If you end up in want of an affordable new cellphone this yr — say, round $200 —you are in all probability not very enthusiastic about your prospects. Traditionally, $200 telephones are fairly dangerous and you actually need to have a optimistic outlook on life with a view to take pleasure in utilizing one in any respect.
However the CMF by Nothing Cellphone 1 is totally different. It isn’t simply one of the best $200 I’ve ever used, it is one of many greatest telephones I’ve used all yr and a shoe-in for cellphone of the yr due to its gorgeous price-to-value ratio. There’s merely nothing prefer it in the marketplace, and it is fairly wonderful what Nothing was in a position to pull off on such a good price range.
Extra than simply being cellphone, the CMF Cellphone 1 is an fascinating cellphone in a means we sometimes do not see. Nothing constructed the again to be detachable by way of a set of 4 common screws and one utility thumb screw that may be changed with a number of equipment, together with some supremely nifty group 3D printed ones.
About the one main factor it is lacking is NFC— one thing that truly is problematic this present day in age when persons are paying with their telephones greater than ever— however this actually will not be a deal breaker for everybody. Able to get excited a few $200 cellphone? I by no means thought I would say I used to be, however it’s time it’s best to.
Value and availability
The CMF Cellphone 1 is on the market at Amazon or the Nothing.tech web site beginning at $199 within the US (8GB RAM/128GB storage), ₹15,999 in India (6GB RAM/128GB storage), and €269 / £239 in Europe (8GB RAM/256GB storage).
Nothing sells the cellphone in Black, Orange, or Gentle Inexperienced colorways. The CMF Cellphone 1 sports activities an interchangeable again and might be switched out with Black, Orange, Gentle Inexperienced, or Blue choices for $35 every. Nothing sells three extra equipment for the CMF Cellphone 1 at launch: a stand for $25, a card case for $25, and a lanyard holder for $25.
I used the CMF Cellphone 1 for over per week in each North Carolina and New York Metropolis. The cellphone I used was operating on Nothing OS 2.6 with the July 2024 safety patch, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
What I beloved
From each angle, the CMF Cellphone 1 is straight away recognizable. The uncovered screws on the again, outsized thumb screw (that doubles as a fidget spinner), and chrome accents merely seem like no different cellphone in the marketplace.
There’s one thing deeply superior about altering out the again of your cellphone at will – not simply slapping a brand new case on it. Along with that, Nothing has created a small variety of helpful equipment that may be rapidly swapped by way of the thumbscrew, which is much simpler than the 4 flathead screws required to swap out the again.
Equipment like a kickstand and lanyard holder are the primary official equipment, and as beforehand famous, the 3D printing group on Reddit has already designed a number of new equipment that’ll aid you make your cellphone even cooler than earlier than.
The Orange and Blue backs include a beautiful vegan leather-based end that provides grip and makes the cellphone really feel nicer than flat plastic. Black and Gentle Inexperienced use a matte flat plastic, which is ok however feels a bit low cost in comparison with the opposite two. On the intense facet, the non-vegan leather-based backs are 1mm thinner.
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Modularity is one thing I’ve needed in telephones ever since Google’s failed Mission Ara was initially introduced, and it is good to see somebody lastly selecting up a sliver of that dream.
Past that, the CMF Cellphone 1 sports activities specs you’ll seldom anticipate at this value vary. The cellphone dons a flat, vision-friendly 120Hz OLED show with DC-like dimming at excessive brightness and 960Hz PWM dimming at low brightness.
I discovered it tremendous comfy during the last week of utilization and by no means skilled the complications or eye aches that Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy telephones give my PWM-sensitive mind. It additionally will get a lot brilliant with 2000 nits of peak brightness, so out of doors viewing is nothing wanting nice.
