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You've probably never heard of CMF ...but you might've heard of some of the team behind this new company.
CMF is an accessible sub-brand of the British start-up Nothing. The latter was launched by Carl Pei, one of the co-founders of OnePlus, in late 2020 and focuses on striking design across its smartphones and earbuds, which have secured prestigious Red Dot Design Awards.
With the arrival of the CMF Phone 1, the designers at Nothing are being a lot more playful.
CMF — which stands for “Colour, Material, and Finish” – is focused on good design that injects some colour and fun into the budget smartphone market. And it seems to be working.
Nothing recently revealed that it sold 100,000 CMF Phone 1 models in just 3 hours when orders became available. For comparison, the Nothing Phone (2a)took 24 hours to reach that same milestone back in March.
The fidget spinner-like accessory port features in the lower right corner of every rear case, no matter which colour you pick
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Speaking about the enthusiasm for this new line of affordable phones, Nothing Co-founder Akis Evangelidis told us: "Following the incredible success of Phone (2a) in March, CMF Phone 1 is a breath of fresh air in a stagnating value segment that has seen more of the same in recent years and has often been neglected.
"Leveraging Nothing's innovation and strength in design, CMF Phone 1 brings something unique, fun, and functional, while still delivering a great user experience.
"Sales are never the end goal but the result of making great products loved by users – and we couldn’t be more grateful for the market reception and achieving this record-breaking result on the first day of sales.”
With the included screwdriver, it's possible to quickly swap-out the rear case of the CMF Phone 1 — handy if you've damaged the backplate or fancy a new colour
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While Nothing arrived with its trademark Glyph system — a unique pattern of LEDs that flashes in different patterns to alert you about different notifications when your phone is facedown, CMF Phone 1 lets you customise the look of the handset by switching the backplate.
In the box, you'll find everything you need for the simple procedure: screwdriver, screws, and a colour-matched SIM tray. Replacement cases for the CMF Phone 1 cost £29 and are available in Orange, Light Green, and Black for now, although we'd expect to see more colours in the coming weeks and months.
And that's not the only trick when it comes to customising this budget handset.
In the bottom corner of the back panel, you'll find a circular cover that resembles a small wheel. As well as spinning like a small, built-in fidget spinner, the real reason for this addition is to protect the accessory port.
More accessories are likely on the way from the team at Nothing, but for now, CMF Phone 1 is compatible with a textured card holder, a kickstand, and a lanyard. Prices for these start from £19
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CMF has designed three unique accessories that connect to this port and change the phone. At launch, it's created a lanyard so you can wear your phone over one shoulder, a kickstand that props up the CMF Phone 1, and a card holder that's reminiscent of the MagSafe wallet built by Apple sells for its iPhone.
Aside from this colourful design, the exposed screws, and interchangeable covers ...everything else about the CMF Phone 1 is what you'd expect from this price point.
You'll find a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED screen on the front of the handset, which uses a 120Hz refresh rate panel that promises buttery-smooth system animations and a responsive feel. Powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G processor coupled with 8GB of RAM, Nothing is confident that its new budget handset will offer a "fast and smooth" performance during everyday tasks.
Nothing has opted to use the same Nothing OS 2.6 software developed for its mainline smartphones, so you'll find the same trademark pixelated icons and grey tones in the menu when you fire up the CMF Phone 1.
That also means you'll benefit from all of the hard work from the team at Nothing over the last four years since it was founded, including the slew of nifty widgets designed to sit on your homescreen and deliver useful updates — saving you from the need to keep launching apps.
CMF Phone 1 ships with the same NothingOS created for the mainline Nothing smartphones, including its unique pixelated icons, black-and-white colour scheme, and custom-designed widgets
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With its mammoth 5,000mAh lithium-ion cell, Nothing promises two days of battery life on a charge charge. When it's time to top up the battery, everything is handled with a USB-C cable.
On the back, there's a powerful Sony 50MP rear camera with a dedicated portrait sensor that should ensure a more accurate bokeh effect, recreating the look of a DSLR camera. On the front, there's a 16 MP selfie camera.
CMF Watch Pro 2 arrives with an interchangeable bezel around the smartwatch screen, mirroring the customisation of the CMF Phone 1. It starts from just £59, making it one of the most affordable options on the market
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CMF Phone 1 starts from £209 for the entry-level model with 128GB of built-in storage, rising to £239 for 256GB. It's only available to buy directly from Nothing, or via Amazon UK.
Alongside the colourful new handset, Nothing has designed a pair of wireless earbuds, dubbed CMF Buds Pro 2, that cost £59 and a smartwatch, CMF Watch Pro 2, for just £10 more. Yes, really.
That means you can kit yourself out with a brand-new smartphone, a smartwatch and Bluetooth 'buds with active noise cancellation for just £337. That's almost £100 cheaper than the most affordable iPhone in the Apple Store — the iPhone SE, which starts from £429.
"CMF Phone 1, CMF Watch Pro 2, and CMF Buds Pro 2 showcase Nothing's unique approach to integrating creativity, practicality, and personalisation through design," said Carl Pei, CEO of Nothing. "These products further mark our commitment to injecting fun into a boring industry, and I'm very excited to see the market feedback."
