CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Slimmer, sharper, smarter for ₹18,999

When the CMF Phone 1 came out last year, it was praised immediately for its unique design, impressive performance and incredible value for money. However, there were certain caveats with the phone, most notably the camera performance, and the lack of a power adapter in the box. This year, with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, Nothing has aimed to tackle all of that, and more. Here’s my review of the CMF Phone 2 Pro.

CMF Phone 2 Pro Box Contents

I don’t normally talk about the box contents in a review, but this one’s important because the Phone 1 was criticised for not shipping with the charger in the box, so Nothing has fixed that this year. There is a 33W adapter in the box, as well as a transparent case - a common sight at this price point, but a first for Nothing. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Design

The back of the phone continues to be a headturner, similar to its predecessor. The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes in flashy colours, White, Black, Orange and Light Green. I got the Light Green unit for review, and I was instantly amazed by the looks. The phone retains the screws on the back, which can be taken out, and the back panel can be replaced with a universal cover accessory, giving users the ability to add other Nothing accessories to the back of their phones, and customise their devices.

I really liked that Nothing made the phone even slimmer this year, coming in at just 7.8mm in thickness. It also sits comfortably in the hand, with a weight of 185g. It’s the slimmest Nothing smartphone so far, and it definitely feels that way. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Display

The phone comes with a 6.77-inch flexible AMOLED display with a 1080 x 2392 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Last year, the CMF Phone 1 could only switch between 60Hz and 120Hz, so this time, it comes with a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It also has a higher peak brightness of 3000 nits, making it visible outdoors in this Delhi summer with ease.

Colour reproduction is good, it’s a 10-bit display so it can show over 1 billion colours. I enjoyed watching IPL games, and some movies on the phone’s display. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Performance 

Nothing has put in a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset inside the phone. It’s not a major upgrade from last year’s Dimensity 7300 inside the CMF Phone 1, but it still does the job with ease. The CMF Phone 2 Pro features 8GB of on-device RAM, with the added option of an additional 8GB virtual RAM. 

In day to day usage, the phone kept up with the intensity of all tasks, be it video consumption, web browsing or hardcore gaming with COD Mobile or Pokemon Unite. In fact, I even tried to stump the phone, playing Pokemon Unite on highest graphics with the battery being under 10%, but didn’t notice any lags or jitters in the frames. 

Throughout my usage, I also didn’t feel that the phone was unnecessarily heating up, indicating that the thermal management is good. There is also an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is fast and reliable.

Nothing is also giving users the ability to add expandable storage up to 2TB, which is a good addition for people. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Camera

Camera was a major focus area for the Nothing team this year. One of the main points that was raised last year was the lack of an ultra-wide or a telephoto sensor on the CMF Phone 1. So on the Phone 2 Pro, Nothing gave both of those cameras, providing a triple rear camera setup. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro features a 50MP main camera, a 50MP 2x telephoto camera, and an 8MP ultra-wide lens. The camera performance is decent for its price, but I didn’t like the over-softening of shots, especially the selfies. I tried taking some portraits as well, and the colour reproduction was good, but I was hoping for more from Nothing. In low light, the phone disappointed me a little, the images look washed out and lack colour. 

Fortunately, there is a silver lining. Nothing is known to improve camera performance of its smartphones by pushing regular software updates to its users. However, out of the box, the performance isn’t satisfactory for me. 

You can check out all the camera samples here.

CMF Phone 2 Pro Battery

It ships with a 5000mAh battery, and as mentioned earlier, a 33W fast charger comes in the box, especially for Indian users. It easily lasts a full day’s usage, and unlike last year, you wouldn’t have to spend extra to buy the best power adapter for your phone, which is always a nice thing. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Software and UI

The phone comes with Nothing OS 3.2 based on Android 15. This year, there’s an option for a “Private Space”, an additional space for users to be able to hide their apps, files or photos. And the best part is even if someone knows your lockscreen password, they won’t be able to get into the Private Space, as it asks you to create a new password, which can be your fingerprint, or a different pattern. 

There’s of course Essential Space, introduced on the Nothing Phone 3a series. It works just as well, and is a great “second brain”, especially for someone like me who’s very forgetful. 

In terms of updates, Nothing has promised 3 years of Android updates and 6 years of security updates. I would’ve liked to see a longer support cycle for OS updates, but 6 years of security updates does compensate for that. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Price and Verdict

The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes in two storage variants: 8+128GB model which starts at ₹18,999, and the 8+256GB model which is priced at ₹20,999. It’s a very aggressive price by Nothing, and there’s also an offer that slashes this price by an additional ₹1,000 on launch day, making this phone even better value for money. 

Besides the lacklustre camera performance, there’s not much to complain about with the CMF Phone 2 Pro. And looking at Nothing’s track record with software optimisation, that problem is expected to be solved in the future.