CMF Phone 1 review: finally, a smartphone that’s fun

Testing the CMF Phone 1 was really fun, mainly due to manufacturer Nothing’s fresh ideas. There are loads of smartphones with better features, but they’ll also set you back more. The CMF Phone 1 offers the full package, with accessories and colour adjustment options that are rare in this price range. However, the manufacturer is cautious about availability and is practically only selling via its own website.

There is, however, one significant catch. Nothing developed the CMF Phone 1 primarily for the Indian market. That’s why it doesn’t have an NFC chip, which you need for mobile payment via card readers. Payment apps in India mainly use QR codes, as card readers aren’t so common. This is one reason why Nothing has only stocked manageable quantities of the Phone 1 in Europe.

Changeable back and attachable accessories

Nothing has come up with two special features for the CMF Phone 1 that set it apart from other devices. For one thing, there’s a screw thread for adding accessories. And if you no longer like the colour on the back, you only have to loosen four screws to replace it.

The 35 euro/franc replacement covers come with a small screwdriver. However, this is very short and doesn’t have an ideal torque. That being said, it’s still enough to loosen and reattach the screws, even though the paintwork on the screws gets slightly scratched. You also have to remove the SIM card slot and the cover on the accessory connection. Then you can bravely reach into the opening of the SIM card slot and remove the back. Even in this state, it still retains its IP52 certification. However, this rating only protects against dust and drip water.

I find the screw thread for accessories an interesting idea. The cover for this thread passes off as a design element when not in use and doesn’t get in the way. You can unscrew it without needing any tools. Current accessories include a fold-out stand, a lanyard and a (credit) card holder. The latter affixes magnetically to a plate, which you have to attach with other screws. Each accessory is 25 euros.

Good camera but its Achilles heel is the dark

When it comes to camera equipment, Nothing is economical with its number of cameras. The CMF Phone 1 only features one 50-megapixel main camera with Sony’s IMX882 image sensor. Its second lens only provides additional information on the depth of field when shooting portraits. Meanwhile, the front-facing camera boasts a resolution of 16 megapixels.

AI adjusts colours when asked

Nothing offers two recording modes on the CMF Phone 1. Natural mode is meant to display natural tones. In vivid mode, AI adjusts the brightness and saturation so dark details are more visible and colours appear brighter. Here’s the comparison:

I prefer the stronger colours in vivid mode. When you compare them side by side, natural mode looks more washed out. Neverthless, the difference isn’t as obvious with every subject, as you can see in the following example with more contrast between sun and shade.

Portraits for small screens

The second camera on the CMF Phone 1 only provides additional information for portrait shooting. And yet, the software can’t manage to separate me cleanly from the background. It’s not as though I even have hair. With a bald head like mine, I’d have thought it would have been easier to make the distinction. On the plus side, you can adjust the strength of the blur before shooting. When it comes down to it, you hardly notice any flaws when viewing the photos on a smartphone display.

Usable digital zoom

When converted into 35 mm format, the main camera on the Phone 1 offers a focal length of 26 mm. Meanwhile the camera app offers a double zoom, which multiplies the focal length to 52 mm. While magnification is only digital, it’s certainly usable in terms of results. If you zoom in any further – to a maximum of 260 mm – there’s a significant drop in quality.

Night mode with small improvements

When it’s dark, night mode starts automatically. At that point, you can manually select or deselect it. However, it’s the software that decides whether it’s available at all. You can’t activate it yourself, as you do in most camera apps.

In practice, night mode ensures a slightly sharper shot with more details and fewer frayed lights. However, you can’t see artefacts or as many details in dark areas. If you want better results, you’d need to opt for a more expensive smartphone.

Selfies with a bit more yellow

The front camera delivers lovely selfies with a higher level of detail in daylight. In terms of colour, the camera app adds a little yellow to the picture. In the dark, the image quality on selfies takes a sharp downward turn.

Excellent to mediocre features

With its 6.67-inch SuperAMOLED display, the CMF Phone 1 screen doesn’t make you sacrifice anything. The 2,400 × 1,080 pixel resolution provides a comfortable 395 ppi pixel density – in other words, a crisp image. Its refresh rate ranges from 30 to 120 Hz. As for hues, colour reproduction packs a punch but is natural. With a typical brightness of 500 to 700 nits, the screen is also easy to see in the sun.

Nothing uses the Mediatek Dimensity 7300 in the CMF Phone 1 and provides it with 8 GB of working memory. If necessary, a booster can add an additional 8 GB, which are temporarily taken from the internal memory. You can expand the 128 or 256 GB storage with a microSD card.

However, Nothing doesn’t use extra cooling in the CMF Phone 1. This saves money but also reduces performance. That being said, the smartphone still has enough power for typical daily use.

It doesn’t perform quite as well as the slightly more expensive Nothing Phone (2a), the slightly worse Dimensity 7200 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A35.

The Dimensity 7300 also ensures that the CMF Phone 1 features Bluetooth 5.3 as well as Wi-Fi 6 and can access 5G.

At 5,000 mAh, the Phone 1’s battery has a typical smartphone capacity. It charges with a maximum of 33 W, making it lag just behind Nothing’s phone (2a) in terms of speed. But it certainly doesn’t take an age to charge. You can bring an empty battery back up to 50% in 30 minutes. As batteries take longer to charge the fuller they are, you need about 1.5 hours to take it up to 100%.

In turn, the Phone 1 achieves a very good 11 hours 24 minutes at maximum display brightness in PC Mark’s battery test. This simulates various activities until the battery has emptied from 100 to 20%. In other words, the CMF smartphone performs about 30 minutes better than the Nothing Phone (2a) but lags further behind Samsung’s Galaxy A35.

Almost pure Android

Android 14 comes installed on the CMF Phone 1 by default. The manufacturer overlays its user interface Nothing OS 2.6 on Google’s operating system. Above all, this sets it apart visually. The monochrome app logos also look different compared with the standard version of the operating system. If you don’t like it, you can still activate the classic colourful app icons.

Apart from the typical Google apps, the only other software installed is Nothing X. This is the app for pairing Nothing headphones and adjusting their settings. Its weather and camera apps are also in-house creations.

The update periods are one year shorter for the CMF Phone 1 than for Nothing’s slightly more expensive Phone (2a). This means there are only two major Android and security updates across three years.