CMF Watch 3 Pro launches May 8

CMF’s new smartwatch is basically a budget fitness watch trying to act a lot more premium than its price suggests. The Watch 3 Pro goes on sale in India on May 8, with an early-access window that opened May 7, and the pitch is clear — better GPS, better workout tracking, and fewer ecosystem walls than cheap wearables usually give you. That matters because this part of the market is crowded with watches that look good on a spec sheet but fall apart once you try to run, cycle, sync, or actually live with them. CMF is trying to fix that with a watch that leans harder into fitness than the older Pro models did. ### What’s actually launching? The product is the CMF Watch 3 Pro, sold by Nothing’s CMF sub-brand. In India, it is listed at ₹7,999, but CMF is using a ₹6,999 launch price for the opening sales window. Sales are going through Flipkart and offline retail, which tells you this is not a niche online-only drop — it is meant to move at volume. Smartwatches usually fake their way through outdoor fitness. They either lean on your phone for location or use weaker positioning that gets messy once you’re in a dense city, under trees, or changing pace. CMF is putting dual-band GPS in the Watch 3 Pro, which is the kind of feature runners and cyclists actually notice. It also adds route import to health platforms through the Nothing X app. ### What else do you get for the money? The watch has a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, a metal body, Always-On Display support, Bluetooth calling, and an IP68 rating. CMF says battery life can reach 13 days, though that will obviously depend on how hard you hit GPS, calling, and health tracking. It also supports 131 sports modes, which is partly useful and partly smartwatch-spec inflation — but the sleep and stress tracking. ### Where does the “AI” part fit in? Mostly in coaching and convenience, not magic. CMF is talking up an AI-powered running coach, plus ChatGPT integration, gesture shortcuts, and voice features like recording and transcription. That sounds flashy, but the real test is whether the basics work smoothly. On a watch at this price, accurate tracking and clean syncing matter more than having one more AI button on your wrist. ### Why do the app integrations matter? Because a fitness watch is only as useful as the data trail it leaves behind. CMF has moved this device into the Nothing X app, and that app supports Strava, Apple Health, and Google Health Connect. That means the watch can fit into the systems people already use instead of trapping you in an ecosystem for nothing more than a nicer strap or brighter screen. ### Who is this really for? Not hardcore athletes buying a Garmin. Not Apple Watch users deep in that ecosystem either. This is for the person who wants decent GPS, decent battery life, and decent health tracking without paying flagship-watch money. CMF is aiming straight at the huge middle — people who care about steps, sleep, runs, and calls, but still have a budget ceiling. So what's the catch? The catch is that smartwatch value is easy to promise and harder to prove. Battery claims are always best-case. “131 sports modes” sounds bigger than it is. And AI features can age badly if the software support slips. But on paper, CMF has at least put the money into the right places — display, GPS, battery, and open syncing. ### Bottom line? The Watch 3 Pro looks like CMF’s most serious attempt yet at making a cheap smartwatch feel useful beyond notifications. If the GPS and syncing hold up in real use, the ₹6,999 launch price could make it one of the more compelling fitness-watch buys in India right now.