CMF Phone 1 Review: Unique Design, Practical Performance
In-depth review of CMF Phone 1. Explore its unique design, impressive performance, and overall user experience. Discover if it's worth your money.
Cheap phones usually have dull features and designs. They usually just offer the barest minimal, serving as the makers’ easy tick. But Nothing’s CMF Phone 1 breaks with tradition, appearing as a distinctive and fashionable £200 phone. Its unique appearance, exposed screws and straightforward design grab attention. Do you think user experience is decent, though? We can ascertain if it genuinely stands out by evaluating its performance, camera, battery life & total worth.
Key Points
- Modular Design: Easy to replace parts & add accessories.
- Smart UI: Comes with a unique Nothing UI & ChatGPT support.
- Affordable Price: Costs just £209.
Table of Contents
CMF Phone 1 Key Specification
| 🧠 RAM | 6 GB | ⚙️ Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 | 📸 Rear Camera | 50 MP + 2 MP |
| 🤳 Front Camera | 16 MP | 🔋 Battery | 5000 mAh | 📱 Display | 6.67 inches (16.94 cm) |
CMF Phone 1 Specification
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| 🔧 Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 |
| 📱 Display | 6.67″ Super AMOLED, FHD+ |
| 🔤 RAM | 6GB or 8GB |
| 💾 Storage | 128GB + microSD slot |
| 🔋 Battery | 5,000mAh |
| ⚡ Charging | 33W wired |
| 🔌 Ports | USB-C |
| 📶 SIM | Dual nano-SIM |
| 📲 OS | Android 14, Nothing OS 2.6 |
| 🤳 Front Camera | 16MP |
| 📸 Rear Camera | 50MP + Portrait sensor |
| 📡 Cellular | 5G |
| 📶 Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 |
| 🔊 Bluetooth | 5.3 |
| 📏 Size | 164 x 77 x 8 mm |
| ⚖️ Weight | 197g |
| 💧 Water Resistance | IP52 |
| 🎨 Colors | Black, Blue, Light Green, Orange |
CMF Phone 1 Detail Specifications
Design
Phone has a modular and customizable design that is fairly easy to use. One of its unique features is Accessory Point attachment. It also offers IP52 dust and water resistance.
Technically, phone costs £209, but it stands out by making low-end phone market a bit more interesting and engaging with its fun and attractive design.
Removable Back Casing:
- Removable case for this phone is the back panel itself, as compared to standard phone cases that only cover the back. This means that, as opposed to simply adding a cover, you can change the entire appearance of your phone by replacing the back panel.
- The phone has five screws around its edges. Four of these are standard screws that require a flathead screwdriver, which comes with the replacement case. The fifth screw is a unique scroll wheel in the bottom right corner.
- To change the back panel, unscrew all five screws, remove the SIM tray, and then carefully remove and replace the back panel. Replacement cases cost around £30 each.
- Process is a bit fiddly and requires some effort. The screwdriver tool is small and not easy to grip, and removing the case requires a bit of force. This design is not as easy as changing a regular case, but it’s meant for occasional use. Future versions could benefit from a redesign to make it simpler.
Practical Benefits:
- If phone is dropped and the back panel gets damaged, you can replace it easily and affordably, rather than needing to replace the whole phone.
- The ability to remove the back panel without special tools or heat is useful for internal repairs, although replacing internal parts will still need some technical skill.
Accessory Point:
- Accessory Point at the bottom edge allows you to attach various accessories, such as a lanyard hook, a kickstand for hands-free video watching, and a magnetic backplate with a card wallet. These accessories cost about £19 each.
- Accessory Point is located at the bottom edge, which can be uncomfortable when holding the phone, as it protrudes into your hand. It took some time to get used to this, especially if you’re accustomed to smooth, flush phones.
Durability and Build:
- The phone’s IP52 rating means it is resistant to mild water sprays and dust, but it won’t withstand heavy rain or sandstorms.
- Despite being a large phone, it has a sturdy frame and a slim profile. It feels more premium than its price suggests, though it does require some stretching to use it comfortably with one hand.
Display
Phone features 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 2000 nits. Here’s a closer look at what this display offers:
- Size and Quality: 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display delivers bright and vibrant colors. It’s not an advanced LTPO panel that can adjust the refresh rate in tiny increments for smooth animation and power efficiency. Instead, it switches between fixed 60Hz and 120Hz settings.
- Performance: For a phone at this budget, 120Hz refresh rate is remarkable. Swift movements, such as swiping notification shade or app drawer, can, nevertheless, feel a little sluggish. There is occasional stuttering and frame-dropping during quick animations, but this is to be anticipated considering how reasonably priced phone is.
- Smudges and Smears: Fingerprints leave minor rainbow hues and oily stains on the screen. It’s not a major problem, but it does serve as a reminder that this is not an expensive phone—it costs £200.
- Brightness and Visibility: With a peak brightness of 2000 nits and typical brightness around 700 nits, display is easily visible in most conditions. It only struggles a bit under direct bright sunlight.
- Overall Experience: Despite its shortcomings, display is good for price. It’s bright, has good colors, & deep blacks. Bezels are slim, except for a slightly thicker one at bottom, allowing your content to take center stage.
