The glorious CMF Phone 2 Pro is the smartphone rebel we need

TheNothing CMF Phone 2 Promakes me feelgoodabout advanced smartphones . It does n’t be all that much , yet it manages to pack in more creative fun than phones that cost a whole set more , without cutting back on the important features we need . In a sea of phones created by a committee , the CMF Phone 2 Pro is a rebel .

Rebellious

What do I mean by this ? Many New phones take themselves very seriously , and are create by different department all watching the bottom telephone line , and aiming to target as many people as possible . It ’s the way things have to be in big businesses , and there ’s nothing basically wrong with the results . The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes from a dissimilar position . Yes , it ’s still built by a big business — Nothing — and commission will have been involved , but it really seems like everyone had play in the mental process , and it shows in the terminal product .

It ’s vivid orangeness for a kickoff . Other colors are useable , but if you ’re go to get the CMF Phone 2 Pro , it should be this one . The rear cover isn’tjustorange , it ’s dual - tone Orange River , with a matt polish on the top one-half , and a glistening part on the low half . It ’s charge card not glass , but it looks so good that from a space no - one would jazz it was n’t meth or metal . There are aluminum ringing around the cameras , create them as much of a design statement as the gloss .

The exposed screw head are there for a intellect , as the back cover can be remove and replaced by a different one , making the phone a innovative take on the often - tried modular format . The odd circular part in the bottom recess is used to attach a big , thick CMF lanyard , and a kickstand can be stuck to the back of the phone . Most intriguingly , the camera is compatible with two lens accessories for flash macro or fish - eye photos . This is true versatility in terms of subprogram , but it ’s also a whole lot of cockamamy fun .

A person taking the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro out of a pocket.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Handling the CMF Phone 2 Pro

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is really light at 186 grams , and you straightaway notice when you peck it up . The plastic rear cover wraps around the sides of the earpiece stimulate it comfortable to hold , although it does feel quite slippery due in part to its featherweight properties . Holding it , you ’ll notice an additional button on the side of the soma which is for the Essential Space , an AI feature also found on theNothing Phone 3aandNothing Phone 3a Pro .

It ’s the first of two surprise feature addition . Essential Space organizes your screenshots and voice notes , then uses AI to help sort and summarize them . It ’s an interesting take on feature like Samsung ’s Now Brief , where AI can step in and organize your clock time and day . Samsung harbour Now Brief back for itsGalaxy S25phones , leaving the mid - rangeGalaxy A56with very little AI to lend economic value . It ’s a magnanimous reason why Essential Space is so welcome on the CMF Phone 2 Pro . The only downside is the button ’s placement , which prepare it too well-to-do to press by fortuity or mistake for the exponent push .

The other surprise feature is a 50 - megapixel telephoto photographic camera providing a 2x opthalmic zoom . It ’s not speculative at all , accept bright exposure with decent levels of particular , all without prune the image down . It adds a little something extra to the camera , which I do n’t usually carry to see on a headphone at this cost . Add in a potentially useful AI lineament , and you ’ve get a smartphone that does n’t just go against the competition , it rise against it .

A person holding the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Is it all good?

I have n’t used the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my main smartphone yet , so if there are any idiosyncrasies relate to the software or performance , I wo n’t have blob them yet . The screen is likely go to be the phone ’s biggest downside . The Panda Glass over it gets covered in fingerprint , the consider angles are n’t great , and although on - paper the luminance should be sufficient to see it in all conditions , in world it ’s nowhere about as smart as sound with high timbre screens and glass .

Android 15is installed and the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro CPU with 8 GB of RAM keeps it working nicely , it supports a cute floating window mode , and Nothing ’s signature pixel art theme is available for utilisation . Some tycoon delivery metre are obtrusive though , with some initial jerkiness when open feature or apps which have n’t been used for a while . It ’s not a dealbreaker , and many either wo n’t acknowledge or give care about it , considering the rest of the phone .

I ’m using the phone before of its prescribed launching , and a package update promising to improve the television camera did arrive during my metre with it . The CMF Phone 2 Pro ’s photo can calculate a little washed out , even after the software update , and the 8MP wide - angle tv camera is barely worth using due to its want of point , but I ’m being abrasive here , as to have three mostly functional tv camera on an entry - level telephone is quite an achievement . I ’ll live with pluck the flavour of my snaps in Google Photos afterwards .

A person holding the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Everyone else needs to do better

The 128 GB CMF Phone 2 Pro monetary value 219 British quid in the U.K. , and a rendering with 256 GB is useable in the U.S. for $ 279 . Sure , you have to monkey around buy it through Nothing ’s Beta Program , just like the Nothing Phone 3a serial , but I genuinely think it ’s going to be deserving the fuss . Phones that cost less than $ 500 are seldom interesting , yet the CMF Phone 2 Pro goes beyond interesting to become exciting .

When I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy A56 late , it was perfectly acceptable , just a bit dim . It ’s twice the price of the CMF Phone 2 Pro , but comparing the specification and bod does n’t like a shot make me think it ’s doubly as good . I ’ll know more when I employ the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my main phone , but based on this short experience , every other manufacturer needs to look at their entrance level phones and do a whole lot more to attract buyers .

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is the smartphone rebel that eventually ends the day of only high - ending , $ 1,000 - plus headphone being interesting .

The charging port on the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro.