CMF by Nothing: The Sub-Brand That Opens a Second Front

September 2023. Nothing has just announced CMF by Nothing, a new sub-brand targeting the budget consumer tier that Nothing’s mainline products have been leaving behind as prices rise. CMF stands for Color, Material, Finish, which is the design language that the sub-brand is built around: modular back covers, swappable accessories, customizable aesthetics at entry-level price points. The first CMF products announced are earbuds and a smartwatch, with a phone expected in 2024.

Why a sub-brand makes sense now

The Phone (1) launched at £399. The Phone (2) launched at £599. The trajectory is clear: Nothing is moving upmarket with each generation of its flagship phone, just as OnePlus did, and the buyers who wanted the Nothing philosophy at £299 are not going to get it from the mainline device. CMF is the answer to that problem: a separate brand identity at lower price points that maintains the design intelligence of the parent brand without pulling the parent brand’s price positioning downward.

The BBK playbook is an obvious reference point here. OPPO uses Realme for its budget tier. Xiaomi uses Redmi and Poco. The model works when the sub-brands are genuinely distinct rather than just cheaper versions of the parent. CMF’s differentiation is the modularity and customization angle: the ability to swap back covers, change aesthetic configurations, and make a budget device feel personal. Whether that differentiation is meaningful enough to establish CMF as a brand rather than just a product line, we will know as the first products reach consumers.

The software question

CMF products will run Nothing’s software layer, which means they inherit the clean aesthetic and update philosophy of the parent brand. This is the right call. The sub-brand model only works if buyers who encounter CMF and then want to upgrade see a clear path to the Nothing mainline. That path requires software consistency. A CMF phone buyer in 2024 should feel like the move to a Nothing phone is a natural step up rather than a brand switch.

Nothing is now three years old as a public entity, has shipped four products (ear (1), ear (Stick), ear (1)i, Ear (2)), is selling the Phone (2) in eleven countries including the US, and is launching a sub-brand simultaneously with the Phone (2)’s expansion. The pace is fast. The ambition is clear. The execution, so far, has been good enough to justify continued watching.

Part of Nothing Company: The Complete Story, my running diary of Nothing from founding to global expansion.

Related reading: how Xiaomi runs the budget-plus-flagship sub-brand playbook.