Review Summary
Expert Rating
CMF by Nothing’s debut smartphone, the CMF Phone 1 (review), was an impressive device that even clinched the title of Best Value for Money (VFM) at the Indian Gadget Awards 2024. However, it wasn’t without its drawbacks. The lack of an in-box charger, the absence of a TPU case, and the somewhat average camera performance for the price were points of contention. It seems the company has taken customer feedback seriously and has sought to address these concerns with its latest release – the CMF Phone 2 Pro.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes complete with all the essential accessories, along with a triple camera system, improved design and durability, and a more powerful chipset. On top of that, the company has introduced a range of new accessories designed specifically for the device. Can the CMF Phone 2 Pro deliver value with these upgrades and its increased price of Rs 18,999 in such a highly competitive market? Continue reading this review to find out.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The CMF Phone 2 Pro may not be the most powerful smartphone in its price range, but it distinguishes itself from the competition with its unique design, custom accessories, and versatile triple-camera setup. The inclusion of a telescopic lens allows for generally impressive photography results. While the phone delivers solid performance and strong battery life, it may not be the ideal choice if peak benchmark scores are your main priority.
Design and accessories
The CMF Phone 2 Pro follows the same design language as the original CMF Phone 1, but with some iterative upgrades. At 7.8mm, the smartphone is the slimmest in the Nothing lineup so far, making it easy to pocket or hold the smartphone with its flat edges. Moreover, the device weighs a mere 185 grams, making it lighter than ever before and easy to wield for prolonged durations. The handset comes in black, orange, light green, and a new white colour option. The white and orange variants feature a sandstone finish and a metallic sheen, respectively, whereas the black and the light green, which we received for review, sport a frosted glass texture framed by a metallic border.
| Smartphone | Display | Peak Brightness |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | 6.77 inches - Flexible AMOLED | 3000 nits |
| realme Narzo 80 Pro | 6.7 inches - OLED (Curved Display) | 4500 nits |
| vivo T4 | 6.77 inches - AMOLED (Curved Display) | 5000 nits |
The CMF Phone 2 Pro’s durability has also been amped up with an IP54 splash resistance rating as opposed to IP52 from its predecessor. CMF is also offering a decent-quality transparent TPU case with the device for added protection. Apart from this, the cameras are now stacked in individual rings, with aluminium framing, replacing the previous pill-shaped module.
The other aspects of the smartphone remain mostly the same, offering a modular design; however, the back panel is not swappable this time around. The phone features stainless steel screws on each corner and a rotating wheel aka accessory point at the bottom right. The rotating wheel is now sleeker, sitting flush into the phone’s body. While this makes it slightly more challenging to unscrew for attaching accessories, it significantly reduces the wobble that was noticeable on the CMF Phone 1.
Talking about the accessories, the CMF Phone 2 Pro may not be compatible with the panels introduced last year, but you can still attach a lanyard or phone stand, so to speak. Additionally, the company has unveiled a new multifunctional universal cover, which can be screwed onto the smartphone, a phone stand cum wallet, and interchangeable lens – exclusive to the smartphone. The cover comes in a white colour with a matte finish and features a built-in metal plate for the magnetic phone stand and wallet. In addition to that, the camera rings on the cover are designed to support interchangeable lenses — two of which are currently available: a fisheye lens and a macro lens.
The lenses add versatility to an already dynamic camera setup. The fish-eye provides a slightly wider field of view (Fov), whereas the macro lens offers close-up shots. That said, you’ll need a case and a cleaning cloth to maintain them. The image quality is decent with slight saturation in colours. The lenses make the most sense for creators, rather than regular users, who enjoy capturing a variety of shots. These accessories are available for purchase separately.
Display
The CMF Phone 2 Pro boasts a 6.77-inch flexible AMOLED punch-hole display, protected by Panda Glass. It offers an FHD+ resolution, up to a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and an impressive peak brightness of 3,000 nits. The panel also supports 10-bit colour depth, delivering smoother gradients, more accurate colours, and significantly less colour banding compared to standard 8-bit displays. The touch also feels responsive, with an enhanced 1000Hz touch sampling rate.
| Smartphone | Display | Peak Brightness |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | 6.77 inches - Flexible AMOLED | 3000 nits |
| realme Narzo 80 Pro | 6.7 inches - OLED (Curved Display) | 4500 nits |
| vivo T4 | 6.77 inches - AMOLED (Curved Display) | 5000 nits |
The only slight drawback is the use of Panda Glass, which is considered less durable than Corning’s Gorilla Glass. However, with proper care, this shouldn’t pose a major concern. The screen itself is sharp, vivid, highly responsive, and remains easily legible even under Delhi’s harsh summer sun. Moreover, the display offers an immersive viewing experience, thanks to its razor-thin bezels, and is perfect for watching movies and TV shows with its impressive viewing angles.
