Nothing has concentrated on design gospel as it strides to add zing to the other boring or analogous-looking product orders, including smartphones. From semi-transparent design on smartphones to judicious use of colour accentuations to punctuate design rudiments on earbuds, the youthful consumer technology brand has come a long way since its commencement in 2022.
The heritage continues with its coming surge of products under the CMFsub-brand. The CMF Phone 1
offers expansive customisation options on the design front. With exchangeable back panels and attachable accessories, the smartphone provides druggies with the inflexibility to choose their preferred fit and finish. But is the style matched with substance? Let us find out:
CMF phone 1's Design and customisation
Like every Nothing device I've reviewed, design is a crucial element for the CMF Phone 1. This time, with an opaque reverse panel, the smartphone presents a more subtle look compared to Nothing- ingrained smartphones like the Phone 2a. The CMF Phone 1 stands out with a unique mechanical design, featuring four exposed screws around the edges of the aft panel, a rotatable and removable dial/ wheel, and a binary-camera setup on a lozenge-shaped elevated bump in the top left corner.
These design rudiments aren’t just for aesthetics — they offer a range of customisation options, including attachable back panels in colourful colours and textures, and accessories like an attachable poke, phone stage, and rope string.
still, I snappily shifted it for the dark blue reverse panel with a vegan leather texture, which came with colour-coordinated SIM charger, screws, and wheel. Despite this, I decided to use the black screws and wheel to attach the new reverse plate, giving the phone a distinctive and different look. This position of customisation and personalisation is what makes the CMF Phone 1 unique. The accessories and back panels, which you buy independently, come with a unique atomic screwdriver, making the entire process more engaging.
Among the accessories, I set up the stage, which connects to the smartphone using the wheel, to be the most useful. The poke, on the other hand, makes the smartphone too thick to carry in pockets and doesn't feel veritably secure due to its flimsy lid. The figure quality of the rope string and the essence connector, which attaches to the smartphone using a colour-coordinated wheel, is emotional. still, carrying the smartphone with a rope is a matter of particular preference.
Many points worth mentioning the accessories are only available in the orange colour associated with the CMF brand. also, I noticed that the plastic section around the screw holders on the reverse cover can get fluently downsized when using the screwdriver while switching the aft panel.
Overall, the CMF Phone 1 feels durable and solid despite its each-plastic external shell. The textured back panel and matte plastic frame design add redundant grip for extended use, indeed with wet hands. still, the smartphone is on the heavier side, and the thick bezels girding the display slightly abstract from its aesthetics.
Display
The CMF Phone 1 sports a flat display atop a thin plastic quadrangle that connects it to the side frame. The 6.67-inch AMOLED display is sufficiently large and offers decent picture quality overall. The panel produces clear and crisp illustrations but lacks sprightliness, probably due to the slightly warmer tone of the display, which affects overall colour uproariousness. nevertheless, the display is acceptable for regular tasks, social media, and watching pictures. It's also bright enough for out-of-door use, offering clear illustrations indeed in the noon sun from all angles. The 120Hz refresh rate capability enhances the experience, making it smoother and more fluid.
Nothing has added support for HDR10, making it easier to separate between colours. also, the company has included an HDR display mode that increases peak brilliance for HDR content. This point works well with third-party apps like YouTube as well.
Camera
The CMF Phone's 50-megapixel primary detector is backed by a 2MP depth detector. The hinder camera performance is decent for its price point. Daylight shots are clear – the detector captures details in the focus as effectively as the subject. At night or in low light, the detector maintains colour delicacy but compromises on detail, performing in some softened areas in the images.
In portrayal shots, the edge discovery is emotional for a budget smartphone. still, under artificial lighting, it increases brilliance and softens facial details to compensate for the detector’s limitations. also, portrayal shots parade a slightly warmer tone compared to standard images.
The front-facing 16MP camera offers decent selfies in daylight but struggles to maintain thickness in low light, performing in coarse and lacklustre filmland. The smartphone impresses with its videography capabilities.
The smartphone allows recording 4K vids at 30 frames per second and at 1080p quality at over 60 fps. It also gets the HDR recording option but is limited to 1080p resolution recording at 30 fps. The frontal camera can record up to 60 fps at 1080p and also gets the HDR recording option. The overall picture quality is analogous to the camera’s imaging capability, still, I noticed that the microphone picked up a lot of noise while recording.
Performance and software
Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G chipset, which is not generally set up in smartphones under the Rs 20,000 mark, the CMF Phone 1 offers solid performance for its price. Web surfing, casual gaming, and social media scrolling are all a breath on this smartphone. It also performs well during multitasking and while playing graphic-ferocious games like Real Racing 3. The smartphone comes with over 8 GB RAM, and Nothing has included its RAM Booster technology, which provides a fresh 8 GB RAM, perfecting performance during ferocious tasks. also, Nothing has effectively managed the thermals, icing the smartphone noway gets uncomfortably hot.
On the software front, it's emotional that Nothing has used a stripped-down interpretation of NothingOS on the CMF Phone 1. Rather, the smartphone features the same clean and bloatware-free user interface as advanced-end Nothing smartphones.
It allows stoners to place quick setting contrivances on the home screen for managing specific settings. likewise, the UI enables stoners to group similar apps into customizable recesses on the home screen, each with its own distinct icon for easy identification.
Battery
The CMF Phone 1 is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery that offers emotional battery life. You can confidently calculate on the CMF Phone 1 to last throughout the day with enough charge remaining for another partial day. The smartphone supports 33W fast charging but does not include a coliseum in the box. I tested it with the 33W CMF by Nothing Coliseum, sold singly, and it managed to charge up to 55 per cent in 15 minutes.
Verdict
The CMF Phone 1 is a unique smartphone offering extensive design customisation options, allowing stoners to mix and match for a personalised look.
The smartphone delivers respectable performance, solid battery life, and social media-friendly imaging capabilities, all whisked into a value-for-capitalist package. While the display could have been better, the smartphone remains a truly suitable budget option.
