CMF Phone 2 Pro review: A quirky, fun, and great value smartphone

If the phone you’d really love to own costs more than $1,000, but your budget can’t stretch to more than $300, is it impossible to get a capable and interesting phone? The CMF Phone 2 Pro proves its not. I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and have really enjoyed this quirky, fun phone. I won’t be saying you should buying instead of a $1,000 phone, but it may surprise you to hear my conclusion isn’t all that far removed from such a radical statement. Let’s talk about it.

Specs

CMF Phone 2 Pro: design

Get it in bright orange and you’ll make a serious statement with the CMF Phone 2 Pro. It’s fairly similar to the CMF Phone 1 with its exposed screw heads and plastic rear panel, but the two-tone effect gives it a classy look and does a great impression of far more expensive processes used on glass. It has been put through several toughness tests to make sure it’ll withstand some punishment, and it has an IP54 dust and water resistance rating.

It’s light at 185 grams and grippy, and the clever way the orange sides blend into the black screen make it appear thinner than the 7.8mm thickness actually is. CMF is a sub brand of Nothing, and the brand’s design flair shines through in the body and the software, as does its love of not sticking with established shapes and layouts. Just look at the camera module, where the telephoto lens and flash unit sit next to the two main lenses, but not in an especially uniform way. It’s not as jarring as the Nothing Phone 3a Pro’s camera module, but odd nonetheless.

Nothing makes accessories for the rear panel and the camera, turning it into a modular phone of sorts. Don’t expect to repair the phone like you would with an HMD Skyline, or upgrade parts in the future, but there’s a case with a magnet for accessories like a card holder and kickstand, plus a tough lanyard. For the camera, you can get a clip-on macro and fish-eye lens accessory. You can make the phone your own in a way that’s more unique than just putting it inside a case.

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is a cool phone. It’s cooler than phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13R because it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and you can have fun with the modular aspect, something completely impossible with other far more expensive phones. The CMF Phone 2 Pro may not be made of metal and glass, but it makes up for that with its individuality. I love it for that.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: camera

The CMF Phone 2 Pro’s camera should make some brands hang their heads in shame. This $280 phone has a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.88 aperture and electronic image stabilization (EIS), a 50MP telephoto camera with EIS for a 2x optical zoom, and an 8MP wide-angle camera. On the front is a 16MP selfie camera. That’s pretty good, and the telephoto camera easily makes up for the 8MP wide-angle camera which is irritatingly standard on low-cost phones.

It’s a tempting specification, but photos taken with the various cameras are a mixed bag. The 2x optical zoom sometimes has trouble focusing, the wide-angle camera is predictably poor quality, and there’s very little consistency in colors and contrast over the three. However, when the 2x zoom and main camera get it right, the photos are vibrant and ideal for quickly sharing on social media.

Where you’ll really notice the difference between this and a more expensive camera is shooting in low light. Even at dusk the photos lack sharpness, and in close to dark the photos are unusable. It’s not a criticism because I didn’t expect it to be stellar, but if you take a lot of photos at night or in lowlight, it probably won’t suit your needs. Nothing recently added a Gallery app to NothingOS, but it’s barebones. It shows photos taken with the phone and you can search through them using text, but that’s all. Because there’s no editing feature, there’s little reason to use it over Google Photos.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: software, screen, and performance

The CMF Phone 2 Pro’s screen shows the excellent NothingOS software, but is also the least impressive part of the phone’s hardware. The 6.7-inch AMOLED has a 120Hz refresh rate, 800 nits typical brightness and 3,000 nits peak brightness, plus features like HDR10+, so on paper it’s decent. In reality it’s not. The Panda Glass gets really smudgy and is hard to get clean, and the screen’s viewing angles aren’t as wide as I’d like, making viewing the phone often unpleasant.

Like the phone’s body the NothingOS software is highly customizable and is the same as you’ll find on the Nothing Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, right down to the AI-powered Essential Space feature. Activated by a physical button on the side, it’s a memory aid which collects screenshots and voice notes, summarizing and organizing them for you. It’s easy to use and I can see it being useful, but I constantly press the physical button by accident due to its placement below the power button. Nothing promises three major operating system updates and six years of security updates.

The MediaTek Dimension 7300 Pro processor is fine for general use and most games. I haven’t noticed any performance issues, but it’s obviously not as fast to react as the top chips. It plays Asphalt Legends: Unite smoothly and didn’t get hot during 30 minute play sessions, and I have no problem using social apps, Reddit, or Microsoft’s work apps. Calls sound great too, and aside from a couple of odd times where Wi-Fi has failed to reconnect after returning to my house, the phone has performed without fault.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: battery and charging

The 5,000mAh battery is really long-lasting and I’ve regularly had five to six hours use out of a single charge, without too much gaming. A 30-minute YouTube video at 1080p takes just 2%, showing its efficiency during simple tasks. Run a 20-minute stress test in gaming benchmarking app 3DMark and it draws 10% from the battery, and the low frame rate shows it won’t enjoy running the top mobile games available today. There’s no heat build up at all.

It’s recharged using a USB-C cable at a maximum of 33W, but there’s no charger included in the box. I used an Anker Prime charger and it took nearly 90 minutes to fully recharge, but after 30 minutes it did gain 45% battery charge making it useful if you’re short on time. I did not see the full 33W charging speed on my charger though. Charging the Galaxy A56 and Nothing Phone 3a Pro takes less time, but both phones return about the same amount of use time from a single charge. It highlights how little you’re missing out on by getting the CMF Phone 2 Pro over them.

CMF Phone 2 Pro: price and availability

It makes the CMF Phone 2 Pro half the price of the Samsung Galaxy A56, the Google Pixel 9a, and the Nothing Phone 3a Pro. Is it half the phone? No, I don’t think it is, and you’d have to be a serious badge snob to ignore it completely if you’re considering any of these other phones. It’s priced similarly to the Motorola Moto G 2025.

Is the CMF Phone 2 Pro worth buying?

I’ve used the CMF Phone 2 Pro for at least 10 days and it has coped with normal, everyday duties without issue. The software is fast and fun, the battery returns two days of use on a single charge, and the modular accessories keep it interesting. The screen falls behind the competition and the inconsistent camera means it won’t be one for the keen photographer, but when you consider the phone’s position in the market, these are expected cost-saving compromises.

It’s obviously not a Galaxy S25 Ultra or OnePlus 13 alternative, but it’s a lot more fun than the Galaxy A56, and the software, materials, and design make it more desirable and enjoyable to use than a Moto G or a Moto G Stylus. It should force you to ask some hard questions about your phone use, and if it doesn’t really warrant a flagship phone, the CMF Phone 2 Pro belongs on your list of sensibly priced alternatives next to winners like the Nothing Phone 3a Pro and the Google Pixel 9a. It’s a far better phone than the price suggests, and a recommended buy.