CMF Clip Pro Brings LDAC and a Dial-Equipped Case to Open-Ear Earbuds for $99

CMF, the budget brand run by Nothing, has launched the Clip Pro, a pair of clip-on open-ear earbuds that sit on the outside of the ear rather than sealing the canal. They carry a 10.8mm driver, LDAC support with Hi-Res Audio certification, and a charging case with a physical dial for volume and playback — an unusual combination at a list price of $99 in the US and £79 in the UK.

The launch price is not what most buyers will pay first. Pre-orders opened on announcement day at a promotional $79.99, with the regular $99.99 taking over later in August. General sale begins 15 August in the US, the UK and Japan, with Europe and the rest of the world following on 15 September. India is not on the launch list.

Open-ear, but with a codec you would not expect

Open-ear designs trade isolation for awareness: nothing goes into the ear canal, so you keep hearing traffic, colleagues and announcements. The usual cost is bass and detail, which is why most clip-on models stop at SBC and AAC.

The Clip Pro does not. It supports LDAC alongside AAC and SBC and carries Hi-Res Audio certification, which is rare in this form factor and rarer still under $100. The driver is a 10.8mm dual-magnet dynamic unit with a TPU and LCP diaphragm, paired with what CMF calls Ultra Bass Technology and a Sound Seal System intended to limit how much of your music leaks out to people nearby.

LDAC only pays off if your phone supports it. It is an Android feature, available on most modern handsets through Developer Options; iPhones do not support LDAC at all and will fall back to AAC.

The case is the control surface

The more interesting design decision is the Smart Dial built into the charging case. Instead of tapping the buds, you adjust volume, skip tracks, answer calls and trigger pairing from a physical dial on the case itself — useful with a clip-on design, where tapping the bud tends to push it against your ear.

Full specifications

• Driver: 10.8mm dual-magnet dynamic, TPU + LCP diaphragm
• Codecs: LDAC, AAC, SBC; Hi-Res Audio certified
• Bluetooth: 5.4, dual-device connection, Google Fast Pair, Microsoft Swift Pair, Low Lag Mode
• Battery: 60mAh per bud for 10 hours of playback; 475mAh case for 32.5 hours total
• Fast charge: 10 minutes for roughly 4 hours of listening
• Microphones: four, with VPU-based Clear Voice processing and wind noise resistance
• Durability: IP54 on the earbuds, IPX2 on the case
• Weight: 5.9g per earbud
• Compatibility: Android 5.1 and later, iOS 13 and later
• Colours: Dark Grey, Light Grey, Coral

How the fit works

CMF describes a three-point clip design built around an elastic titanium wire core wrapped in softer material, meant to spread pressure across the ear instead of concentrating it at one point. That is the standard problem with clip-on buds: they are comfortable for twenty minutes and sore after two hours. Whether the titanium core solves it is the one claim here that no spec sheet can settle.

Note the ratings carefully. The IP54 figure covers the earbuds only — dust protection and splash resistance, fine for a run in light rain. The case is rated IPX2, which means dripping water at a slight angle and nothing more, so it should not be treated as weatherproof.

Where this sits in Nothing's lineup

This is the second open-ear product from the Nothing group. The earlier Ear (open) loops around the ear; the Clip Pro clips onto it, a smaller and lighter approach that has become crowded over the past year as several brands pushed out clip-style models. Selling under the CMF label keeps it in the same budget tier as the brand's phones and watches — for context on where that line sits, see our comparison of the Nothing Phone (2a) against an older iPhone.

One practical note if you buy a pair: replacing older wireless earbuds means the ones you retire may still be listed in your phone's device tracking. Android users can now remove old Bluetooth headphones from Find Hub to clear them out.