- Media Consumption: This screen is fun to watch Netflix and YouTube on. Even for someone with high standards, display quality is shockingly good.
- Fingerprint Sensor: Majority of time, optical fingerprint sensor integrated into the display functions well. Though it’s usually dependable, there are the rare unsuccessful reads, usually caused by misaligned thumbs.
Cameras
CMF Phone 1 has a 50MP main camera with a dedicated depth sensor and basic digital zoom capabilities. It can capture video up to 4K at 30fps.
Main Camera and Depth Sensor:
Like HTC One M8 from 2014, the phone sports a secondary depth sensor in addition to its 50MP primary camera. The ‘Portrait’ option with a blurred background is made possible in part by this depth sensor. But most contemporary phones accomplish this without need for separate depth sensor.
Performance and Quality:
- Camera takes sharp, color-rich photos with good contrast and saturation, ideal for social media. It performs well even with slight hand movements or while walking, producing in-focus and sharp images.
- Purpose of depth sensor is to enhance portrait photography’s depth & background blur (bokeh). It does, however, occasionally have trouble detecting edges, particularly on objects with distinct edges. For instance- mask on a Lego tiny figure could trick camera and cause uneven blur.
- Despite depth sensor, Portrait mode isn’t significantly better than what phones like the Pixel range can achieve with a single front-facing camera.
Digital Zoom:
50MP sensor allows for a decent 2x digital zoom, getting closer to action without a dedicated zoom lens. However, zoomed-in images aren’t as sharp and detailed as those taken at regular focal length.
HDR and Low Light Performance:
- With HDR, camera has trouble, notably with balancing highlights and shadows. For example- foreground may appear overly dark under a bright sky.
- Camera’s night mode allows it to take clear, motion-blur-free pictures in low light. It has issues with contrast, exposure & light balance, though. Night images frequently have a chilly, blue color are extremely contrasty & are oversharpened.
Video Capture:
Camera-captured daytime videos have great color and contrast, which makes them perfect for social media sharing. Only 30 frames per second in 4K & 60 frames per second in 1080p may be recorded using it.
Software
- Design: Phone uses Nothing OS, which has a unique look. It’s clean, with a bold, retro style and few extra apps. Monochromatic design includes distinctive icons & widgets that match the overall theme.
- ChatGPT Integration: There’s a dedicated ChatGPT widget for chatting, asking questions & getting ideas from AI assistant.
- Software Support: Phone gets two years of major updates & three years of security patches. This is decent but not great if you plan to keep phone for a long time.
Performance
- Processor and RAM: Phone has a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor and 8GB of RAM. This is fine for everyday tasks but not as strong as high-end phones.
- Storage: You can choose 128GB or 256GB of storage & add up to 2TB with MicroSD card.
- Gaming: It works well with casual games but may slow down with demanding games like Call of Duty or Genshin Impact at high settings.
Battery Life
- Duration: 5000mAh battery can last up to two days with light use. Heavy use, especially with apps like WhatsApp, can drain battery more quickly.
- Charging: Phone charges slowly. It takes over an hour to fully charge from 1%. A 30-minute charge adds about 35% battery.
- Usage: Battery is good for light use like occasional gaming or streaming. For heavy use or lots of messaging, you might need to charge it more often & overnight.
CMF Phone 1 Pros And Cons
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Attractive and fun design | Second camera is just for depth sensing |
| Affordable price | IP52 rating offers limited moisture protection |
| Large, bright, and vibrant display | Slow charging |
Reasons to Buy CMF Phone 1
- Unique Design: The phone has a distinctive and creative design that makes it stand out from other phones.
- Accessory Options: You can add various accessories, which is a feature not commonly found in other phones.
- Good Performance: It performs well for everyday tasks and casual gaming.
- Clean Software: The software has a simple, easy-to-use interface without any extra third-party apps.
Reasons Not to Buy CMF Phone 1
- No Stereo Speakers: The phone does not have stereo speakers, which means the audio experience might not be as good as other phones.
- Slow Charging: The charging speed is slower compared to some other phones in its category.
Conclusion
You might notice there isn’t much to dislike about CMF Phone 1. This is often the case when a company sets the right price for its products. It’s not a perfect phone, and you’ll see its limits if you try to play high-end games or edit videos. But unlike other budget phones I’ve used, I’m not eager to switch back to my Galaxy S24 Ultra or Pixel 8 Pro after using CMF Phone 1.
It’s nice to see a budget phone that has some style. While it’s not groundbreaking, it’s great to see Nothing making progress with affordable, stylish phones.
FAQ
What is a CMF Phone?
CMF Phone (1) is a budget phone by Nothing. It has a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor, a 6.67-inch FHD AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and runs on Nothing’s Android software, Nothing OS. It’s similar to the Nothing Phone (2a) but at a lower price.
How good is CMF Phone 1?
CMF Phone 1 has a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It has a Full HD+ resolution (1,080 x 2,400p) and an 8-bit color panel. Screen quality is standard for its price range.
How much does a CMF phone cost?
CMF Phone 1 is priced at £209. It features Nothing’s unique dot-matrix UI and has ChatGPT integration. For its price, it offers good value compared to other budget phones, which are often quite basic.
