CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: This Pro Is Worth A Go

CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: The CMF Phone 2 Pro retains the edgy look and feel and clean UI of its predecessor, and adds better cameras, and joy of joys, a charger and a case to the package. It is definitely one of the best options for those looking for a ‘different’ phone in the mid-segment.  

CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: Quick Pointers

What we love:

• The different, edgy design 
• The clean interface
• Good set of cameras for the segment (especially the telephoto)
• Essential Space (although it needs work)
• The charger and cover in the box
• Options to add mods

What we don’t: 

• No stereo speakers
• Mediocre ultrawide and selfie cameras
• Many mods require a special universal cover 
• Relative slow charging speed 

A Phone That Still Looks Different… And Edgy

The CMF Phone (1) had surprised a lot of people last year with its near-industrial design, complete with prominently visible screws on its back. And Nothing has stuck to broadly the same vibe for the CMF Phone 2 Pro. The phone is slimmer (7.8 mm as compared to 8.2 mm) and lighter (185 grams against 197 grams) as compared to the Phone (1), and while it retains the edginess of the Phone (1), it also has a cleaner look. 

We got the light green colour variant (the others are the very eye-catching dual-toned white and orange variants, and an elegant black one), and its slightly shiny light green shade was refreshingly cool to our eyes in the scorching Delhi summer. The back is plastic (although it can be mistaken for glass from a distance) and the screws that made the CMF Phone (1) such an eye-catcher are still present, although this time you cannot unscrew them, as the back panel is a fixed one. 

Nothing has decided against having a removable back panel, as consumers seemed to have problems removing and adding new covers. The lower right corner also has the removable rotating wheel, which can accommodate a lanyard.  

Also on the back are the cameras, which are now three in number (the Phone (1) had two) and stand independently instead of being on a camera unit.  Two of the larger cameras have very prominent Samsung Galaxy-like rings around them, while the smaller third one comes with a panel below, which is the flash. The front is a tall glass display, and the buttons are on the sides of a plastic frame that has a metallic finish, with the Essential Space button made famous by the Nothing Phone (3a) series present here as well. 

It might be slimmer than its predecessor but at 164 mm height and 78 mm width, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is one of the largest phones out there (the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 163.6 mm tall and 77.6 mm wide), but thanks to its relatively light weight, does not seem too much of a burden. That said, it is going to stretch your palms when you use it. The front comes with Panda glass protection, and the phone also has an IP54 rating (up from IP52 on the Phone (1)), so it should survive splashes of water. In a first, Nothing has also included a transparent case in the box with the phone. The CMF Phone 2 Pro is a big phone that looks very different – we would recommend the dual-tone orange version for those who want to turn heads! 

Mods Options Are Still In Place 

The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with a spec sheet that is a clear step ahead of its predecessor. The display has been bumped up from 6.67 inches to 6.77 inches and is an AMOLED one with 2392 x 1080 resolution, a peak brightness of 3000 nits and a 120 Hz refresh rate. 

The decision to go with a Dimensity 7300 Pro chip might disappoint some, given that the Phone 1 released last year ran on the Dimensity 7300, but this is still a very good processor for the segment. The phone comes with two RAM and storage variants, 8 GB/ 128 GB and 8 GB/ 256 GB, with an option to expand storage using a microSD card. 

The Phone 2 Pro also comes with three cameras on its back, as compared to the two on the Phone 1 – a 50 megapixel main sensor, a 50 megapixel telephoto with 2x zoom (rare in this segment) and an 8 megapixel ultrawide, although the selfie camera remains a 16 megapixel one. Perhaps the biggest spec disappointment is the absence of stereo cameras, which are becoming increasingly common in this segment, and a 3.5 mm audio jack, which is again still seen at this price point. 

