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, the design language the sub-brand is built around: modular back covers, swappable accessories, and 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 not moving upmarket with each generation of its flagship phone, as OnePlus did, and buyers who wanted the Nothing philosophy at £299 won’t get it from the mainline device. CMF is the answer: a separate brand identity at lower price points that keeps the parent brand’s design intelligence without pulling its price positioning down.

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 modularity and customization: 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, so they inherit the parent brand’s clean aesthetic and update philosophy. 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 that moving to a Nothing phone is a natural step up, not a brand switch.

Nothing is now three years old as a public entity, has shipped four products [ear (1), ear (Stick), ear (1), 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.