In the space of a year, Nothing Inc.’s subsidiary CMF (Color, Material and Finish) has made great strides in the consumer electronics market. It started with low-cost earphones, a watch and an accessory, and found favor in emerging markets like price-conscious India.

Now, the London-based company has unveiled its first mobile phone, the CMF Phone 1. It boasts a unique design that is designed to grab consumers’ attention. But is the hardware reliable enough to provide a good user experience? Let’s take a look.

Design, workmanship and display

Like the Nothing Phone series, the CMF Phone 1 also has striking design elements. A notable aspect of the device is that it comes with a removable back panel and owners can replace it with at least four different colored panels – black, orange, light green and blue.

The black and light green variants are equipped with textured panels. The orange and blue cover panels are made of vegan leather. They are said to be made of synthetic material. They imitate the leather-like properties in terms of appearance, feel and finish.

Included in the box is a dual-use SIM ejector tool, with a long metal pin on one side for removing the SIM tray and a flat screwdriver on the other side for removing the four screws that reattach the back panel of the phone.

Another interesting feature of the device is the rotary dial in the bottom left corner. Weeks before the launch, the company was already dropping hints about this particular side of the phone. Many believed that the button could be used to control the volume or focus of the camera. Some even suggested that it could be programmed to perform other tasks, such as adjusting focus or zooming in and out of the subject’s face in the camera’s viewfinder. But as it turns out, the button is just a place to attach accessories.

The button is detachable and its main function is to securely attach the stand, a card holder (four cards) and a lanyard to the Phone 1.

The Phone 1 has an IP52 rating, which means it can withstand dust and splashes of water.

On the front, there is a beautiful 6.7-inch Super AMOLED LTPS screen. It supports up to 2,000 peak brightness and variable refresh rate (60-120Hz). It has a uniform bezel around the edge with a tiny front camera at the top. The chin at the base is a bit thick, but that doesn’t affect the viewing experience.

The large display is great for watching movies on long commutes or at home. Even outdoors, the screen is bright enough to display messages or read news on web pages without squinting.

Considering the price, the in-display fingerprint sensor is really good. It registers the fingerprint and unlocks the device instantly.

Performance

CMF Phone 1 features a 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 7300 octa-core processor with Mali-G615 MC2 GPU, 6GB/8GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage options.

Our review unit has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The device runs smoothly during everyday tasks without any noticeable lag. It also supports many game titles available on the Google Play Store. However, the device is not designed for game titles with extremely demanding graphics.

However, the Android 14-based NothingOS 2.5 has a super clean UI that’s almost as good as the stock Android on Pixel phones. Those who want to customize the CMF Phone 1’s UI can use the generative, AI-based Theme Creator feature. I also love the curved widgets with a visually appealing Braille theme.

There is also Nothing’s Icon Pack which has a monochrome design. It provides less distraction and is not colorful. This makes the owners use the phone only for its intended purpose and reduces screen time.

The device receives at least two years of Android operating system updates and an additional year of security software support.

It is equipped with a huge 5,000mAh battery. With normal usage, the device can easily run for more than a day.

The device supports a 33W charger, which can charge the phone from zero to 50 percent in less than 30 minutes. And it takes just over an hour to reach 100 percent.

However, it should be noted that the customer needs to purchase the charger separately. The retail box only includes the phone and a Type-C to Type-C data cable.

photography

It has a dual camera module – a 50 MP wide-angle camera (with Sony IMX882 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, PDAF: phase detection autofocus) and a 2 MP depth sensor (f/2.4) with LED flash on the back.

It takes really good pictures in daylight. The colors of the subject, especially flowers, appear vibrant. They look quite worthy to share on the social media platforms.

Even in close-ups in the macro range, the device manages to capture the smallest details of the subject well.

The CMF Phone 1’s night mode is a little disappointing though. As you can see in the sample photos, they aren’t sharp. On the phone’s compact screen, they don’t seem to look that bad, but if you look at the same image on the big screen of a computer, you can see blurry objects in the scene.

Taking a decent photo at night requires a steady hand and some patience. And the resulting photos are decent and comparable to rival brands in the sub-Rs 17,000 price segment.

In portrait mode, the Phone 1 takes sharp photos of the subject and a perfectly blurred bokeh effect in the background.

The device also supports 2x optical zoom. The photos look good and there is less loss of quality. It also supports up to 10x digital zoom.

On the front, there is a 16MP front camera for selfies and video calling. It takes decent selfies in all lighting conditions.

The CMF Phone 1 can record videos up to 4K at 30 frames per second and Full HD (1080p) at 30 and 60 fps.

Final thoughts

Its modular design sets the device apart from competing brands and it runs smoothly during everyday activities such as multimedia content, messaging and calls.

As for photography, it does a decent job; it’s on par with rival brands in its class. And the battery life is excellent. With normal use, it lasts more than a day.

Considering its price and features, the CMF Phone 1 is a budget phone. It is a good option for employees and seniors for multimedia consumption and regular use.

It is available in two configurations – 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 128GB storage – for Rs 15,999 and Rs 17,999 respectively.

The company offers a case for the Phone 1 for Rs 1,499. Other accessories – phone lanyards, stands and card cases – cost Rs 799 each.

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