CMF’s first wireless speakers look like musical milk cartons

is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

The CMF Speaker Series are the first portable Bluetooth speakers from the budget-focused brand that Nothing created but is in the process of spinning off into an India-based standalone subsidiary. As with many of CMF’s products, like the Headphone Pro that launched a year ago, the new speakers deliver affordability alongside unique designs and bright color options that help them stand out from the competition. While the company doesn’t directly cite a grocery store’s dairy aisle as the inspiration for its latest hardware, it’s hard not to look at these and immediately see electronic milk cartons.

There are two versions of the CMF Speaker Series available starting today in white, dark gray, orange, and turquoise color options. The $59 CMF Speaker S is the smaller of the two and features a “custom-tuned” 45mm full-range driver paired with two passive radiators to help boost the presence of low-end frequencies. The larger $109 CMF Speaker M instead features two drivers including a 10W tweeter and a dedicated 25W woofer for improved bass performance and better separation of instruments and singers.

Both speakers offer up to 18 hours of battery life, have an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, and can have their sound profile customized through the Nothing X app. That customizability extends to the design of the CMF Speaker Series, too. The multifunction knob on the front that controls volume and playback and the speaker’s entire front panel, including the vertical flap on top that can be used for hanging, can be easily removed and swapped with an alternate color or a completely different design. CMF plans to release the official design file so modders can 3D print their own unique customizations.

Other features include a dual-device connection for quickly jumping back and forth between two wireless audio sources Bluetooth 6, fast pairing using NFC, Google Fast Pair, or Microsoft Swift Pair, and audio over a USB-C cable. You can also pair two of the Speaker S or two of the Speaker M (you can’t mix and match) for a left-and-right stereo mode, or synchronize the full mix to several other speakers simultaneously, even from other companies, using an Auracast-based party mode.

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