I tried the CMF Phone 1 by Nothing, and it brought back the old-school charm in gadgets that I miss these days

Orange is the new black

The CMF Phone 1 features a modular back panel (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

With the CMF Phone 1, my initial thought was: what do I make of the device? Should I call it a toy, a nostalgia device, or an experience that, at its best, can be described as something weird? Seriously, the CMF Phone 1 isn’t the smartphone you might think it is. It’s gimmicky, surprisingly loud, and playful as if the phone is a character in a Nintendo game. I love that. It took me a while to get over this device. Damn you, Nothing.

The CMF Phone 1 discards the traditional run-of-the-mill smartphone design template for a semi-modular approach. The phone’s exterior is made of matte plastic (Apple chose this path long ago with the iPhone 5c, which drew ire from some users) and sits well in the hands without being too slippery. It feels like a plastic toy, not a piece of tech, and it’s refreshing. The device is surprisingly comfortable to handle and use despite the phone’s screen being extra large.
What Nothing nails is how lightweight and sturdy the device is. The comfort and instant gratification that come with handling the CMF Phone 1 are something you won’t get with many smartphones these days. And of course, no amount of photos of the CMF Phone 1 in its vibrant orange casing justifies how much of an eye-catcher it is. It’s fun, sturdy, and attractive.

A significant addition to the phone’s design is the ability to remove the rear and swap it for a new one. All you need to do is remove the four screws from the back with a screwdriver — the process takes just five minutes. The DIY approach may not be new in tech, but in those few minutes, you get a real sense of physical feedback.

The back panel of the Phone 1 can be removed and replaced using a regular screwdriver (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Of course, this is only part of the story. Another thing you can do with the phone is add fun accessories (sold separately) like a funky lanyard, a stand, or a card case. Attaching these accessories to the phone is pretty straightforward. There is a physical rotary dial on the bottom right side of the phone, which can be swapped for another dial and firmly locks the accessory. In both idea and execution, I really like the modular approach, though it is very subtle and minimalist. It’s very clean, although I’d love to see the use of magnets. It gives off an inexpensive way to bring modularity to phones but at a surface level. However, in no way, does the system encourage users to repair the phone or expand its usability, similar to what LG did back in the day with the G5 modular smartphone. I think Nothing’s goal has always been to make a phone interesting with easy-breezy accessories rather than letting users assemble a phone on their own.

Some of the colour-matching first-party accessories for Phone 1 (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

By the way, I almost forgot to mention that the phone comes with an IPX2 rating, meaning it can withstand a small amount of dripping water without being damaged. In practice, you can’t swim with it, but it is “moderately sweatproof”. The phone recharges using USB-C; the bottom of the phone contains a tray for the nano SIM card and TransFlash card. The left side of the phone has a power button, while the right side has only the volume buttons. The back of the phone has two rear cameras; we’ll cover these in more detail in our camera section later!

Display and speakers

Despite being a budget smartphone, it has a 120Hz OLED screen (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The display is a Samsung-made AMOLED panel with a 6.67” diagonal (supports up to 120Hz refresh rates) and a 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution, which is nice for a phone priced so low. The larger screen is impressive too. Watching videos and scrolling through photos is great on such a large screen, something I did not get to do on my tiny iPhone 13 mini. The stereo speakers are nice and loud. As someone who does not like to wear headphones during evening walks and tends to rely as much as I can on the phone’s speakers, whether watching YouTube videos or listening to podcasts, I can tell you the importance of good speakers.

Fast processor and long battery life

The Dimensity 7300 is a pretty capable 5G chip (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Although the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (8GB RAM/128GB storage on my review unit) isn’t a high-end chip used in flagship smartphones, the difference will be hard to tell for average users. I’ve had no issues with the phone’s processing power for things I normally use a phone for: browsing the web, watching YouTube, streaming music, writing and editing copies on Google Docs, and occasionally playing games. I am not saying that the CMF Phone 1 is a slow phone, and for many consumers at this price point, it will be more than fast enough. However, compared to the performance I got from a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on a Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, there’s a noticeable dip in responsiveness. But then, that phone costs over a lakh, and hence is a faster device.

The Nothing CMF Phone 1 has solid battery life too—this phone can easily last a full day. The device has a 5000mAh battery, which is much larger than my iPhone 13 mini, and it ran for about two days (depending on usage) with my everyday use of browsing, email, WhatsApp, and various apps. It supports 33W fast charging but no wireless charging (I’m not surprised).

UI with a difference

The device ships with Nothing OS based on Android 14 (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The phone runs Nothing OS 2.6.0, which is based on Android 14. The skin itself looks really funky, and I think it is one of the features Nothing has been heavily highlighting in its phones from the beginning. I do think the user interface adds a lot of oomph to the phone. The software offers a stock-like experience but brings a visual design based around dot-matrix art, monochrome icons, big folders, and widgets. However, it takes some time to get used to Nothing OS, especially the shape of the app icons, which can be a little confusing when picking the right apps, at least in the initial few days of using the phone. My intention is not to nitpick, but I want to prepare you for these little inconveniences if you upgrade to the latest Nothing phone.

I’d also like to clarify that Nothing offers two years of software updates and three years of bimonthly security updates on the CMF Phone 1, which is a step down from what competitors are offering. So, keep your options open if you are looking for a smartphone that lasts long from a software point of view.

Camera and photo features

The CMF Phone 1 has three cameras in total—two on the back (50 MP main + Portrait sensor) and a 16MP selfie camera on the front. I have found the cameras to be a mix of good and great. The good is that the main camera packs a good punch in almost all lighting conditions. In bright daylight, the pictures are sharp and the colours are vibrant. Pictures have an iPhone-esque feel to them—less oversharpened or oversaturated. Unfortunately, not everything is great. Shots in the dark lacked detail and colour. I wasn’t impressed. Of course, the camera performs better under ideal lighting conditions, but you can still notice the drop in quality, especially when taking photos indoors.

See below for sample photos from the CMF Phone 1.

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing CMF Phone 1 camera sample (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Final thoughts

A budget smartphone with a different take (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

Nothing has crafted an impressive smartphone that packs a punch inside and out for a phone that starts at just Rs 15,999. There’s something so unique about the design and modularity, and I’d love to see Nothing expanding to third-party accessories in the future. I am aware it’s not a flagship-grade smartphone, but not everyone wants one. A company like Nintendo has succeeded by not making the most advanced game consoles, and Nothing is taking a similar approach with the CMF Phone 1. All in all, I feel the CMF Phone 1 is downright fun.