Bringing in bravado, on a budget

CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing.
| Photo Credit:
Bijoy Ghosh

Nothing’s sub-brand CMF is back with a second-gen phone that leans harder into its unique construct and design ethos. The CMF Phone 2 Pro is an affordable Android device that’s built to stand out in a sea of sameness. With a triple rear camera setup, especially in the budget range, this device dares to punch above its weight.

Design

The first thing that strikes me about the CMF Phone 2 Pro is its standout aesthetic — a matte frosted glass finish on the rear panel. Mine is a Light Green colour variant, which honestly looks more sky blue than green. You can also choose from white, black, and orange, which come with their unique material finish.

CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing.
| Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Camera lenses ringed with aluminum and stainless steel screws that can be unscrewed are both a nod to the brand’s industrial chic design ethos.

The smartphone is lightweight enough at 185 grams and is protected by the proprietary Panda Glass on the front. The phone gets an IP54 rating — a slight bump up from the CMF Phone 1’s IP52 — but still a far cry from the kind of water and dust protection you’d expect from some rivals.

CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing.
| Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

A standout feature is the Essential Key: single press for screenshots, long press for voice memos, and a double tap opens a personalised “Essential Space.” It’s a small but thoughtful addition that brings in a fair amount of utility to the Nothing smartphone experience.

Display & Multimedia 

The CMF Phone 2 Pro sports a sizeable 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, and offers 3,000 nits of peak brightness. There’s Ultra HDR support for compatible media, and adaptive refresh rates go up to 120 Hz.

CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing.
| Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

I watched a bit of Kian’s Bizarre B&B, a reality entertainment show where three celebrities run a bed and breakfast and host real guests in the middle of the sea. The colours pop quite well on the display, but the audio is a bit underwhelming – not in terms of loudness, but in terms of depth. While streaming music, especially, the lack of bass is quite evident, and tracks tend to sound a bit too treble-heavy.

Camera

The CMF Phone 2 Pro features a three-camera setup, with a 50 MP main camera along with a 50 MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and an 8 MP ultra-wide camera to wrap it up. Daytime shots capture vivid colours, and night time photography isn’t too and either, despite a fair bit of computational enhancement and despite photos sometimes looking a little soft due to the lack of extra detail. The 16 MP front camera snaps some decent selfies without any beautifying or whitening effects. Quality-wise, the main camera captures really good 4K footage with plenty of detail, nice colours, and a wide dynamic range.

Tech Specs

CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing.
| Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

The CMF Phone 2 Pro by Nothing runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G processor, and the unit I reviewed has 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The phone runs Nothing OS 2.5, a slick and minimal interface that’s thankfully free of bloatware (apart from the usual Google apps). Nothing’s signature Monochrome UI and custom icon packs keep things visually cohesive, and the new rounded-square quick toggles are a neat usability touch.

Battery

As is the case with many of Nothing’s smartphones, the CMF Phone 2 also offers excellent battery life. It packs in a 5,000 mAh battery, which keeps me company through a day of catching up on web series, streaming some music, checking emails, and snapping photos. At the end of the day, it easily still has 30-40 per cent charge on most days. Charging speeds, however, leave much to be desired. Unlike many other competitors from Poco and Vivo, which charge well within an hour, this one takes more than an hour to charge fully from zero. 

Verdict 

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is not your average affordable smartphone — and that’s a good thing. It’s refreshingly different, thanks to the customisable Essential Key, the unique industrial design, and an impressive AMOLED display. The Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset holds its own, and the battery life is stellar. What adds the cherry on top is the inclusion of a telephoto lens, which is rare in this segment. So, if you can overlook the below-average acoustics and slow charging, this is one of the most appealing budget phones out there right now. 

Published on May 21, 2025

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