CMF Phone 2 Pro: what does going "Pro" on a budget get you?

What are CMF Phone 2 Pro’s specs?

The hard numbers

• A 6.77” FHD+ AMOLED display, that can manage up to 3000 nits of brightness, with support for a 120Hz refresh rate, with Panda glass
• Camera setup:
• 50 MP main camera, flaunted as the largest sensor in its class
• A 20x telephoto camera
• A neat 8 MP ultra-wide
• And on the front: a 16 MP selfie snapper
• Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G 8-Core 2.5 Ghz
• 8GB RAM – the perfect median amount to get things done
• A 5,000 mAh battery, 33W charging and… 5W reverse-wired charging
• Two storage options: 128GB and 256GB
• Under-display fingerprint scanner
• Finally: NFC!

While not specifically stated, we expect the CMF Phone 2 Pro to support basic connectivity needs like WiFi and Bluetooth. 5G is already confirmed. What I’m curious about is the charging experience. The battery size has remained the same, but optimizations have resulted in some neat power gains.

The CMF Phone 1 charged for 33W wired charging. If the Phone 2 Pro supported wireless charging, I’d have said so by now. And while I was low-key hoping for a slight increase in charging speed, the lack of any specific info probably means that the 33W speed has remained the same. But you know what? That’s honestly great for the price range.

Oh, and for the record: it’s not just your eyes: there is no CMF Phone 2. It’s CMF 2 Pro or… Nothing this time around (wah-wah).

Let’s talk upgrades

What’s new with the CMF Phone 2 Pro

Here’s a list of the specific ways in which the CMF Phone 2 Pro is better than the CMF Phone 1:

• It is about 10gr lighter and 5% thinner
• Its camera array now has an aluminum casing
• The IP rating has been bumped up to IP54, which means that dust won’t be an issue and that things like rain, sweat or even the occasional accidental spill should not be an issue. As always, reminder: these tests are conducted with clean water only.
• The CMF Phone 2 Pro has one additional camera, for a total of 4
• Its main sensor is capable of gathering 64% more light; what this means for your pics is that they will come out cleaner and sharper
• The upgraded CPU translates into 10% better processing, 5% better performance with graphics content
• The battery lasts about an hour longer than the previous model
• The display is capable of showing you 1 billion more colors (can you name them all?)
• It also has an increased touch-sampling rate of 316%, so accuracy has gone practically through the roof
• The device comes with the promise of 3 years of software upgrades and 6 in terms of security patches
• Again: we’ve got NFC now, folks!

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is also built better:

Colors

Modern, minimal and fresh

The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes in 4 color variants:

• White
• Black
• Orange
• Light Green

These, however, vary by more than hue alone. The Black and Green variants are said to have a frosted glass texture on their back. I don’t know if you’ve held a phone like that, but it feels very premium, and it helps with grip too. The Orange model on the other hand – the one I instantly gravitated towards, by the way – is described as having a metallic sheen to it.

Ah, if only there was an Orange model with a frosted back… Well, this is the CMF phone! If you’ve got a buddy with another model, you should be able to swap the backsides of these phones. Black and Orange combos would look fantastic! If you make such a combo, make sure to tag us on social media so we can check it out.

 

Accessories are at the heart of CMF

This is what CMF is all about

The CMF Phone 2 Pro introduces the following new accessories:

• Universal Cover
• Interchangeable Lenses, allowing for Fisheye and Macro
• Wallet/Stand combo

This, however, raises one obvious question in my mind: are the accessories of the Phone 1 compatible with Phone 2 Pro? Additionally: are these new ones compatible with Phone 1? I would love for the series to retain these features across its generations, it would really be sweet.

I am a nosy little bugger, so I’ve reached out to Nothing to ask. Here’s what I got:

I won’t lie: this is a bit of a bummer for sure. I’d much rather be able to finally recreate a Lego-esque experience with a phone, but alas.

 

Price and Availability

When and where can you get it?

There are two variants of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, beyond color options:

• 128GB for £219 / €249 (or about $283 via direct conversion)
• 258 for £249 / €279 / $279 (only available in the US via the Beta Program)

For the record, the CMF Phone 1 is on offer for $199 for its base model (128GB). While this does mean a slight increase in price for the CMF Phone 2: the upgrades seem worth it.

This is a CMF phone, though, so you’ll want to invest in some accessories too. Here’s how those are priced:

• Universal Cover - £25 / €25 (about $29 via direct conversion)
• Interchangeable Lenses (Fisheye and Macro) - £35 / €35 (about $40 via direct conversion)
• Wallet/Stand - £35 / €35 (about $40 via direct conversion)

These are, however, only available on Nothing’s official online store in the EU and UK. It is expressly stated that quantities are limited, so if you are looking to get some of these, you better start figuring it out.

By the way, a few bundles of accessories are also available with a slight discount:

• Bundle 1: Cover + Wallet/Stand or Lenses
• Bundle 2: Cover + Wallet/Stand + Lenses

Competitors

The hard choices you could have to face

With its competitive price tag, the CMF Phone 2 Pro isn’t even in the class of the Pixel 9a (which is a banger of a midrange phone on its own).

As such, the device’s major competitors are practically all from Samsung’s Galaxy A series, more specifically:

• Galaxy A16
• Galaxy A15
• Galaxy A25

With the A25 model in particular being typically a bit more costly than the 258GB option of the CMF Phone 2 Pro. But what should you keep in mind?

Nothing – and CMF by proxy – is all about making statements: from its visual design to its unique selling points. At the same time, Samsung has had years to polish up One UI, across its complete model range, offering a much more sophisticated experience.

Here’s one thing less to consider, though: Nothing is finally stepping up its software support game. Unlike the CMF Phone 1, the Phone 2 Pro comes with 3 years of Android updates and a whopping 6 years of security patches. While not industry leading, this is the type of change that I’m always happy to see.

Time (and testing) will tell, but I still feel like Galaxy A series devices would be generally more durable than CMF phones. Personally, though, I’d totally go for the CMF Phone 2 Pro if I had to choose. It’s just such a fun concept. Plus, some of the shots I’ve seen taken with a CMF Phone 1 have come out exceptionally vibalicious. I’m expecting photos to be even better on the Phone 2 Pro.

CMF Phone 2 Pro is worth considering

Especially if you were a Bionicle kid like me

In our original CMF Phone 1 review, we found that the smartphone packed quite the punch for its impressive price tag. Sure, it was lacking in the software support and camera departments, but CMF’s ambitious design ideas hit way harder, and managed to compensate in our eyes.

So, the question here is: is the CMF Phone 2 Pro a true successor? The answer is clear: absolutely, both in concept and execution. Nothing has managed to introduce a bunch of meaningful upgrades to its latest device, all the while not raising the price by a shocking degree.

What even is a “Pro” phone nowadays? Well, judging from Nothing’s presentation, that seems to translate to a better, more versatile camera setup, the introduction of NFC and a neat selection of well-rounded features like a great display.

I, however, would raise the following: does it even matter when the price is right? Time will tell, but the CMF Phone 1 did manage to sell 100,000 units in just 3 hours. I wonder how much the Phone 2 Pro will manage.

By the way, the CMF Phone 2 Pro isn’t the only new device that Nothing launched today: a trio of CMF Buds 2 have also been revealed, so check them out here. We’ll be reviewing the CMF Phone 2 Pro in due time, so stay tuned for that!