Hey everyone,
I got the chance to use the CMF Phone 2 Pro through the Nothing Community Programme for around one month, and in this post Iâll be sharing my experience of what I liked and disliked about the device.
So letâs get started đ
đ¸Unboxing & Pricing
You get a wholesome unboxing experience as the CMF Phone 2 Pro is the first phone from Nothing to bundle a charger and a transparent case.
The charger is the CMF Power 33W and is exclusive to Indian units of the phone. Thereâs also a 100cm Type C to C cable, an uncanny-looking SIM ejection pin, and a quick start guide.
Pricing ( India ) :
8GB + 128GB: Rs 18,999
8GB + 256GB: Rs 20,999
đ¸Display
The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a 6.77â AMOLED display with LTPS and 120Hz, 1080p resolution, Panda protection, 2160Hz PWM frequency, and HDR 10+ on YouTube.
In a nutshell, itâs the same display as Phone (3a). In my experience, the display produces vibrant colours in the âVividâ setting with balanced tones. Viewing display from different angles is not a problem.
Initially, the 1080p panel may not feel super crisp, if youâre coming from 1.5K or 2K display (flagship) but youâll likely get used to it.
I binge-watched the whole White Lotus S3 on CMF Phone 2 Pro and the details, colour reproduction & brightness were on par if not great with more expensive phones, as JioHotstar restricts content to 1080p anyway.
The bezels at least, the upper and sides could have been narrow but theyâre symmetrical which is rare at this price point.
With 1300 nits of High Brightness, display legibility under sunlight was fine, nothing much to complaint there if youâre using apps in Light mode.
đ¸Design and build
One of the best things about the design is how lightweight (185g) and thin (7.8mm) it is. I watched content on JioHotstar and YouTube for hours on a stretch holding the phone and it didnât cause any pain or discomfort. However, I do wish the width of the phone was a bit narrower.
The freckle dot design along with the dual tone (soft & matte finish) on the White colour variant and metallic camera rings in the extreme corners make the CMF Phone 2 Pro stand out drastically.
The matte texture feels soothing to touch and hasnât incurred a single scratch or scuff in the last 1 month. Speaking of which, there are no scratches on camera lenses even after using the phone occasionally without the cover.
Unlike CMF Phone 1, the edges have slight curves to it, which make holding the phone comfortable without a cover. The bottom corners may slightly feel sharp, especially the rotating knob corner but not a big deal if youâre not holding the phone tightly.
Another point worth mentioning is the nice tactility and click of the buttons.
Since I havenât had the chance to use the accessories like camera lenses and wallet, canât really tell the experience of using them.
đ¸Performance
Some specs: MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro, 8GB RAM LPDDR4X, 256GB UFS 2.2
Performance is snappy and fluent, thanks to the swift operation and animations of Nothing OS.
Opening apps, scrolling social feed, multitasking, pulling down notification panel, the phone does all that reliably well and feels responsive even with several apps in memory.
Now addressing the elephant in the room - UFS 2.2. With this storage type, I didnât encounter major stutters or lags in the UI and operating the phone was fairly ok, like I mentioned above.
RAM (8GB) management seemed fine where light and most-used apps like X, WhatsApp remained in memory, but not Instagram.
And if you open the Camera or any moderately heavy game like BGMI, apps opened long ago are likely to be thrown out of memory.
đŽ Gaming performance: To test the gaming performance, I played tons of BGMI on CMF Phone 2 Pro.
Although the CMF Phone 2 Pro has now received the 120FPS support at the time of writing this review, I tested the game on 60FPS (extreme), and per the Scene app stats, an average FPS of 58 is possible when playing 20-30 minutes of Battle Royale matches in a non-AC room.
đĄď¸ Thermal performance: In regular use, the phone temperatures stay well within 36-37°. In gaming the temperatures rise max to 42°. While in camera the phone doesnât overheat, though I didnât try shooting pics in direct sunlight.
AnTuTu and Geekbench scores for your reference:
Some annoyance related to device performance:
After 30-35 minutes of BGMI gameplay, closing the game resulted in microstutters but twice or thrice in my 1-month usage. Do note that I donât clear apps from recents before playing games.
When launching games, the frame rate indicator gets stuck in the centre. Since the game dashboard is part of Google, they may handle this.
When tapping the media switcher button from the media player results in a heavy stutter. But Iâm told this has been noticed and may be addressed in future updates.
đ¸Software
CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with Android 15-based Nothing OS 3.2 and will receive 3 years of Android and 6 years of security patch updates.
Thereâs no bloatware in the software and other than several Nothing apps like Gallery, Weather, Nothing X. etc. and Google suite apps.
The good thing here is that the software experience is the same as the more expensive Phone (3a) series, with no compromises on animations or UI effects.
Since the software is the same as Phone (3a), you can check my detailed review of Nothing OS on my X profile here.
And after using this software for a good 1.5 months period (combined experience of Phone (3a) Pro and CMF Phone 2 Pro), here are some of my most favourite aspects of Nothing OS 3:
Enlarged app icons - Seeing your most used apps in jumbo size on homescreen feels so intriguing and special for some reason
Double tap power button gesture - It was a joy to use this gesture and open your most-used app. In my case, Cricbuzz.
