Nothing has officially announced the second budget smartphone to be launched under its CMF brand, the CMF Phone 2 Pro (there is no regular model ).
We’ve already got our hands on one, and you can find out what it’s like to use in our review .
If you’re ready to take the leap, you can pre-order it from Nothing in the UK. Go for it now and you’ll also get the CMF Buds thrown in for free.
If you’re in the US and you want the Phone 2 Pro, you can join the Beta Program . It’ll cost you $279 for the 256GB model – although it’s a much more limited offering, with no guarantee of carrier support and no accessories on offer.
Otherwise, read on to get all the facts.
Despite the Pro name, this is very much a direct follow-on from the CMF Phone 1 . That much is evident from the similar pricing as much as the familiar (though still striking) design.
That ‘Pro’ tag isn’t being thrown around carelessly, however. There are some meaningful additions here that could take Nothing’s budget phone to the next level.
CMF Phone 2 Pro design and features
The CMF Phone 2 Pro continues the bold look of the CMF Phone 1, with its boxy design and interchangeable plastic back (with visible stainless steel screws).
There are four colours this time around: White, Black, Orange and Light Green. White and Orange have a smart new two-tone finish, with White giving you a panelled sandstone finish and Orange a metallic sheen.
Black and Light Green have a finish that aims to mimic a frosted glass texture.
Whichever colour you choose, this is the slimmest Nothing phone ever at 7.8mm thick, with a negligible weight of 185g. There’s IP54 certification this time, which is an improvement on the CMF Phone 1’s IP52.
Nothing has also included an Essential Key, which debuted on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro quite recently. This serves as a shortcut to quickly capture voice notes, photos and screenshots, which are then sent to the Essential Space app.
One other noteworthy addition is NFC for contactless payments, which was one of the biggest omissions from the CMF Phone 1.
Nothing
CMF Phone 2 Pro display
Nothing has equipped its new budget phone with another 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz maximum refresh rate.
However, this one is much brighter and more HDR-ready than that of the CMF Phone 1. We’re looking at a peak brightness of 3000 nits in HDR scenarios, which is a 50% improvement over the Phone 1.
In typical situations, it can hit a brightness of 800 nits – a huge step up from the CMF Phone 1’s 500 nits.
Luke Baker
You also get a drastically improved 1000Hz touch sampling rate, which represents a 316% increase over the Phone 1.
CMF Phone 2 Pro camera
If the CMF Phone 2 Pro earns its Pro moniker anywhere, it would appear to be in the camera department.
The most notable addition is a dedicated telephoto camera, a 50MP 1/2.88-inch f/1.85 unit capable of a 2x optical zoom. Suffice to say, we don’t see this sort of thing in many sub-£250 phones.
Luke Baker
The main sensor has also been improved. It’s now a 50 MP 1/1.57-inch f/1.88 sensor, which Nothing claims is the largest sensor size in its class. At the very least, it’ll scoop in 64% more light than the CMF Phone 1 equivalent.
This is accompanied by 8Mp 1/4-inch f/2.2 ultra-wide and a 16MP selfie camera.
There’s no OIS for any of these cameras, which is a shame, but you do get video recording at up to 4K/30fps or 1080p/60fps.
CMF Phone 2 Pro performance and software
There’s unlikely to be a radical change on the performance front, with Nothing opting for a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G SoC to power its phone. That’s a ‘Pro’ variant of the chip used in the CMF Phone 1.
Nothing claims that this will supply 10% quicker CPU speeds and 5% better GPU performance, so nothing huge. Still, we praised the CMF Phone 1 for its “solid performance” less than a year ago.
With 8GB of RAM and an advanced cooling system (which includes a cryogenic frame), the CMF Phone 2 Pro should run smoothly enough.
On the software side, Nothing is giving the CMF Phone 2 Pro Nothing OS 3.2 on top of Android 15 straight out of the box. This includes Essential Space, just like the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, which intelligently processes and sorts all those Essential Key snippets.
Luke Baker
CMF Phone 2 Pro battery and charging
There’s been no change on the battery and charging front, which is fair enough.
After all, a 5000mAh battery size remains a solid spec for such an affordable phone, as does 33W wired charging support.
We also get the welcome return of 5W reverse wired charging, which means you can use your CMF Phone 2 Pro to juice up your earphones using a USB-C cable.
CMF Phone 2 Pro pricing and availability
Pricing will start from £219 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is just £10 more than the CMF Phone 1’s launch price. You can double the storage to 256GB for £249.
All of which sounds extremely reasonable to us, given the improvements Nothing appears to have made. To find out more, have a look at our CMF Phone 2 Pro review .
If you want accessories, that’ll also bring up the cost. There may be limited availability and prices start at £25 for a lanyard and go up to £65 for an accessories bundle, which’ll get you a cover, kickstand, and lenses.
If you’re in the US, you can join the Beta Program , where it’s $279 for the 256GB model. Bear in mind, though, that you won’t be able to buy the phone’s accessories and there could be issues with carriers and a lack of post-purchase support, so it’s a much less attractive option.
Nothing CMF Phone 1
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.
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