The CMF Phone 2 brings a welcome and meaningful set of improvements compared to the previous CMF model. Overall, it’s a good smartphone for its price. The interface feels light and user-friendly, thanks to Nothing’s custom OS, but there’s no area where it truly stands out above the competition.
The gimmick of external accessories no longer feels relevant, if anything, it leaves an unpleasant sense that the new model’s incompatibility with some older accessories was an oversight or design misstep.
The price, starting at $330 and topping out under $390, delivers good to very good value at this level, but expectations should be realistic.
4 View gallery
CMF Phone 2 Pro
(Itai Smuskowitz)
Smartphone makers are always looking for ways to create new premium devices, foldable, ultra-thin, or ultra-slim, and to justify ever-rising price tags. But at the same time, budget-friendly models keep getting stronger, and some are more affordable than ever.
British company Nothing has tapped into this trend with CMF, its discount brand launched less than two years ago with a few budget accessories like a smartwatch and Bluetooth earbuds. Later, it introduced the CMF Phone 1. Now, the next generation has arrived, even though less than a year has passed, and it’s called the CMF Phone 2 Pro (not to be confused with Nothing’s new flagship model launched under its main brand).
The new CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with 128GB or 256GB of storage, priced at 1,100 shekels ($330) and 1,280 shekels ($383) respectively. So, what do you get in return?
4 View gallery
CMF Phone 2 Pro
(Photo: Nothing)
Structure & Design: Goodbye, gimmick
There are several notable changes compared to the previous model, for better and worse. The CMF Phone 2 Pro offers a slightly larger screen: 6.77 inches versus 6.67. The phone itself is a bit thinner and lighter, weighing 185 grams.
On the right side, you’ll find the power button and below it a shortcut key for an AI tool we’ve seen before on a previous Nothing device. The volume buttons are on the left, and at the bottom sits the charging port and SIM tray, which still includes space for a memory card, a nice touch that remains unchanged.
The back design is familiar but slightly different. Like its predecessor, it features a modular back with four screws and an “accessory point”, a small circle with a screw hole for attaching external accessories. On the CMF Phone 1, you could fully detach the back panel, swap it for different colors (sold separately), or add accessories like a card holder. The company even encouraged users to 3D-print custom back panels.
This time, though, there’s a drawback: you can’t actually remove the back panel. The latch placements have changed, so most older accessories no longer fit. New accessories are delayed, if they arrive at all. The only accessories that still fit are those using the single-screw “accessory point” in the corner.
This incompatibility feels like an oversight or a half-baked idea. Since there aren’t any new add-ons yet, the company isn’t even pushing people to buy new ones.
On the plus side, protection has improved slightly, perhaps thanks to ditching the removable back. The screen now uses Panda Glass, an alternative to Gorilla Glass, and the device has an IP54 rating, which means it can handle splashes and a bit of dust, but don’t expect full waterproofing. A basic silicone case is included in the box.
Hardware: Solid for daily use, struggles with games
Why “Pro”? Maybe because the new model uses MediaTek’s Dimensity 7300 Pro processor, an upgrade over the non-Pro version in the previous model. There’s 8GB of RAM, expandable virtually at the expense of storage, and our review unit had 256GB of storage.
In daily use, this is plenty: the Phone 2 isn’t lightning fast, but it’s responsive, smooth, stays cool, and handled basic tasks well. But with graphically demanding games, you’ll notice some stuttering and lag, a reminder that this isn’t a high-performance device.
The screen is brighter than before and easy to read in sunlight. Colors are vibrant enough, though still less vivid than more expensive phones. The single speaker at the bottom hasn’t changed. When you rotate the phone for games or videos, the sound comes from only one side, which can feel odd.
One welcome fix: the Phone 2 now has NFC, so you can pay with your phone instead of a credit card. There’s still no eSIM support, which is expected at this price point.
The 5,000mAh battery easily lasts a full day, give or take. Charging is fast enough: I plugged in a 65W charger (the phone officially supports 33W) and it charged from 15% to 50% in 20 minutes. A full charge took about an hour.
4 View gallery
CMF Phone 2 Pro apps
(Itai Smuskowitz)
Software and interface: a friendly and uncluttered approach
The Phone 2’s operating system is Android 15 with the Nothing OS 3.2 interface. The design is a bit different from regular Android, but you can get used to the interface quickly, it is friendly and light, and contributes to the feeling that the device responds quickly and lightly as well.
At the beginning, Nothing tried to convince you to use its gray and colorless interface, with its unique font and design, which look as if they came out of an old dot matrix printer. Now this design is offered as an option and you can skip it and stay with colorful icons, like on any Android device. The default is navigation using finger gestures, without a back button or home button. It’s a matter of taste that can be changed through the settings, and navigation with finger gestures also works well and conveniently.
You can make do with a regular app drawer, and there is also a display that automatically divides them by categories – entertainment, games, multimedia and more. Nothing and CMF under it do not load unnecessary applications on the device – yes, there is of course the Google application suite, there is also Nothing’s gallery application, a voice recorder and so on, but there are no games and other applications such as Booking or LinkedIn that are pre-installed and there are no recommendations to install other games and various applications.
The Phone 2 also includes an application called Essential Space, a relatively new feature that Nothing, as mentioned, integrated into its previous device.
In this application, you can centralize screenshots and written or voice memos, there is a shortcut to it on the home screen and you can also access it by double-clicking the shortcut key mentioned at the beginning, the one located under the device’s power button. One click will take a screenshot and present the option to add a note or recording to it. This physical arrangement is not very convenient – too many times I pressed the key to open the application, even though I intended to turn off the screen. How does artificial intelligence fit in here? The app analyzes the screenshot you saved and presents a few points that summarize the shot, and can also transcribe a voice memo you recorded – yes, even in Hebrew.
You can use the app to organize work projects, vacation plans, study materials, or any other topic. It doesn’t feel like a revolutionary or particularly necessary app, but beyond the annoying shortcut key, Essential Space doesn’t hurt. If anything, it’s interesting to see such a feature integrated into such an inexpensive device.
4 View gallery
CMF Phone 2 Pro camera
(Itai Smuskowitz)
Camera: Better, but still has limits
The last model had two lenses, but only one actually worked for photos, the other was for depth sensing. This time, both are real cameras, plus an extra wide-angle lens.
You get a 50MP main camera, a 50MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP ultra-wide. There’s also a 16MP front-facing camera.
This is a real upgrade for a phone at this price. Image quality is solid for everyday shots, in daylight or indoors. At night, details get softer, zoom in and you’ll see blur and smearing, especially in low light, but it’s acceptable for the price.