Mid-range smartphones have to strike a delicate balance between packing the best hardware into the phone while keeping the price down to an acceptable level. Lean too far and you’ll end up with a flagship-level price. Lean too far and you’ll end up with an expensive budget phone. But every once in a while, a mid-range smartphone comes along that offers the most impressive specs at the most attractive price. One such phone is the CMF Phone 1.
Design: Simply amazing
Befitting the Nothing brand, the CMF Phone 1 stands out with a unique design that sets it apart from other smartphones in its price range. Whereas most other mid-range phones employ quirky design gimmicks or feature cookie-cutter layouts, this phone sports beautiful matte panels that can be easily replaced.
Simplicity says it all. Elegant. If it weren’t for the two cameras on the back, you’d mistake this phone for a flagship model. It’s also easy to forget that the panel is made of plastic.
When it comes to replacements, you can easily switch out the back panel using a flat head screwdriver and CMF’s palette of options, which include light green, orange and blue.
It also has a corner dial that you can twist off, which unfortunately doesn’t connect to anything inside the phone – instead, it allows you to screw on additional accessories like straps, wallets, stands, etc.
Overall, the minimalism and modularity of this phone is astounding, and the only way it could be improved upon is if the dials inside the phone had some functionality.
Performance: Top of the mid-range
Being a mid-range device, the CMF Phone 1 shouldn’t be anything special, but it is.
At the bottom of the phone, we find the Snapdragon 7300. It’s one step below the Snapdragon 8 series but uses 4nm architecture, so it’s very close with better performance. It also comes with 8GB + 2GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.
Having used the phone on a daily basis for a few days now, I can say that the CMF Phone 1 is a great device, especially when used for everyday activities like social media use and photo/video editing.
But it can also withstand moderately intensive gaming. I expected some hitching, but this phone Zenless Zone Zero At medium settings and a framerate of 60fps, it looks surprisingly good – there was still some stuttering in scenes with heavy particle effects, but the phone’s ability to keep up with modern standards for mobile gaming is impressive.
Heat wasn’t an issue either – the screen did get some heat, but not unbearable even after an hour of continuous gaming, and the back panel also insulates the back well.
Camera: Decent camera
Where the CMF Phone 1 makes some concessions may be in the camera department, as there are only two lenses on the back: a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 main sensor and a 2-megapixel depth lens for portraits.
Still, both cameras are excellent. Daytime shots are bright and vibrant with good color accuracy, and subjects are nicely blurred without looking too artificial. However, when you enlarge photos, they lose a bit of sharpness.
This is another big plus. The phone doesn’t struggle too much in low light, and while it’s pretty hard to take good photos, it’s still possible to get some good looking ones. Contrast and lighting are good as well, especially for a mid-range phone.
Finally, selfies taken with the 16MP camera are pretty good, and although there is some upscaling, your selfies won’t look like plastic dolls, which is a plus.
Software: Living with Nothing’s DNA
The exterior design is not the only selling point that this smartphone inherited from Nothing: it comes with Android 14 with Nothing OS installed.
The software uses Nothing’s dot-matrix design, which feels consistent with its desire to make life easier for smartphone users. Aside from the design, it also comes with the ability to add some actually useful widgets to your home screen, like weather and screen time monitors.
Out of the box, even if you strip away the design and widgets, there’s very little to do other than open Nothing OS. And it’s all for one good reason: no bloatware. There’s almost no unnecessary software on this device, which is very refreshing, especially in the mid-range market.
Ecosystem: Complete a set
Besides the new smartphone, CMF by Nothing also launched the Buds Pro 2 and Watch Pro 2, which all work together. Both feature Fast Pair, making connecting to the Phone 1 a breeze. (Of course, just don’t do this in public, or you might end up with dozens of strangers connecting to your new accessory.)
Let’s start with the Buds Pro 2. The biggest draw is of course the unique case. It’s not just a plain case, it has a programmable button/dial. Through the Nothing X app, you can set what happens when you press the button or turn the dial. Personally, I still prefer gestures built into the earbuds themselves, but the controllable case is a nifty and unique solution in itself.
Our next accessory is the Watch Pro 2. Like the phone and earbuds, the smartwatch is simple but attractive. The single crown is a nice touch. Plus, the inside of the watch stays with the same minimalist design as the Nothing, going beyond the standard design that’s all too common in the smartwatch market.
Overall, there are undoubtedly better options for earphones and smartwatches, but if you’re looking for a companion to the Phone 1, CMF by Nothing’s other products are also worthy choices.
Battery: Maybe not all day, but every day
The CMF Phone 1 has a 5000mAh battery, which is quite a bit more than you’ll need after a day of normal use. A single charge should be enough for a standard day on the go, but if you want to extend the usage time (or use more demanding apps) it’s a good idea to have a power bank on hand.
Now, if you like to play games in your free time, your phone will consume a lot of battery. Zzzzz 20% of the full charge has already been consumed.
At least charging was a breeze: if you charge it pretty hard, you can get an empty battery to full in just an hour.
Is this your GadgetMatch?
The CMF Phone 1 is priced at PHP 15,490, while the Buds Pro 2 is priced at PHP 3,790 and the Watch Pro 2 is priced at PHP 4,390.
Even if you buy all three devices together, the price still feels exorbitant — a mid-range smartphone this good couldn’t possibly be this cheap, but it is — and the two accessories are also great value for money.