Widget design and scaling - Nothing OS widgets are really well done which follow a cohesive design and are properly scaled on the homescreen & lockscreen.
Change size of quick toggles - The ability to change the size of quick toggles to 1Ă2 or 2Ă2 layouts was really helpful.
Essential Space widget - The widget auto updates you about the information you fed it earlier. This can be reminders for something, sending alerts etc.
Nothing OS 3.2 on CMF Phone 2 Pro in particular brings key features, which I tried out during my usage:
Private space
A dedicated section within the UI which you can use to lock up private and confidential documents, photos and apps. Captured images can also directly go in Private space.
You can set a dedicated password for Private space, different from lock screen, to further boost the security of your stuff.
App locker with privacy password
App locker has been present on NOS for a while, but now you can set a different password for it, separate from lockscreen
Hotspot Management
Hotspot now supports a setting to limit the number of connected devices, which is something almost every other skin provides.
Seamless app launches
Just like most other skins, NothingOS 3.2 gets uninterrupted animations for opening/ closing apps quickly.
đ¸Battery
Battery is one of the strongest aspects of the CMF Phone 2 Pro. The 5,000mAh unit offered stellar battery life of 8-9 hours of SOT easily with gaming and camera usage while running Scene app (FPS meter) in the background.
My usage included 90% on WiFi with location and Bluetooth ON and setting the phone always at 120Hz refresh rate.
However, when the Atmospheric wallpaper effect is on, the battery tends to drain slightly faster. The same can be said for AOD.
đ¸Charging
Just like how the battery lasts really long, the charging times are equally long with the in-box 33W CMF charger. It can take 1.5 hours for a full charge or even more in some cases.
Despite clearing all apps in the background with only WiFi enabled.
đ¸Camera
Nothing is offering three actual usable cameras under Rs 20,000 with CMF Phone 2 Pro. Both main and telephoto cameras lack OIS, so youâll have to be really steady to capture a perfect shot. View images for camera specs đđť
When the lighting is good, shots have good blend of vibrancy and details. The dynamic range also seems fine.
In artificial light or indoor, the view finder trickles up the exposure, resulting in faded colours. And in low light, telephoto shots may contain lots of noise and if you move even slightly, shots can turn out to be blurry.
The camera auto switches to main camera at 2x (50mm) when you move near the subject which was a bit annoying. Youâll get to use telephoto only at long distances. So yeah, taking macros using this lens is a tough task.
In night time shots, I didnât face evident glaring issues or lens flare. Even without night mode enabled, the camera switches to 2 2-second shutter speed. However, the results may at times turn out noisy, especially the shots captured with 2x telephoto.
Some long range shots using the 2x telephoto lens:
The presets add a new experience to clicking photos. Here are some shots clicked using presets:
Notice how the lack of OIS affects the image. In this shot there was very slight wind and the shot turned out blurry.
Some night shots using a Cyberpunk theme preset:
đ¸Other important aspects worth knowing
Call quality - The earpiece delivers relatively clear sound of the party on the other end and thereâs no issue with mic too.
Fingerprint scanner - The optical scanner worked everytime be it when unlocking the phone or opening locked apps. No issues whatsoever, unless youâve sweaty or wet fingers.
AOD - The AOD just replicates the lockscreen data including time and widgets. If youâre looking for customisations, youâll be disappointed. The AOD animations are nice though.
Signal strength & connectivity - The CMF Phone 2 Pro has 16 5G bands, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3. I witnessed no signal drops at home or outside. On subway train 5G performs slow but that is with every phone Iâve used.
Haptics - Haptics are wonderful on this device. Even at the minimum level, haptic vibration is precise. The X-axis motor has been implemented well.
Flashlight intensity - Although he flashlight/ torch gets the job done, the intensity isnât the best.
Speakers - The mono speakers lack a clear depth and delivered high-pitched sound at maximum levels. The loudness (with 150% boost) is sufficient but again, the experience is not immersive at all.
Hybrid SIM card slot - CMF Phone 2 Pro can support 2 nano SIMs or 1 nano SIM + SD card up to 2TB
No NFC - The Indian variant of CMF Phone 2 Pro lacks NFC and at this price point itâs a common practice by all to not give one.
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Pros
- Great display experience with symmetrical bezels
- Standout design and build
- Lightweight and comfortable to use
- Excellent battery backup
- Super clean software with a unique identity
- Reliable gaming with good thermal control
- Excellent haptics
- Camera outputs detailed shots with good dynamic range
- Preset (LUT) support offers joyful experience
đŤCons
- Lack of OIS in main & telephoto results in blurry shots
- Viewfinder tends to overexpose subjects in indoor lighting
- Telephoto struggles in capturing macro shots
- Single speaker
- Takes quite a while for full charge
- Many key features still missing in Nothing OS
Last but not the least, hereâs a picture of the CMF Phone 2 Pro alongside the CMF Power 33W charger, which comes bundled with the phone.
Thatâs it from my end!