The Phone 2 Pro viewing experience would have been complemented better by dual speakers, but instead it sports a single bottom-firing speaker which gets decently loud. For security, the handset comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is accurate and takes a fraction of a second to unlock the device.
Cameras
In the optics department, the CMF Phone 2 Pro features a versatile triple-camera setup, comprising a 50MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a rare 50MP telescopic unit. While the inclusion of a telescopic camera is unusual for this segment, both the primary and telephoto sensors rely on electronic image stabilisation (EIS) rather than optical. The telescopic lens offers up to 20x zoom, with 2x available optically.
On the front, the device houses a 16MP sensor designed for selfies and video calls. Video recording at 4K 30fps is supported by the rear cameras, whereas the front camera is limited to 1080p at 30fps. That said, all four sensors are enhanced by Truelens Engine 3.0, which uses advanced Ultra XDR algorithms to deliver improved lighting dynamics and richer shadow detail in captured images.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro makes a strong first impression with its camera setup, but the overall image quality proves to be a bit of a mixed bag. The 50MP primary camera delivers sharp, detailed images but tends to oversaturate colours, particularly in daylight and portrait shots. The handset impresses with its fine detail capture and accurate edge detection. However, there is a noticeable colour shift between the primary and telephoto cameras, with the latter producing softer images that lose some detail and shadow information compared to the primary lens.
Moving on, the CMF Phone 2 Pro’s ultrawide lens is average at best, suffering both with details and colour accuracy, even in well-lit environments. In low-light, the smartphone struggles with noise and detail retention, especially when zoomed in, even in daylight. While its night mode produces brighter images, it lacks sharpness and accuracy. Overall, the CMF Phone 2 Pro performs well but falls short in colour accuracy and low-light conditions.
Here’s how the CMF Phone 2 Pro cameras compare against the Realme Narzo 80 Pro and Vivo T4:
Daylight
The CMF Phone 2 Pro captures sharp images with good detail, though colours tend to appear slightly overexposed compared to the actual scene. In contrast, the Realme Narzo 80 Pro produces images with more vibrancy, which might be the result of slightly boosted colours, better preserved shadows, and crisper detailing.
The Vivo T4 image from the primary camera sits between the Phone 2 Pro and the Narzo 80 Pro. The colours aren’t as boosted as the Realme offering, while the details lack the sharpness of the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Instead, the Vivo T4 takes a balanced approach, offering closer to accurate colours and decent dynamic range.
Portrait
The CMF Phone 2 Pro captures portraits at various focal lengths — 24mm, 50mm, 70mm, and 100mm — corresponding to its zoom capabilities. For a fair comparison with the Realme Narzo 80 Pro and Vivo T4, which do not offer this feature, we used the 24mm lens to capture the portrait shown below.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro once again performs well in capturing fine details but struggles with colour accuracy. Images tend to be slightly overexposed, with a noticeable yellowish tint across the frame. In comparison, the Realme Narzo 80 Pro produces more natural colours, particularly in skin tones and clothing. However, its edge detection is less precise than that of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, which also stands out with a more natural-looking bokeh effect.
The Vivo T4 also struggles to separate the subject from the background without noticeable warping. While its colours may appear more lively compared to the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the Vivo’s portraits lack the finer details that are more evident in its rivals.
Selfie
The CMF Phone 2 Pro’s selfie camera is relatively sharper than its primary camera, and also offers more saturated results. However, its background exposure is a tad underwhelming compared to the Realme Narzo 80 Pro, which captures those finer facial details that seem to be a miss in the CMF offering and keeps the skin tones closer to reality.
The Vivo T4 preserves facial details better than the CMF Phone 2 Pro, avoiding excessive smoothing. However, it tends to oversaturate colours, making them appear darker and more vibrant than they should be. The device also struggles to manage background exposure effectively.
