CMF Watch 3 Pro Review: Is It the Best Budget GPS Option?

Nothing has released many smartwatches, but the CMF Watch 3 Pro feels like the most refined and budget-friendly of all. It looks great, features a large and sharp display, and offers a really good battery life.

While it does cost more than the Watch 2 Pro, it has also dropped one of its signature features- the swappable bezels. 

Let’s review if the CMF Watch Pro 3 is the best budget GPS smartwatch at this price point.

Specifications

Specifications	CMF Watch 3 Pro
Dimensions	54 x 47 x 15.2mm
Battery	350 mAh
Battery Life	Up to 13 days
Charging Time	99 mins
Weight	47g including strap
Case/bezel	Aluminum alloy
Brightness	650 NITS (TYP), up to 670 NITS
Refresh Rate	60 FPS
Display	1.43” AMOLED
Resolution	466 x 466 WITH 326 PPI
GPS	Dual-band GPS / GLONASS / Galileo / QZSS / Beidou
Connection	Bluetooth 5.3
Watch Faces	120+
Water resistance	IP68 dust and water resistant
Compatibility	iOS 13 and above, and Android 6.0 and above
Price	$99

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• The CMF Watch Pro 3 is stylish and lightweight
• Long battery life
• Watch faces are designed very thoughtfully
• Affordable

Cons:

• No longer has swappable bezels 
• Does not support NFC
• Not suitable for people with small wrists because of the chunky design
• The Always-On Display is not the brightest

Design and Display

The Watch Pro 3 is chunky yet minimal, lightweight and clean. It is available in three colors- Dark Grey, Light Grey and Orange. But it is not suitable for people with smaller wrists as it only comes in one size and can look a little bulky. However, the silicone straps are very comfortable.

The display has grown from its previous models to 1.43 inches and it makes the UI easier to read and interact with. The always-on display is also a little dim, especially when using it in bright sunlight.

Although I could let go of all these little caveats because of the price point, the biggest downgrade for me is that the bezels are no longer swappable like the Pro 2. 

The watch is also IP68 rated, which technically means it can survive submersion, but CMF explicitly warns against swimming, hot showers, saunas and high-pressure water. So I would be careful using this watch as it seems to be splash-proof, not swim-proof, despite the IP68 rating.

Features

When it comes to health monitoring features, the CMF Watch Pro 3 has:

• 24/7 automatic heart rate monitoring
• RHR
• Exercise heart rate monitoring
• Average heart rate monitoring
• 24/7 blood oxygen sensing
• Active score
• Stress monitoring
• Sleep tracking
• Women’s physiological health records
• Step tracking
• Calories, distance and exercise duration
• Water and movement reminders

The CMF Watch 3 Pro runs Nothing’s OS, controlled via the Nothing X app instead of the older CMF app. The interface is clean and fast with a huge library of 131 workouts (7 smart recognition activities), a personalised AI running coach and a dual-band GPS, which is very rare at this price point.

I also found the transcripts for voice memos to be pretty accurate, which is a huge plus point. It also has an Essential News widget that sends news notifications. It also integrates with Strava, Apple Health and Google Health Connect. What I would’ve liked is for this watch to have NFC payments and the ability to download third-party apps.

Another not-so-great thing about the Watch 3 Pro is that I can’t reply to messages when connected to my iPhone (although it is possible when connected to an Android phone) and notifications can’t be swiped away individually. The workout history can also only be viewed on the watch and not on the phone.

Sensors

The CMF Watch 3 Pro has the following sensors:

• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Ambient light
• Heart rate and SpO2 blood oxygen sensor

Health and GPS

The dual-band GPS is not only rare at this price point, but it is also remarkably accurate and connects extremely quickly. The motion monitoring has improved and the GPS is better because of a 6-axis accelerometer sensor.

It features a 4-channel heart rate sensor; therefore, the heart rate readings are also pretty solid for capturing peak heart rate, although the resting heart rate can be a little off. This is why I would suggest using the Watch 3 Pro’s readings as estimates and not treating them as medical-grade data.

The good part is that I can now choose the frequency of when the sensors will read my heart rate instead of totally toggling on/off the heart rate tracking. This will be a great battery-saving hack.

The sleep tracking does provide a score and sleep pattern, but I found it pretty useless because it provides no meaningful insights or recommendations. 

Battery Life

The battery life is what earns the Watch Pro 3 good points. It goes up to 13 days with light use and around 4-5 days with Always-on display and workout tracking. 

Charging the watch takes me about 1.5 hours, but the magnetic puck is very flimsy and keeps disconnecting.

Price and Availability

The CMF Watch 3 Pro is priced at $99 and is available worldwide via their official website and authorised retailers.

Should You Buy It?

Buy the CMG Watch 3 Pro if:

• You want a stylish watch under $100,
• an excellent battery life,
• a reliable GPS,
• clean and minimal UI.

Don’t buy the CMG Watch 3 Pro if:

• You need contactless payments,
• waterproof and swimproof watch,
• bright visibility for outdoors,
• the ability to reply to messages (on iOS) from the watch directly,
• the swappable bezels like the Pro 2.

Final Verdict

The CMF Watch Pro 3 has surprisingly advanced features at this price tag. It is an easy recommendation for people looking to buy their first smartwatch and don’t want to invest a lot of money. I would also recommend this to people who have the original CMF Watch and want to upgrade.

However, if you already own the Watch Pro 2, the upgrade isn’t meaningful. For what the Pro 3 aims to be, a polished, everyday smartwatch, it gets most things right. However, with the loss of swappable bezels, dim screen display, and okayish health tracking, there are far better options available in the market.

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