CMF Phone 2 Pro: A budget phone that punches above its price

Irish Examiner

15-05-2025

From the makers of Nothing comes a phone that dares to be different — not with flashy specs or glowing glyphs, but with practical design tweaks, useful modular features, and surprisingly capable hardware for the price. The CMF Phone 2 Pro is the second iteration of the original CMF device and comes in at a compelling price point of €249.
Design and build
It's clear that CMF, a sub-brand of Nothing, has put real thought into the design, making it stand out in a market crowded with bland-looking smartphones, especially at this price point. Despite the plastic construction, the phone feels solid and well-assembled, with an unmistakably industrial design language. I love the design, with its exposed metal screws, clean lines, and the new universal backplate system that supports modular accessories. If you liked the CMF Phone 1's utilitarian charm, this will feel familiar but refreshed.
The new universal backplate system supports modular accessories. Picture: Nothing Tech.
It's just 7.8mm thin and has an IP54 rating, which means it's protected against dust and light splashes. However, it's unsuitable for full water immersion.
It's great to see a transparent case included, but it does add some bulk. I prefer using it without the case to enjoy the sleek design and slim feel in the hand.
Display
The 6.77-inch AMOLED display is easily one of this phone's best features. It sports a Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and a staggering 3,000 nits peak brightness. This is the best display I've ever seen on a phone under €300. Colours are vivid and accurate, contrast is deep, and the display remains legible even in bright sunlight.
The bezels are a little thicker than what you'd find on flagships, but they're not distracting — and honestly, at this price, that's nitpicking.
Cameras
The CMF Phone 2 Pro features a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide — and it's rare to see a telephoto camera included on a budget smartphone.
The main sensor delivers sharp, well-balanced images with natural colours in good lighting. The telephoto lens holds its own, which is a pleasant surprise in this price range. However, the lack of optical image stabilisation (OIS) means results can be hit-and-miss in lower light or zooming in.
The ultrawide lens does what it says on the tin, though detail and dynamic range fall off compared to the main shooter, which isn't too surprising considering it's only 8MP. Low-light performance is decent, but it can struggle with focus, especially on close-up subjects in dim environments.
Video maxes out at 4K — again, impressive for the price — and there's a 16MP front camera for selfies and video calls. It's perfectly adequate, though don't expect front-facing cinematic bokeh.
Overall, the camera setup is well-equipped for everyday use. Just don't expect flagship-tier finesse, and you won't be disappointed.
Performance
The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro powers the phone with 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage (expandable via micro SD up to 2TB — rare and welcome). It's not a powerhouse but more than capable of everyday tasks.
Apps open quickly, multitasking is fluid, and casual gaming is smooth. That said, I did encounter the occasional UI stutter and a few glitches — minor annoyances, not deal-breakers. For a €249 phone, these hiccups are forgivable.
Running Android 15 with Nothing OS 3.2, the software experience is clean and snappy. It's lightweight, bloat-free, refreshingly minimal, and easily one of my favourite Android OS skins.
Nothing promises three years of Android updates and six years of security patches, which is impressive for this segment. Nothing offers a unique user interface that's both distinctive and practical, with regular updates that improve performance, refine the experience, and introduce new features. In addition to this, Nothing released a significant OTA update this week that optimised the OSD and enhanced camera performance.
Features like the Essential Key (a customisable button for shortcuts) and Privacy Space (a locked section for files and apps) are genuinely helpful. However, I did find myself triggering the Essential Key by accident now and then.
Hardware and battery
The Phone 2 Pro houses a 5,000mAh battery, which is more than enough for a full day's use, even with mixed activity including photography, streaming, and browsing. You'll need to plug in by day two, but that's standard fare for most modern phones.
Charging is rated at 33W wired, which isn't ultra-fast but is good enough to top up quickly before heading out. There is no wireless charging here, and that's one of the compromises you'll have to live with.
There are stereo speakers, but no headphone jack — again, no surprise in 2025. Haptics are OK, but not as refined as on more expensive devices. The phone also features an optical under-display fingerprint reader, which I found to be as fast and reliable as those on the best phones, ultrasonic fingerprint readers aside.
Verdict
The CMF Phone 2 Pro doesn't try to be flashy — it just gets the fundamentals right. If you're looking for solid performance, a vibrant display, and clever modular features without paying flagship prices, this is one of the smartest buys in its class.
From €249 Nothing Tech