Low-light
The CMF Phone 2 Pro looks appealing with reduced light flare. However, zoom in and you might start noticing the smartphone’s shortcomings. The Realme Narzo 80 Pro holds a slight advantage in this regard, keeping noise levels low while preserving intricate details. The Realme smartphone also stands out for its oversaturated colours, which make the images more punchy.
Similar to daylight, the Vivo T4’s low-light images appear balanced, too. The handset doesn’t offer light flare as much as the Realme offering, and the colours aren’t as subdued as the CMF Phone 2 Pro. The Vivo image might be a bit grainier, but it doesn’t compromise on detail as much as the CMF offering, which applies a smoothing effect.
Low-light (night mode)
All three smartphones produce brighter images when using long-exposure shots with Night Mode, which can also be set to Auto, compared to those without it.
The Realme Narzo 80 Pro sees a noticeable improvement in the results, with better control over the artificial lights, preventing its flare from running across the frame. The colours are naturally boosted, but there is reduced graininess across the frame.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro produces night mode images with a hint of vibrancy, but lacks sharpness. In contrast, the Vivo T4 preserves shadow details more effectively and delivers a more accurate representation of the scene.
Performance and software
At the heart of the CMF Phone 2 Pro is the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro SoC, paired with 8GB physical + 8GB virtual RAM and 128GB or 256GB of non-expandable storage. It is a slightly enhanced chipset than the CMF Phone 1, which was the first-ever smartphone to rock the standard MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC. Since then, the chipset has made its way to several smartphones, including Infinix Note 50x, Realme 14 Pro, and POCO X7, with different monikers.
However, the Dimensity 7300 Pro is said to deliver improved CPU and GPU performance compared to its predecessors. As a result, the CMF Phone 2 Pro achieves slightly better benchmark scores than devices like the Infinix Note 50x — also priced under Rs 20,000 — on platforms such as AnTuTu and Geekbench. That said, these differences are unlikely to significantly affect real-world usage.
However, the CMF Phone 2 Pro’s benchmark scores appear modest, particularly when compared to the Vivo T4, which achieves close to 800,000 points on AnTuTu. The Vivo device also demonstrates superior processing performance in Geekbench and the Burnout CPU throttle tests, further outpacing the CMF offering. However, it is worth noting that the T4 is around Rs 3,000 more expensive than the CMF Phone 2 Pro.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro’s performance feels well-matched to its asking price. The device manages demanding activities such as gaming for prolonged usage without a significant drop in performance, thanks to its impressive thermal management system. During our lab test, the handset heated up by just 13.7 degrees Celsius in total after playing BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Real Racing 3 for 30 minutes each. This is lower than both Vivo T4 and Realme Narzo 80 Pro’s temperature increase in similar tests. The CMF Phone 2 Pro does it with its Liquid cooling system, amped up by a cryogenic frame on the side and a thermally conductive graphite material to the front and back of the device.
The CMF smartphone also features a ‘Performance Mode’ for an improved gaming experience. Overall, while it may not lead the charts in raw performance, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is swift at what it does and strikes a commendable balance between power, efficiency, and thermal control, making it a strong contender for regular and power users.
| Smartphone | Pre-Installed Apps | Software Support |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | 27 | 3 Years OS Updates + 6 Years Security Updates |
| realme Narzo 80 Pro | 52 | 2 Years OS Updates + 3 Years Security Updates |
| vivo T4 | 60 | 2 Years OS Updates + 3 Years Security Updates |
The CMF Phone 2 Pro also stands out from the competition with its exceptional software experience. It runs Nothing OS 3.2, based on Android 15, straight out of the box. It is hands-down the cleanest software within the segment, with just 27 pre-installed apps, all of which are either proprietary or Google-developed. There are no third-party applications whatsoever, ensuring a truly bloat-free and streamlined user experience.
It is the same software that comes in the Nothing Phone (3a) series, so if you wish to learn more, check out our Phone (3a) Pro review. The handset is promised to receive 3 years of major OS upgrades and 6 years of security updates, which is an improvement over the typical two-plus-three-year support cycle. This ensures the device remains relevant and well-supported until at least 2031. While it may not offer the Glyph Interface, the CMF Phone 2 Pro boasts the Essential Space feature, marketed as ‘Your second memory’.
