Has Nothing made right choices with CMF Phone 2 Pro ? let’s find out..
Here’s my Review of the CMF Phone 2 Pro after using it for 4 weeks
Priceing - This phone is priced at 17 to 18k with offers for 8/128 variant, for that price it gets lot of things right.
Unboxing Experience - Including charger and case in Box was much needed move for a device in this segment. Good Job Nothing.
Design - reduced weight (185g) and rounded corners - it’s very easy to use compared to 3a series & CMF 1. Unique as we expect from nothing with screws and all. Back and Frame is made of plastic & metallic Camera rings. So overall a unique & practical design.
Display - It has same Display specs of Phone 3a - FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED Display with 1300 nits HBM brightness,gets really bright outdoors as number suggests. Tuning is also done really well for content consumption, Bezel size isn’t the best but not a deal-breaker.
Display also have 2160Hz PWM Dimming which’s great - no eye strain worries. One thing - You need to enable ‘high’ in refresh rate option to run all apps in 120Hz. Default ‘Dynamic’ setting limit some apps to 90Hz. Indisplay fingerprint scanner for security works greatly.
Speakers - One Major con of this device. Not because it’s single but lacks base and depth. Haptics on the other hand is best in class for the price. Motor is really good, implementation could be better like there’s no haptics while adjusting Brightness, volume, switching apps..
Performance - Dimensity 7300 Pro with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM & 128/256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Scores around 7 Lakh in Antutu. Good Enough that’s what I call this performance. No issues in regular use like Opening & Switching apps, browsing, social media…No major Heating Issues. RAM Management can be improved a bit. BGMI although support Smooth + 120FPS,Smooth + 90 is ideal for this Chipset as 120 will struggle after some sessions. UFS 3.1 would’ve made this device better - not complaining much considering the price and other things phone offer.
Software - Main highlight of any Nothing Phone. Nothing OS 3.2 based on Android 15 with 3 OS + 6 Years Of Security Updates. It’s definitely best software experience under 20K with no bloatwares,good animations,awesome widgets, monochrome theme & some nice touches.
Nothing Update schedule is also really good. If you’re coming from Custom UI then you might miss features like side Bar but you can’t get better software for this price. Nothing OS can improve some aspects like Haptics Implementation, Gallery App, AI features.Essential Space button is there in this phone also. Essential Space is an useful feature for sure if you like to add notes to screenshot and all. But one thing is I accidentally pressed it some times since it’s closer to power button.
Cameras - It comes with 50MP Main Cam(1/1.57″) Samsung GN9 Sensor + 8 MP Ultrawide(¼″) + 50MP 2X(½.88″) OV50D. Selfie Camera is 16 MP. No OIS in both main & 2X.
Main Camera most time takes Good Photos in daylight with Good Dynamic Range.
Human skintones are also produced well in most situations , 2X Normal/Portraits are good. 8 MP Ultrawide is just Okayish. 2X Telephoto Upto 6X Takes good photos. After 10X don’t expect much. Selfie Camera is good for the price.
Main Camera 4K 30 FPS Video and Selfie 1080P 30 FPS videos in day light are good enough for the price, nothing major to complain. Some noise is there in night video which’s the same case with other phones in this price. You can also take decent zoom videos.
Some Cons with Camera
Main con is night Photos.
❌ Since there’s no OIS in main cam night photos can come out blurry.
❌ Light Control in Night Photos can be better.
❌ Sometimes messes up white balance by making scene dull
❌ Highlight control issue in 2X Human Shots.
It’s not like You can’t get good night photos with this phone. Thing is since there’s no OIS it will suffer when you need to held phone stable for some seconds..also light control could be better. LUTS feature is there in this phone also which allows to change vibe of the photo.
Battery - Battery optimisation of Nothing OS is just Awesome. 5000 mAh Battery in this phone lasts really long. I got 6h 18 mins SOT with 27% remaining on Mobile Data in medium to heavy use which’s great. Easily 1.5 day phone for most people.
Charging on the other hand has been very inconsistent for me. Ideal it should be under under 70 mins with 33W in box charger but sometimes it take more than 90 mins. Many other users are also facing slow charging issue. Team is working on it and will fixed soon.
Call Quality & Networks was fine.
So Overall if you’re looking for a Balanced Phone under 20k this is a good choice. 8/128 variant for 17 to 18k Offers best value. If Night Photos, Fast Charging, Speaker quality are in your highest priority list then consider other phones.
Apart from these cons everything else is sorted for the price with Best Software. Telephoto lens is good addition. So just consider your priorities before buying. For best gaming spend some extra and get under 25k phones with 8s GEN 3 or Dimensity 8350
My main feedback for Nothing will be
Better Speakers for Next CMF Phone.
Also would love Nothing to use Silcon Carbon Battery in upcoming phones. So that’s my review of CMF Phone 2 Pro. Thanks for reading.