Keeping the phone running is the task of a 5,000 mAh battery with support for 33W charging, and this time, Nothing has included a charger in the box to

A huge part of the CMF Phone 1 was the fact that it was modular, letting you swap back plates and add features like lanyards and stands and wallets to the back of the phone. The CMF Phone 2 Pro retains this modularity, but in a slightly different manner. The back plates of the phone cannot be removed now, but you can screw on a universal cover to the back of the phone, and then attach components like a stand, and even fish eye and macro lenses to the main camera. A lanyard can be attached without the universal cover by removing the dial at the base of the phone. 

Once again, none of these ‘mods’ come with the phone, which we think is a bit of a missed opportunity, as consumers in this segment are generally not very open to paying extra for an add-on feature. The phone runs on Nothing’s clean Nothing OS 3.2, which comes without any bloatware, and some delightful retro fonts and well-designed widgets, and an assurance of three years of Android updates and six years of security updates (rare at this price point). 

All in all, the CMF Phone 3 Pro comes with a solid spec sheet, with the cameras and mods being major points of attraction. 

Smooth Operator, Great Cameras

The CMF Phone 2 Pro turns in a smooth performance in everyday tasks, gliding through web browsing, social media consumption and even casual game sessions with a degree of ease. The large display is great for viewing content, be it shows, videos or even websites, although the absence of stereo speakers does make the multimedia experience less immersive (the single speaker is loud, but cannot take the place of two speakers). 

This is not a gaming phone, so do not think of playing Genshin Impact and Call of Duty at maxed out graphics, although you can play most titles after a few tweaks to their graphics settings. Nothing OS is rapidly emerging as one of the simplest UIs and it runs very smoothly on the CMF Phone 2 Pro, and while Essential Space remains a work in progress, it is great to see Nothing bringing it to the more affordable CMF Phone 2 Pro we like the option of hitting a button and recording our thoughts right away.  

The phone comes with AI tools too, such as Gemini and Circle to Search, and these work smoothly on it. 

The real strength of the CMF Phone 2 Pro are its cameras. It is rare to see a telephoto camera in this price segment, and one of the CMF Phone 2 Pro adds a new dimension to portraits and also lets you zoom in digitally up to 20x (although clarity gets compromised after about 6x). Portraits are among the best at this price point, with subjects being generally well defined and bokeh staying realistic rather than going over the top.  

You get a choice of four focal lengths – 24 mm, 50 mm, 70 mm and 100 mm (we advise sticking to 50 mm for best results. The main sensor turns in a decent performance in low light, even though it lacks OIS. 

Our snaps from the main and telephoto sensors generally came out looking slightly saturated, but were pleasant to look at – social media addicts will move these cameras. However, the ultrawide and selfie sensors are adequate at best – the images are not bad, but they are not in the same class as the other cameras on the phone. 

Video quality overall is decent for the price segment, but the absence of OIS handicaps it severely in low-light conditions and also in environments where there is plenty of movement. The fish eye lens and macro lens can give you different perspectives, but we wish there was a way to attach them directly to the main camera, without having to attach the universal cover.

Battery life on the Phone 2 Pro is good. We got through slightly more than a day of regular to heavy use, and the 33W charger charged it from zero to full in about 90 minutes, which is not the fastest in the segment, but should be quick enough for most people. Call quality is good, and the in-display fingerprint sensor works well too. This is a classic mid-segmenter with camera muscle. 

CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: Final Verdict

The CMF Phone 2 Pro is available at Rs 18,999 for its 8 GB/ 128 GB variant, and Rs 20,999 for its 8 GB/ 256 GB one. And while it does face some serious competition from the funkily designed and performance-driven Poco X7 and the massive battery and impressive spec-toting iQoo Z10, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is one of the best phones in its zone. 

Those who want a decent camera performance, a clean interface, and a design that not only looks different but also lets you add different components to it are going to love it. 

It is not your regular mid-segmenter, and like its predecessor, it brings some much-needed innovation to a price zone that focuses more on functionality. 

We just hope they price those mods – particularly the camera ones – very aggressively, and do not add too much to the price of the phones (imagine getting the lenses and the phone combined for about Rs 20,000). Mid-segment users have a right to edgy tech too!