True Wireless
Nothing CMF Buds 2a
75Great
$26
Full review dataNothing CMF Buds 2a vs Nothing CMF Buds Neo: which should you buy?
On aggregated review scores the Nothing CMF Buds Neo comes out ahead with a HearWiki score of 85. The full breakdown - sub-scores, specs and what reviewers actually said - is below.
Our pick: Nothing CMF Buds Neo - Outstanding overall at around $22.
True Wireless
Nothing CMF Buds Neo
85Outstanding
$22
Full review dataScore breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Nothing CMF Buds Neo leads on 7 of 7 measures.
- Nothing CMF Buds 2a
- Nothing CMF Buds Neo
HearWiki score
75
85
Sound
7.0
7.4
Noise cancelling
6.8
7.8
Battery
7.5
9.0
Calls
6.4
7.8
Value
8.8
9.8
Price (USD)
$26
$22
Generation & platform
The scores rank quality. This is the other question: is the newer one actually newer technology, or the same platform in a new shell?
Half a step newer
Nothing CMF Buds Neo (2026) against Nothing CMF Buds 2a (2024). The Nothing CMF Buds Neo edges ahead on platform, but only just: ANC type Adaptive against Feed-forward.
- CMF Buds 2a2024
- CMF Buds Neo20262 yr newer
What differsCMF Buds 2aCMF Buds Neo
- ANC type
- Feed-forward
- Adaptive
Platform
Level on: USB-C, Custom EQ, Companion app.
Specifications
CMF Buds 2aCMF Buds Neo
- Type
- True Wireless
- True Wireless
- Price (USD)
- $26
- $22
- HearWiki score
- 75
- 85
- Released
- 2024
- 2026
- Availability
- Still sold new
- Sold new
- Driver
- 12.4 mm driver
- 12.4 mm dynamic
- Driver type
- -
- dynamic
- Driver size
- 12.4 mm
- 12.4 mm
- Drivers per side
- 1
- 1
- Frequency response
- 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- -
- Bluetooth
- 5.4
- -
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC
- -
- Multipoint pairing
- Yes
- -
- Battery life
- 8 h
- 11 h
- Battery life (ANC on)
- 5 h
- -
- Battery incl. case
- 35.5 h
- 52 h
- Full charge time
- 89 min
- 10 min
- Quick charge
- 10 min → 5.5 h
- 10 min → 5.5 h
- Wireless charging
- No
- -
- Active noise cancelling
- Yes
- Yes
- ANC type
- feedforward
- adaptive
- Transparency mode
- Yes
- -
- Companion app
- Yes
- Yes
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- Yes
- Wear detection
- No
- -
- Controls
- touch
- -
- Voice assistant
- Yes
- -
- Weight
- 4.3 g
- -
- Case weight
- 42.8 g
- -
- Water resistance
- IP54
- -
- USB-C
- Yes
- Yes
- Microphones
- 4
- 4
- Call noise reduction
- -
- Yes
What reviewers said
Nothing CMF Buds 2a
The CMF Buds 2a deliver surprisingly robust performance for a budget price, featuring solid audio quality, effective noise cancellation, and a handy companion app with EQ. While the build feels a bit plasticky and some extras are missing, they offer strong everyday value for cost-conscious listeners.
- Pro:Excellent sound for the price
- Pro:Customizable ANC and EQ in app
- Pro:Good battery life with case
- Con:Plasticky build quality
- Con:No wireless charging
- Con:Lacks wear detection sensors
Nothing CMF Buds Neo
The Nothing CMF Buds Neo deliver impressive value in the budget true wireless segment, combining punchy bass-heavy sound, effective adaptive noise cancellation, and long battery life in a lightweight design. While they lack premium features like wear detection and have a gimmicky spatial audio mode, their strong performance and app support make them a solid pick for the price.
- Pro:Punchy, bass-forward sound with loud output
- Pro:Surprisingly effective adaptive ANC for the price
- Pro:Excellent battery life with 52 hours total including case
- Con:No wear detection sensor
- Con:Spatial audio mode feels gimmicky and adds little
- Con:Audio can distort at very high volumes
Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.
Compare something else
Swap either side out, or start again from the picker.