Review: CMF Phone 2 Pro

The first-ever CMF Phone 1, which cost a mere $239, easily bested every other smartphone in its category last year (even some pricier peers) despite being a new player on the scene. Now, the company is doing it again with the $279 CMF Phone 2 Pro. This is the best budget phone, period.

CMF is the low-cost sub-brand of Nothing, a UK-based tech company with its own fun Nothing Phones that don't look like any other smartphone you've ever used. CMF has had a steady drip of affordable but stylish personal gadgets, from smartwatches to earbuds, but its budget smartphone is where things shine. Cheap phones get better every year—Motorola's $300 Moto G Power 2025 has a gorgeous design and includes wireless charging—but CMF goes a step further in three crucial areas: performance, cameras, and software.

Budget King

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The CMF Phone 2 Pro doesn't look anything like its price, with a glass-like frosted texture on the light green back and a metal frame (it also comes in white, black, and orange). It's impressively thin at 7.8 mm despite stuffing a 5,000-mAh battery capacity, though this is without the backplate accessory (more on this in a minute).

Over on the front, you're treated to a 6.77-inch AMOLED screen, which still isn't very common on sub-$300 phones—AMOLED offers punchier colors and deeper blacks. (Motorola's competing phone has an LCD.) Brightness is solid, with a peak of 3,000 nits in certain conditions. I was just able to see the screen on a very sunny day without squinting. And rounding it up is a 120-Hz adaptive refresh rate for smoother animations and gameplay. That's a winning trio of features that make for an impressive screen for the money.

Battery life has been excellent. The 5,000-mAh cell routinely has lasted a full day, and on busier days, I've been surprised to find it sitting with 40 percent left in the tank before bedtime. You can easily take it into a second day without issue. Sadly, there's no wireless charging, though the only phone with that feature in this price bracket is the Moto G Power.

Most impressive is the performance, thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G chipset, paired with 8 GB of RAM. Everything runs smoothly, from juggling various apps to games like Pako Forever. I've only noticed occasional hiccups in the camera when taking a photo. I want to emphasize this: performance is incredible for a $279 smartphone. One of my criticisms of Motorola's latest Moto G Power was that it felt sluggish, and most phones under $300 will act this way. Not so with the CMF Phone 2 Pro.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a triple-camera system, and the third camera isn't some silly 2-megapixel macro sensor like on most cheap phones. You're getting a proper, versatile camera array usually found on pricier devices, with a 50-MP main camera, a 50-MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom, and an 8-MP ultrawide. There's a 16-MP selfie camera on the front.

These sensors can struggle in high-contrast scenes, like when you have bright highlights on a sunny day mixed with shadowy areas—things can blow out a bit. In low light, you have to stay still to avoid a blurry image. But overall, I've been happy with the photos out of this system, which have been detailed and colorful. I tend to use telephoto cameras over ultrawides, so I'm excited to see it here, and I hope this trend expands to other budget phones.

One of my gripes with the original CMF Phone 1, the lack of NFC, has been resolved. With the near-field communication sensor in tow, you can pay with the Phone 2 Pro via Google Wallet. It also comes with 256 GB of storage, another rarity even compared to midrange phones, complete with a microSD card slot to expand space when you need it.

A big, often overlooked part of budget smartphones is the software. Many come with preloaded apps and games that bog down the whole experience. There's none of this tomfoolery in Nothing OS. I'd argue that Nothing's Android layer is more beautiful than the stock Android found on competing devices, with gorgeous widgets and a thoughtful monochrome home screen.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

CMF has brought over Nothing's Essential Key, which debuted on the recent Nothing Phone (3a) series. This physical key activates Essential Space, an app that lets you store screenshots and audio clippings and uses artificial intelligence to extrapolate useful information in the form of to-do lists and suggestions. I don't take many screenshots, but I like the ability to press and hold the button to activate a voice memo—the app makes quick work of transcribing your voice note.

Best of all is software support. CMF promises six years of security updates and three Android OS upgrades, which is only bested by Samsung's latest Galaxy A series phones—they get a blanket six years of support in software and operating system updates. Motorola only this year decided to offer two Android OS updates to its Moto G smartphones, with three years of security updates.

Accessory Enigma

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

So what's up with the four screws on the back, and that rounded corner? Remove these with a screwdriver—and the circular Accessory Point with your fingers—and you can add different colored back plates like on the original CMF Phone 1.

There's only one back plate this time around, but it has magnets inside, allowing you to attach CMF's magnetic wallet/kickstand combo accessory to the back of the phone, and you can also use the phone with third-party MagSafe accessories (it just won't support any wireless charging functionality). I've enjoyed popping this phone onto my MagSafe car dock for navigation.

You also need this back plate to use CMF's other new accessory: modular lenses. With the back plate attached, you can push in a fisheye or macro lens to the main camera to get a super wide-angle picture or an extreme close-up. The resulting photos from both are great, and add even more versatility to the camera system, though I wish CMF provided a pouch or some other way to carry these lenses. Remember, you need the back plate to attach these lenses to the Phone 2 Pro.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The Accessory Point is the rounded circle on the right corner edge of the phone, and this is where you can attach accessories like a lanyard. What's confounding is that the lanyard is the only Phone 1 accessory that will work on the Phone 2 Pro. You can't use the other accessories, and even the CMF Phone 1 back plates are not interchangeable with the Phone 2 Pro. If you're going to create a modular accessory system, why wouldn't you ensure compatibility with subsequent devices?

But here's the rub: Nothing says it will not sell any of the new accessories in the US. A Nothing spokesperson told me this is unrelated to tariffs, but that accessories are available in limited quantities only in the UK and Europe. (I've looked at the UK version of Nothing's site, and none of the accessories are available for purchase.) That's a huge bummer because it makes the whole modularity of the Phone 2 Pro—from the interchangeable lenses to the swappable back plates—useless. Maybe keep an eye out for third-party accessories on Etsy.

Shot with the Macro modular lens.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

Shot with the Fisheye modular lens.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

The only other major downside is network compatibility in the US. I've had zero problems using the CMF Phone 2 Pro on Google Fi (powered by T-Mobile's network), but spotty band support suggests there might be some limited 5G connectivity. The accessories are fun, if a bit gimmicky, so not having them available isn't a huge loss. Network compatibility, on the other hand, is a bigger deal. You'll likely have the best experience on T-Mobile or one of its mobile virtual network operators, like Mint or Metro by T-Mobile, but your mileage will vary. Nothing says it's the same band support as the Phone (3a) series, so you probably have to contact AT&T and Verizon to whitelist the device for 5G to work.

If you want to give it a try, the CMF Phone 2 Pro's value is unmatched. Sure, it doesn't have wireless charging or an IP68 water resistance rating like Motorola's Moto G Power, but it's much more pleasant to use with its slick software and speedy performance, and it introduces a 2X optical camera to the budget market, something I've wanted for a long time.