| Class | CMF Cellphone 1 |
|---|---|
| Show | 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED (LTPS), 2400 x 1080 (395 PPI), 2000 nits peak brightness, 240Hz contact sampling, HDR10+ |
| Show qualities | DC dimming above 30% brightness, 920Hz PWM dimming under 30% brightness, SGS Low Blue Gentle licensed |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G |
| Reminiscence | 6GB, 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB |
| Rear Digicam 1 (essential) | 50MP, ƒ/1.8, EIS, 79-degree FoV, Extremely XDR |
| Rear Digicam 2 (portrait) | 2x zoom, portrait mode solely |
| Entrance Digicam | 16MP |
| Video | 4k/30FPS, 1080p/30 or 60FPS, Sluggish-mo 1080p/120FPS, night time mode 1080p/30FPS |
| Battery | 5000mAh |
| Charging | 33W wired quick charging |
| Ports and SIM | USB Kind-C, Twin SIM |
| Audio | AAC linear loudspeaker |
| Wi-fi | Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6, 5G (some US bands lacking) |
| Safety | In-display fingerprint sensor |
| Weight | 197g commonplace, 202g vegan leather-based |
| Dimensions | 77mm huge x 164mm tall x 8mm skinny (9mm vegan leather-based again) |
| Water and dirt resistance | 3 seconds in 25cm of water (no score) |
| Colours | Blue, Gentle Inexperienced, Orange, Black |
| Software program replace promise | 2 Android updates, 3 years of safety updates |
General efficiency is solely legendary. If you happen to’ve used a cellphone at this value level earlier than, you are accustomed to how gradual and stuttery they often are. Not the CMF Cellphone 1. On a regular basis efficiency was unbelievable and one thing I would anticipate from a cellphone considerably costlier.
Gaming on this cellphone is flawless, and sustained efficiency is considerably higher than comparable telephones utilizing Qualcomm’s chipsets.
Video games like Minecraft ran flawlessly, and multitasking was excellent with multi-app switching taking place immediately. I severely could not consider the shortage of lag — it is actually unparalleled at this value.
The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset is constructed on TSMC’s 4nm course of, which implies it is considerably higher at sustained efficiency when in comparison with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. Qualcomm’s chipset might need the identical ARM cores and the same structure, however it’s constructed on Samsung’s 4nm course of and throttles fairly exhausting after only a few minutes’ use.
Briefly, players and anybody who makes use of high-intensity functions for quite a lot of minutes are going to need to choose the CMF Cellphone 1 over anything within the house that makes use of Qualcomm’s equal Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip.
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I can not consider these images got here from a $200 cellphone. The standard is astounding.
Even the digicam blew me away! Launching it takes perhaps 2 seconds — once more, one other huge ache level at this value given telephones just like the Moto G 5G 2024 can take as much as 10 seconds earlier than the digicam is usable. Plus, the standard is well akin to telephones within the $400-500 vary.
Significantly, I can not consider the images above got here from a $200 cellphone. This high quality is solely unparalleled.
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What I notably preferred is that Nothing included not solely an honest telephoto digicam — giving this cellphone higher zoom element than others on the value. Most telephones at this value vary embody a gimmicky secondary digicam that takes rubbish high quality images, often centered on macro images or one thing equally ineffective. The CMF Cellphone 1’s 2x digicam makes portrait images look considerably crisper.
Even when simply zooming in to 2x or 3x, these zoomed in photographs seem like precise images, not a watercolor portray — one thing you could be accustomed to in the event you’ve ever zoomed in past a digicam sensor’s capabilities.
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And the front-facing digicam is nothing wanting wonderful, too. Portrait mode is really stellar and outperforms even the $900 Google Pixel 8 Professional in portrait mode high quality. Nothing appears to have actually nailed the algorithm for separating the foreground from the background and does not exhibit any of the nasty blur artifacts so typically discovered on another telephones.
What might use work
Whereas the detachable again is a incredible idea, eradicating it is not as straightforward as I would prefer it to be. After unscrewing the screws, the again continues to be fairly tough to pop off and required me to pry it off on the edge with the included screwdriver. I assumed this could get simpler over time however I used to be at all times anxious I would crack the plastic when eradicating the again.
I am additionally not loopy in regards to the flathead screws getting used, as they make it overly tough to take away and tighten versus one thing like a star bit or Philips head. All in all, I do not assume too many individuals might be snapping totally different backs on the cellphone repeatedly to match their outfit day-after-day. Hopefully, the 3D printing group or one other consumer can determine a greater various.
