when Beats by Dre owned the streets? Those chunky, colorful headphones were everywhere from subway commutes to celebrity Instagram posts, turning audio gear into legitimate fashion statements while Apple quietly collected the profits. But here’s the thing: Apple seems content letting Beats fade into the background, barely promoting the brand while focusing on AirPods. That cultural vacuum has created a fascinating opportunity, and CMF by Nothing might just be positioning itself to fill that exact space with their new Headphone Pro.
CMF operates as Nothing’s budget-focused subsidiary, much like how Beats functioned as Apple’s street-smart younger sibling. The difference is that Nothing actually seems interested in letting CMF flourish as its own entity, spinning it off as an independent subsidiary while Beats gets treated like Apple’s forgotten stepchild. At $99, the Headphone Pro feels like the first real shot at claiming that cultural territory Beats once dominated.
Designer: Nothing
And honestly, the approach feels smarter. Where Beats famously prioritized bass-heavy signatures that occasionally sacrificed clarity, CMF built in an Energy Slider that lets you adjust the sound profile in real time. Slide it up for bass-heavy tracks and workouts, slide it down for podcasts and acoustic music. No app diving, no menu hunting, just a physical control right there on the headphone. It’s refreshingly analog in our increasingly digital world.
Those 40mm drivers with 16.5mm copper voice coils aren’t just marketing numbers either. Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification and LDAC codec support mean you’re getting legitimate high-quality Bluetooth streaming at a price point where most manufacturers would stick you with basic SBC. The adaptive hybrid noise cancellation hits 45dB of reduction, putting it in serious company for what you’re paying.
Battery life is genuinely ridiculous though. CMF claims 100 hours of playback with ANC off using AAC codec, dropping to 70 hours when you switch to LDAC. With noise cancellation on, you’re still looking at 50 hours with AAC or 38 hours with LDAC. Even conservative usage gives you more endurance than most competitors charge extra for. Five minutes of charging gets you 4 hours of playback, and you can charge directly from your smartphone using USB-C to USB-C.
The modular earcups sound like a gimmick, but the more I think about them, the more they just feel like a sensible decision. Earcups swap out completely, launching in Light Grey, Dark Grey, and Light Green, with Orange and Light Green add-ons for $25. Worn pads or accidental damage doesn’t mean replacing the entire headphone (I know, I routinely buy spare earcups for my Edifier headphone from AliExpress just to keep them going). You can mix colors to create combinations that actually reflect your style, not just pick from whatever the manufacturer decided looked good.
Controls feel deliberately considered rather than cost-cutting measures. That roller button handles volume, play/pause with a short press, ANC toggling with a long press. You get complete command without touching your phone, which feels increasingly rare as everyone pushes functionality into apps and finicky touch surfaces. There’s spatial audio processing with Concert and Cinema modes, though honestly it feels more like a checkbox feature than something transformative. Most people will probably stick to standard playback rather than the synthesized reverb effects. It really does feel like CMF picked up the torch that Beats left behind when Apple acquired it.
UK and Europe get them immediately at £79 and €99, US availability starts October 7th. The pricing feels deliberately aggressive, undercutting established players while offering features you’d typically find much higher up the food chain.
CMF seems to understand something Beats forgot along the way: audio gear can be both technically competent and culturally relevant without sacrificing one for the other. The Headphone Pro delivers flagship-level specifications wrapped in customizable, expressive design at a price that makes premium features genuinely accessible. Whether this translates into the kind of street credibility Beats once commanded remains to be seen, but the foundation looks remarkably solid for a brand that’s barely started making over-ear headphones. Apple might be content letting Beats collect dust, but CMF appears ready to claim that abandoned territory.
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