Essential Space
Similar to the Nothing Phone (3a) series, the CMF Phone 2 Pro also comes with the Essential Space feature, which is accessible through the Essential Key, positioned on the right side of the phone, just below the power button, or via the app. The key is conveniently placed within easy reach of the thumb, though it may not be ideal for users who prefer mounting their smartphone vertically on a stand. It can accidentally trigger actions like capturing screenshots or recording voice memos, which are automatically saved in the Essential Space app. Accessing the app requires signing in and allows you to store screen grabs, quick notes, and voice recordings in one organised space. The data is then analysed using AI to generate contextual descriptions and set smart reminders for upcoming events.
Furthermore, notes and voice memos are automatically analysed, building a personalised diary that helps you easily revisit information you’ve browsed or saved online. This is ideal for users who juggle multiple tasks or often forget small details. The company is expected to improve the Essential Space feature with updates that could scan notifications and emails to generate tailored reminders and dynamic to-do lists.
Battery and charging
Unlike many of the latest smartphones in its segment, the CMF Phone 2 Pro features a relatively modest 5,000mAh battery. It uses a standard Lithium-Ion cell, which is slightly less advanced compared to newer Silicon-Carbon or Graphite-based batteries that offer higher energy density within the same form factor. That said, the device appears to be well optimised, delivering battery life that outperforms several rivals with larger capacities.
On the PCMark battery test, the CMF Phone 2 Pro scores 12 hours and 38 minutes, which is lagging behind the Vivo T4 by a margin, but outperforms the Realme Narzo 80 Pro, which packs a 6,000mAh battery. Moving on, the video streaming capabilities remain on par with the competitors, consuming 3 percent of battery after streaming a video for 30 minutes. For heavy usage such as gaming, the CMF Phone 2 Pro also offered respectable efficiency, with its battery depleting by 6 percent on average after playing BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Real Racing 3.
| Smartphone | Battery Capacity | Charging Support | Charging time (20% to 100% ) |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | 5000 mAh | 33W Fast Charging | 59m |
| realme Narzo 80 Pro | 6000 mAh | 80W Super VOOC Charging | 50m |
| vivo T4 | 7300 mAh | 90W Flash Charging | 45m |
For most users, the handset will provide a day’s backup on a single charge with moderate to heavy usage. However, its charging speeds feel a little underwhelming. The CMF Phone 2 Pro supports 33W fast charging, and this time, a compatible charger is provided in the box. The handset takes roughly an hour to reach 100 percent charge from 20 percent. A full charge from zero percent may take approximately 75-80 minutes, which is on the higher side when compared to its immediate arch-rivals.
Final verdict
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is a promising successor to the CMF Phone 1. The handset addresses many of the shortcomings of its predecessor, offering a more refined design, better durability, and a bundle of thoughtful accessories straight out of the box. The inclusion of the triple-camera setup, while ambitious for its price bracket, delivers generally pleasing results, although it’s not without its limitations, especially in low light and colour accuracy. The new interchangeable lens system will appeal particularly to content creators, even if it’s somewhat niche for the average user.
Performance-wise, the Phone 2 Pro strikes a solid balance between power and efficiency, handling daily tasks and extended gaming sessions with ease, while keeping thermal throttling impressively low. The display is excellent for the price — bright, vivid, and responsive.
However, it seems to have missed a trick or two by not going with a more powerful MediaTek Dimensity 7400 SoC or offering bigger battery capacity with silicone-carbon/ graphite technology and a faster charging solution. This puts the smartphone in the backseat against rivals such as Realme Narzo 80 Pro and Vivo T4, which offer superior processing power.
That said, Nothing’s minimalist OS approach continues to shine, offering one of the cleanest and most optimised Android experiences available under Rs 20,000. So, if you’re seeking a stylish, well-built smartphone that feels more premium than its price suggests, offers great performance for everyday use, and stands out with its modular design and accessories, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is easily one of the best value-for-money options currently available.
Editor’s rating: 7.8/10
Reasons to buy
- Support for multifunctional covers, magnetic stands/wallets, and interchangeable camera lenses.
- The handset offers reliable everyday and gaming performance with strong thermal management.
- Nothing OS 3 is clean, minimalistic, and optimised.
- Widest selection of cameras for the price.
Reasons not to buy
- Charging speeds are subpar compared to competitors.
- Ultrawide camera suffers both with details and colour accuracy, even in well-lit environments.
- Single bottom-firing speaker lacks depth.