People utilizing the CMF Cellphone 1 within the U.S. ought to anticipate spotty 5G protection and slower than anticipated speeds. As Brady Snyder identified in his CMF Cellphone 1 critique, the cellphone has fairly horrible community protection right here “resulting from its outdated and, frankly, dangerous modem.”
5G protection is mediocre on T-Cellular within the U.S. and nonexistent on AT&T or Verizon. There’s additionally no NFC to be discovered on this cellphone.
I used it on T-Cellular and had first rate 5G protection however needed to do the outdated “airplane mode reset” to verify it stayed there. This implies I would see it drop to 4G, 3G, or, by some means, nonetheless Edge/2G after which toggling airplane mode would sometimes get me again on the corporate’s 5G community. Verizon and AT&T clients should not hassle in any respect.
I additionally discovered that obtain and add speeds have been notably worse than different telephones I had readily available irrespective of if I used to be utilizing 5G or Wi-Fi. Not the “this took 2 seconds longer than standard” form of worse. The “this 200MB file took 30+ seconds to obtain” form of gradual.
Along with this, there isn’t any NFC help on the cellphone by any means. Meaning no cell funds or anything you would possibly do with NFC which could be a make-or-break function for some folks. Personally, I do not actually care about NFC and rarely use it, however I’ve seen a number of folks say it is a deal-breaker for them.
I would say the pockets attachment makes up for the shortage of NFC, however I do not like the development of it. The precise pockets portion snaps to the cellphone by way of a magnet and I wasn’t assured sufficient in its energy to retailer any precise essential playing cards in it.
Competitors
The $200 value level is actually bereft of another really good choices. Within the U.S., the most suitable choice for a brand new cellphone might be the Moto G 5G 2024, a cellphone that is totally sluggish and has horrible cameras when in comparison with the CMF Cellphone 1. It is also acquired fairly a little bit of bloatware put in, an issue the CMF Cellphone 1 does not endure from.
If you happen to can spend $100 extra, the Nuu B30 Professional is an outstanding launch that truly helps 5G networks within the U.S. however it makes use of a slower MediaTek Dimensity 7050 processor and it is not assured the identical replace cadence or long-term promise because the CMF Cellphone 1. Nuu had my choose as greatest low cost cellphone within the U.S. earlier than the CMF Cellphone 1 got here alongside.
Internationally, the Poco X6 collection is an efficient various however it’ll value you 30% extra and each the cameras and sustained efficiency of that cellphone are worse than what you may get on the CMF Cellphone 1. The opposite apparent tradeoff is that the Poco does not provide customizable cellphone backs or easy-to-add equipment just like the CMF Cellphone 1.
Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if…
- You want an incredible cellphone for little or no cash.
- You like the concept of a modular cellphone with interchangeable components.
- You take pleasure in a light-weight OS with nice options and help.
You should not purchase this if…
- You want NFC.
- You employ AT&T or Verizon.
The CMF Cellphone 1 by Nothing is near-revolutionary in some ways. Not solely is it a mere $200 out the door — not backed by a provider to $200 after a trade-in — however it’s simply an incredible cellphone all-around. Mix quick processing, a superb digicam, excellent multitasking, and a incredible working system expertise with the distinctive qualities of the modular design and we’ve an actual winner on our palms.
There is no denying {that a} lack of NFC goes to harm the cellphone’s probabilities of success. Nearly as good as every part else is, NFC is a fundamental requirement for tons of people that have grown used to securely paying for issues with their telephones. Not solely that, however 5G protection within the U.S. is spotty at greatest and nonexistent, at worse, due to Nothing’s selection of an older modem.
However in the event you do not care a lot about NFC or you do not stay within the U.S., there isn’t any purpose to spend greater than $200 on one other cellphone except you completely want one thing particular {that a} costlier cellphone can provide. That is one of the best worth cellphone in the marketplace at present, and it will be close to not possible to overhaul it for a protracted whereas.
Nothing’s spin-off model, CMF, has created one of the best price range cellphone on the planet. The CMF Cellphone 1 is impressively quick, has a superb digicam, a brilliant AMOLED panel, 3 years of promised software program updates, and a novel, customizable construct. As long as you do not want NFC, there’s little else to ask for in a cellphone!
