CMF Watch Pro 2 with Nothing Phone vs Moto

Having got myself back into the whole Nothing Phone thing again this week with the arrival of Nothing OS 4.0 for my Nothing Phone (2a) I thought I'd whip out my CMF Watch Pro 2 again! I have been using the Moto Watch Fit with the phone, which works perfectly well (with Moto's app) but maybe a CMF product might work even better with a Nothing Phone, I mused.

In June of this year, I reviewed and wrote about the Moto Watch Fit - A Smart Dumbwatch while hooked up to a Moto phone, so feel free to read that in conjunction with my thoughts here. It really doesn't need to be hooked up to a Moto phone - as I said, armed with the Moto app, it works feature-for-feature with any Android/iOS phone that you might want to pair it with. It looks very iPhone watch-like with it's oblong shape, whereas, the CMF Watch Pro 2 is quite the opposite - round!

There is a new CMF watch on the market - an upgrade to this one, CMF Watch 3 Pro - but having reviewed the differences, I really didn't feel the need to upgrade mine. It's a bit bigger all-round, it has a slightly bigger screen, it's slightly thicker, has a slightly brighter OLED panel, slightly better heart-rate sensor, slightly better battery - you get the idea. Slightly everything! And they took away the ability to hot-swap the aluminium bezel, now fixed. So you can probably see why, even for only £70, I decided to stick with this one.

Helpfully, both of these aluminium watches have a 22mm pin size so straps are universal and hot-swappable between units, CMF or Moto (and many more). They both come with a totally dedicated charging cable with magnetic pins on the end which clamp onto the back of the watch. The Moto's cable is USB-C, the CMF's USB-A. Measuring the screens is easier on the CMF watch, being round, so it's 1.32" across the screen. The Moto's screen is measured corner-to-corner (like a phone) and is 1.9".

Both 'feel' about the same size in terms of usable space but there is something more logical about the Moto's oblong I guess - and something more 'traditional' about CMF's round. The Moto's panel is technically significantly brighter, peaking at 1000 nits vs 620 but they both look bright and cheerful especially with CMF's vibrant orange accents here and there. The CMF's screen does look a little sharper with a higher pixel-count per inch but there really doesn't feel to be much in it.

Both watches last much, much longer than so-called smartwatches (which in my experience need charging every day - or at best every other day) heading towards weeks rather than days. Moto claim that the Watch Fit will do 16 days, but for my use pattern, I've never seen that kind of performance. I think that means with no always on display on, notifications at minimum and not heading for the gym! My real-world use (having now tested it over weeks/months, not days) is more like 4 or 5 days. The CMF claims 11 days, but again, it feels like an ideal projection - the reality being more like the Moto's.

The CMF watch has a rotating 'crown' on the right side, offset (at "two o'clock") whereas the Moto has a button, central, along the right side - so all navigation is screen-touch. Having said that, the rotating crown doesn't really do much except scroll menus. It doesn't even switch between the 'widgets' (card, left/right from 'home') so it's more like a button really - press to get to/from the menu list and 'home' or wake the screen. In reality, not really that much different to Moto's with most stuff controlled by touches. The cards can control all the things that you would expect on both watches and systems - so apart from health related data/detection, Music Playback controls, reminders, calendars, world clocks, notifications, weather and so on - and there are oodles of deep-down controls for vibration alerts (though I do think that the 'strong' vibration alert on the Moto is stronger) and other stuff.

Both watches run a proprietary Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) rather than WearOS. So there's no app ecosystem as such - it's a more simple, focused affair, supplied by the OEM, with much, much better battery life potential. The CMF however does have one big advantage over the Moto for those who want to use it for voice calls. The Moto doesn't have a microphone and only has a speaker for system noises, whereas the CMF has a microphone and speaker so the user can, yes, use the watch's Bluetooth as a satellite instead of the phone for calls. One advantage the CMF watch has is integration (via the phone app if installed) for ChatGPT, though the Moto watch gets a leg-up with MotoAI and cross-device features such as Update Me. There does seem to be more (and better) control of the elements via the Moto's app and it's better thought out (if perhaps not so stylish for those who like the Nothing/CMF vibe)!

The supporting software/apps are much simpler on the Moto. I had no end of trouble getting the CMF watch set up even on a Nothing phone here. They seem to be transitioning away from the CMF Watch app and getting people to use the Nothing X app instead. Transitioning data is a confusing mess in my experience here. The phone and watch get confused (alongside this user!) as to what is going on. Even armed with Gemini's advice it was clearly messy for all. In the end I reset the watch 3 times, uninstalled the CMF Watch app completely, told Bluetooth to forget the watch, applied to import data from CMF Watch to Nothing X (which might take a month, apparently) and eventually got it working.

Furthermore, I tried to make a custom watch face from the settings and that was a confusing mess too. I didn't like any of the pre-set ones (though have to admit that there are more than Moto offer) so tried to make one using their on-board tools. It was very unclear - again, roping in Gemini to help - we got there in the end. It seems that even if you want a 'black' background for your 'custom watch face' you have to still import it from the gallery, photos or camera. In the end I took a photo of nothing (black - held the lens against my trouser leg) which was then selectable from the tool, then add the clock options, then in. Moto's custom AI option might be much less clever in terms of options, but at least it isn't a confusing mess for users. Still - perhaps I'm just thick. And Gemini.

Both watches have built-in GPS for those who want to leave their phone at home whilst lolloping around the neighbourhood, so that it can sync up with the app when you get back. Similarly, each offers loads of 'sports modes', step counters, heart rate and blood oxygen tracking and sleep stuff with analysis. I have been using the sleep tracking and have found it reassuring to wake up and see that one's blood oxygen and heart rate have been unproblematic through the night - and even data like deep sleep, light sleep, REM, awake and so on.

Talking of heading out into the elements, both watches have IP6/8 rating so no problem unless you're going swimming in the sea or deep pools, I guess - and fine for kicking about on the beach in sand. I've worn both watches freely whilst showering and have had no problems. Probably not wise to start turning crowns whilst wet or pressing buttons, but I get the impression that it's pretty good.

Both watches are about the same price in the UK £60-£80 at time of writing but the CMF unit is much easier to get hold of from mainstream sellers. The Moto watch still tends to come from 3rd party sellers on Amazon or having to order direct from Motorola UK (at greater cost). Not sure why that is so different, but guess it's supply chain stuff. After Moto released their watch, it took me ages to get hold of one.

I think I prefer the Moto Watch Fit over the CMF unit, partly because of the much more simple approach to the software/app. I have had a bad experience with the CMF watch here with them switching apps/data as explained above - and I can see no real advantage, even for those using a Nothing (or CMF) phone - in using the CMF watch over the Moto one along with their simple app. Unless of course you want a round watch, not oblong. There's also a clean and clear backup/restore data option in the Moto app, where they afford users data held on their servers - and it works brilliantly well (speaking as a serial-swapper of phones)! So unless Nothing/CMF get their finger out and make the software experience supporting their 'house brand' as smooth as Moto do, I'm recommending the Moto Watch Fit over the CMF Watch Pro 2 - Nothing/CMF phone or not!