CMF Watch 3 Pro review

When it comes to finding the best cheap smartwatch, you want something that will suit everything about your lifestyle. Whether it’s sport or running errands, I know I don’t want my watch to get in my way — I need it to support me in my tasks.

The CMF Watch 3 Pro is a good choice since it’s affordable and has a sleek design. Fitness tracking is effective, and the battery life is good too. But will it be for everyone? Not by a long shot.

I found the watch face very bulky on my small wrists, and the sleep tracking is inaccurate. The lack of third-party app support may also put off some users. To find out more, keep reading my full CMF Watch 3 Pro review.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Specs

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Price & availability

The CMF Watch 3 Pro is available to purchase on Amazon for $79 in the U.S. and £99 in the U.K. The watch comes in a range of colors, including Light Green, Orange, Light Grey and Dark Grey, which I tested.

This is a pretty cheap watch and is the same price as the Amazfit Bip 6. Sleep tracking in particular is far more accurate on the Bip 6 in comparison to the CMF, and the Bip 6 can also track more types of workouts.

A cheaper option is the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 for $51, which is much slimmer and will suit people with narrower wrists, as the CMF watch is very chunky.

If you don’t mind being without a screen and want some of the best fitness tracking out there, I’d recommend the Fitbit Air for $99. At just $20 more, it offers incredibly valuable fitness insights. For under $50, you can pick up the Amazfit Band 7, which has a very informative companion app to help improve training where needed.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Design & comfort

CMF is a sub-brand of Nothing, and as such, I expected some seriously stunning design work. Whether it’s headphones or milk carton-shaped speakers (CMF Speaker M), Nothing and CMF tech always stands out from the crowd. The CMF Watch 3 Pro is no different.

I tested the Dark Grey version, and I like how this looks for day-to-day wear. However, I felt that the watch face was far too large for my wrist. The circular AMOLED display has a 1.4-inch diameter, so it felt quite bulky. Unfortunately, the Watch 3 Pro doesn’t come in different sizes like the Apple Watch Series 12 or the SE 3 — these are available in multiple case sizes, making them more accessible.

With that said, the strap was secure thanks to the buckle closure. This strap can be removed with a small latch and swapped out for different colors, making customization easy. This was very easy to do when attaching the strap to the watch, but also very secure so it won’t come undone on its own.

The CMF Watch 3 Pro isn’t the brightest out there. The Amazfit Bip 6 can achieve 2,000 nits of brightness, but the CMF only reaches a maximum of 670 nits. It’s bright enough, but if you know you’ll be using the torch feature on the watch face frequently, definitely look at a brighter option like the Bip 6. It will also be hard to see the screen in bright lighting conditions, like running in direct sunshine.

The watch has a durability rating of IP68, meaning it is completely dust-tight and protected against water submersion beyond one meter. That means you can wear it anytime, whether you're working out or at the beach. However, most smartwatches have a durability rating of 5ATM, meaning they can withstand pressure underwater, so you can swim in them, but the CMF watch doesn’t have this level of protection.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Fitness tracking

The CMF Watch 3 Pro has 131 sport modes and uses built-in dual-band GPS to help you track your routes. It’s easiest to control this through the watch itself, as the app interface is very clunky, and I didn’t feel like I was getting a whole lot of detail, information, or control

I’ve been using the CMF Watch 3 Pro to track hikes, runs, and pilates sessions, and while I feel it’s been tracking my heart rate accurately throughout, I’m not entirely sold. Compared to my phone or Oura Ring 5, step counts, heart rate during workouts and sleep tracking weren’t accurate. This could also be because the watch face was so bulky on my wrist, and this meant that the sensors weren’t always in contact with my skin.

The watch tracks many metrics such as calories burned, step count, distance and of course heart rate, but the information is limited. I didn’t feel like I was getting feedback on my data as I do with other devices like the Amazfit Bip 6. Of course, this is a budget watch, but you get better workout analysis with Garmin, Apple, Amazfit, and even Xiaomi. This was missing from the CMF.

After using the watch for about a week, I started to notice that my movement tracking was improving, and my step counts were becoming more accurate. This likely happened as the watch used information like my height and GPS tracking for distance to affirm the count. It seems like the more it learns about my body, the more accurate it becomes. However, this has never been an issue for my Oura Ring, Apple Watch, or Xiaomi Smart Band, so there’s certainly some improvements to be made here.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Health & sleep

The thing I get most excited about when I’m testing out a new fitness tracker is the health and sleep tracking. I track readiness and sleep almost to a fault, so it’s great to see how different devices can inform my health… I just don't think the CMF Watch 3 Pro is the one for the job.

Health

The watch is a decent option for tracking heart health concerns, but shouldn’t be used as a diagnostic tool. It has automatic heart rate measurement that can run for 24 hours a day. It also tracks your resting heart rate throughout the day, and these readings were always about the same as I see with my Oura Ring 5.

You can set up heart rate reminders in the app settings. This means that if your heart rate goes above or below a specified number of beats, it will trigger an alarm. This is a great feature for anyone who may have a health condition. You can also set reminders for drinking water and standing up throughout the day.

Sleep

I was disappointed by the sleep tracking on this watch. At first, I genuinely thought I was doing something wrong, but a quick look on Reddit and the Nothing community page showed me that this is a pretty common issue. I checked the firmware, battery, my wear position, and restarted the watch, but I was still having trouble logging sleep.

On my first night, the watch only detected three hours of sleep. My Oura Ring and Hatch Sleep clock both told me I was asleep for over eight hours. As I looked further into the data, I saw that the watch had also detected a nap at around eight o’clock in the evening. This was strange since I was cooking dinner, meaning I was moving around and my heart rate would have been slightly elevated.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Smart features

The CMF Watch 3 Pro does not support any third-party apps; however, you can sync your data with your phone’s health app and directly sync with sports apps such as Strava. The watch also receives your phone's notifications, but you can’t reply to messages directly from the watch.

The dual-band GPS tracking is accurate, and I could see my route after my run. The watch also offers a custom running coach, and this is a great feature for those training towards shorter distances like a 5K or a 10K, but for longer distances I would recommend investing in a running programme that can be entirely tailored to you.

While the watch has some workout analysis, it’s not as in-depth as what you get from brands like Garmin, so if you’re seriously training towards a goal, I’d look into the Garmin Forerunner 70.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Battery life

The CMF Watch 3 Pro has 13 days of battery life. This is pretty impressive, and about what I’ve come to expect with budget fitness trackers and smartwatches.

The Amazfit Bip 6 lasts for 14 days, and I got 15 days from the Xiaomi Smart Band 10. The CMF watch takes 99 minutes to charge.

CMF Watch 3 Pro review: Verdict

The CMF Watch 3 Pro is an affordable option for those new to smartwatches and who need something basic to track workouts. The design is sleek, and it’s effective in tracking most workouts, although step counting isn’t accurate at first. The battery life is good, giving almost two weeks of use with a single charge.

Although decent for tracking general health, it can’t track sleep as well as similarly priced rivals like the Xiaomi Smart Band 10. So if you’re someone who likes to make sure they’re getting enough rest, note that sleep tracking is wildly inaccurate. The bulky watch face was far too big for me and got in the way a lot, and unfortunately there isn’t support for third-party apps.