Most smartphone manufacturers don’t think about budget devices. ‘Let it be,’ they may sing, but at a time when the mid-segment is seeing action in the form of the iPhone 16e and Pixel 9a, London-based company Nothing is changing the rules of what makes budget phones appear respectable. Cue CMF Phone 2 Pro.
The phone’s design is the most debatable aspect. Opinions among friends and family members are sharply divided… right down the middle. What can’t be ignored is the amount of effort that has gone into the design department. Companies tend to make budget phones appear cheap and watered-down versions of their more expensive devices. The new CMF phone is unique.
Bold steps
Nothing, which makes the CMF range, went the distance to make its inexpensive models modular. Last year, the CMF Phone 1 came with a backplate that you could fully remove, allowing you to replace it with a coloured panel. On the new phone, you can add a backplate on top of the existing one. There is extra functionality with the additional backplate, like external lens attachment. For example, you can have a fisheye lens on the phone’s main camera to offer a different look.
There is a circular disc at the bottom right of the back panel. You can unscrew it and add something like a lanyard. I don’t know if I will ever use a lanyard on a phone, but the option is there. Why the change? There is IP54 dust and water resistance, so this device is protected from most dust ingress and water spray from any direction.
Some people may say this is all a gimmick, but looking at the overall budget smartphone market, where there has been no innovation, Nothing has taken bold steps.
Toodles Jay Leno chin
Even though the phone is affordable, there is a gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED 6.77-inch 1080p responsive display. On top of that, the bezels around the phone are uneven… none of that Jay Leno chin. At the same time, the phone is slim. The display can go up to 3000 nits in HDR, but 1300 nits full screen brightness outdoors.
Where the phone scores brownie points is software. If you have used any Nothing phone, the same OS is on the CMF device. The software offers many customisations. There are icon packs, widgets that mirror Nothing’s uncomplicated aesthetics, and, more importantly, there is no bloatware.
Fair amount of processing power
Another consistent element is battery life. Most Nothing phones that I have tried come with good battery life. Getting nine-odd hours of screen-on time is no joke. Most of the time, I managed more than nine hours even after using the phone consistently for Google Maps and taking videos.
Another win for the budget phone is the haptics. It’s not the best you will come across on smartphones in general, but it certainly is the best among budget phones.
Even though gaming on the phone is not something I am interested in, I care about snappy performance when it comes to everyday tasks. With every passing day, the phone is getting better optimised. If the phone is compared with a flagship phone, there will obviously be downsides. But the performance — powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G — is well above what I expected from a budget phone.
The performance element is also strong in the camera department. There is a triple camera setup — an ultra-wide (8MP), a main (50MP) and 2x telephoto (50MP). The main and 2x telephoto are both pretty good while the ultra-wide is what you usually get on a budget device.
It’s the camera that makes the phone worthy of the ‘pro’ tag. The main camera has a warm output, which is social-media friendly.
There are a few things that could have been better. First, you get a single speaker. It sounds good and is loud enough to stream movies, but a stereo setup is important since many people use smartphones for streaming. Second, the fingerprint scanner is slightly lower down on the display, so you have to stretch your fingers. Third, there is no way to preserve settings in the camera department. It’s a software issue and can easily be fixed.
Make the call
The phone is very light despite having a 5000mAh battery. After having seen slab phones year after year, users deserve a break and Nothing CMF offers just that. The MagSafe attachment is helpful, and the magnet is strong enough to hold the wallet accessory from Nothing. Too bad there is no wireless charging. The phone offers the best software experience on Android. It was something we once associated with OnePlus phones. There are smooth animations everywhere, and the software is not overwhelming.
There is an extra button on the side for Essential Space for early-stage AI tools. But progress needs to be made on this front. It’s easy to forget that CMF Phone 2 Pro is a budget device. It looks and feels like a higher-end phone than it actually is.
At a glance
Device: CMF Phone 2 Pro
Price: Upwards of ₹17,999 (8+128 GB, including bank or exchange offers)
High notes
• Bold design
• Customisation is possible
• Excellent battery life
• Clean software experience
Muffled notes
• No wireless charging
• Single speaker only
