Hey community,
I’ve been using the black version of the CMF Watch 3 Pro for about a month now, putting it through regular daily routines to see how it actually holds up. As someone who appreciates clean design and interface layout, I wanted to see if this watch lives up to the Nothing aesthetic or if it is just another generic budget tracker.
To keep things simple and straightforward, here are the 3 things I like and the 3 things I hate about it after real-world use.
—
3 Things I Like <3
1. The Minimalist Stealth Aesthetic and Display Quality
Unlike some of the flashier variants, the black version is incredibly clean, understated, and minimal. It looks premium without being loud, fitting perfectly into a work environment or casual daily wear without drawing unnecessary attention. The precision-milled metal frame gives it a solid, reassuring weight on the wrist that makes it feel much more expensive than it actually is. The 1.43-inch AMOLED display is easily a major highlight of the device. It is sharp, colors are rich, and the 60Hz refresh rate keeps the animations completely fluid. Even under direct, harsh afternoon sunlight, the screen remains fully readable, and the textured details around the bezel frame the canvas nicely.
2. The Nothing X App Hub and Ecosystem Software
Moving everything into the Nothing X app was the best decision CMF made. Having one polished, stable hub for the entire ecosystem makes a massive difference compared to the buggy standalone apps of the past. The companion app looks great with its clean typography and organized widget layout. It also opens up some genuinely fun and unique software features. For example, the video watch faces let you set a five-second clip that plays like a smooth GIF whenever the screen wakes up. The voice memo transcription feature is another sleeper hit. you can dictate a quick thought on your wrist while walking around, and it automatically syncs a text transcript to your phone later.
3. Elite Battery Life That Eliminates Anxiety
alt={banner?}
Battery life is easily one of the biggest strengths of this watch, especially if you are used to flagships that need a charger every night. Because it runs on a lightweight operating system rather than power-heavy WearOS, the efficiency is outstanding. Even with the Always-On Display running around the clock alongside continuous health tracking and notification syncing, I easily get about four to five days of heavy use. If you turn off the Always-On Display, that number comfortably stretches to nine or ten days. It gives you the freedom to travel for a weekend or go through a full work week without ever thinking about bringing a charging cable.
—
3 Things I Hate
1. The Locked Interface During Workouts
When you start tracking a workout or a simple walk, the watch completely locks you into that specific tracking screen. CMF might have designed this to keep you focused on your exercise, but in practice, it is incredibly restrictive. While you can slide over to a secondary panel to control your music library, you cannot check incoming notifications, use the calculator, view weather details, or access any other basic widgets until you completely pause or end the workout session. For a device meant to keep you away from your phone screen, forcing you to stop your workout tracking just to check a message feels like a major oversight.
2. Unintuitive Crown Navigation and Clunky Audio Controls
The physical rotating crown feels great to spin and has excellent clicky haptic feedback, but its software integration feels incomplete. You can use it to scroll smoothly through menus and lists, but you cannot press the crown down to actually select or confirm an item. You are forced to scroll with the knob, shift your hand, and then tap the screen to click, which completely breaks the flow of hands-on navigation. Additionally, inside the music widget, the crown does not control the volume by default. You have to manually tap a tiny speaker icon on the screen first to open a volume submenu before the crown will adjust the audio levels, adding an unnecessary and annoying extra step to a simple task.
3. Weak Charging Connection and Lack of Swim Tracking
The hardware charging setup is a noticeable weak point. It still uses a basic USB-A to a 2-pin magnetic connector rather than a more modern Type-C puck or a dedicated dock. The magnets are quite weak, meaning the cable can easily snap out of position or lose its alignment if the watch gets slightly nudged on your desk, leaving you with an uncharged battery. Another major miss is the complete lack of swimming tracking. Even though the watch carries an IP68 durability rating that easily handles heavy rain, splashes, and sweat, CMF explicitly warns against pool use and lap tracking. If swimming is a core part of your lifestyle, this omission is hard to overlook.
—
Verdict
If you want a striking, stealthy smartwatch that handles the day-to-day basics flawlessly, has a beautiful screen, and avoids daily charging, this is an excellent choice for the price. The black finish makes it one of the most versatile entry-level daily drivers out there right now. However, if you are a serious athlete who needs deep third-party data syncing, a swimming companion, or full WearOS app functionality, you should probably look elsewhere.
