The Nothing CMF Telephone 1 is a somewhat distinctive sub-$300 smartphone. Its modular design makes it extremely customizable in a market the place all smartphones look alike. Nevertheless, is that this distinctive look simply window-dressing to compensate its restricted technical specs? I am going to let on this full Nothing CMF Telephone 1 evaluate.
Good
- Distinctive design
- Wonderful battery life
- Bloatware-free Nothing OS 2.6
- Easy 120 Hz AMOLED display screen
- Very first rate efficiency
Dangerous
- Solely 3 years of updates
- Disappointing digital camera efficiency
- Sluggish wired charging
- No NFC help
Nothing CMF Telephone 1: All offers
The Nothing CMF Telephone 1 in a nutshell
The Nothing CMF Telephone 1 was formally unveiled on July 12, 2024. It’s obtainable by way of CMF’s beta program on the CMF retailer*. It is available in two configurations outdoors of the US (8/128 GB and eight/256 GB), though solely the 8GB RAM + 128GB mannequin is obtainable Stateside with an asking worth of $199. This may be thought of a barely inferior various to the Nothing Telephone (2a) (evaluate).
Simply in case you have been questioning, CMF is a sub-brand of Nothing. It primarily targets rising markets equivalent to India and Southeast Asia. The idea is to promote reasonably priced merchandise with a robust emphasis on design. Nothing would not talk a lot about this CMF vary in Europe or the US. Nevertheless, you may nonetheless choose up CMF merchandise if you wish to. Nothing appears to take extra accountability for its sub-brand, which additionally features a smartwatch and wi-fi headphones.
Design and display screen
Design is the principle promoting level of the CMF Telephone 1. The again options an interchangeable panel and a small knob to connect a wide range of equipment.
Professionals:
- Distinctive design.
- Cool modular or “interchangeable” idea.
- Flat display screen with pretty skinny bezels.
- 120 Hz refresh price and sufficient brightness.
Cons:
- Solely IP52 certification.
- No Gorilla Glass safety for the display screen.
- Costly equipment and again panels contemplating the smartphone’s worth.
Cool modular design
Whereas the clear again discovered on different Nothing smartphones is lacking right here, the CMF Telephone 1’s again panel could be unscrewed so that you can swap it with totally different coloured panels of varied supplies. Nothing provides 4 colours to the discerning buyer: black, inexperienced, blue, and orange. In fact, extra panels could be bought individually.
The strategy to take away the again panel of the CMF Telephone 1 is much from easy. I used to be typically afraid of breaking the smartphone when attempting to unclip it. I additionally had a little bit of hassle eradicating the screws that secured the plate utilizing the included device. It was far too small for my fats fingers.
The matte plastic coating on the black and inexperienced panels was good to the touch and so was the faux-leather coating on the orange and blue variations. They value $35 a pop which I believe is a bit steep.
The again of the CMF Telephone 1 additionally sports activities a small round button on the underside proper referred to as the Accent Level. By unscrewing the panel, you may connect specifically designed equipment for the smartphone. Nothing provides a stand, a lanyard, and a card case. Every accent is offered individually and prices $25.
It is intelligent and appeals to my collector’s behavior of snapping up all of the equipment and covers. It additionally appeals to my penchant for Lego as I can “build” my smartphone in response to my preferences. The equipment themselves are very simple to put in. Aside from the cardboard case, none of them require any instruments to put in.
Aside from that, the CMF Telephone 1 is IP52-certified for water and mud resistance. That is not loopy however at the very least this certification remains to be legitimate when the smartphone’s again panel is eliminated.
A plain 120 Hz AMOLED display screen
As for the display screen, it is a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with 1800 x 2400 pixel decision. The refresh price stands at 120 Hz with a typical brightness of 500 to 700 nits, rising to 2,000 nits peak brightness.
The CMF Telephone 1’s display screen is flat, and Nothing did not wish to spend an excessive amount of on Corning’s Gorilla Glass license. Nevertheless, the CMF Telephone 1’s display screen is protected by Dragontail Professional Glass, whose power is claimed to be equal to that of Gorilla Glass 5.
I did not run into any issues when studying content material on the display screen with its first rate brightness stage. Nevertheless, the automated brightness was far too sluggish to react to my environment, leading to me deactivating it throughout my evaluate. As for the refresh price, 120 Hz is not excellent on this worth vary though it’s good to have.
I discovered the bezels of the CMF Telephone 1’s display screen to be somewhat skinny. The chin of the display screen is just a little too distinguished, creating an asymmetrical state of affairs that bothers me visually.
Interface and OS
The CMF Telephone 1 inaugurates Nothing OS 2.6, a pores and skin based mostly on Android 14. There aren’t any main new options in comparison with Nothing OS 2.5 however Nothing’s pores and skin provides an excellent stability between inventory Android with just a few features and customization parts. As for the software program replace coverage, it is just about common.
Professionals:
- Clear, bloatware-free interface.
- Nothing widgets are visually interesting.
Cons:
- Common software program replace coverage.
- Not a lot that’s new in Nothing OS 2.6.
There’s not a lot to say about Nothing OS 2.6. You’ll be able to learn my Nothing OS 2.5 evaluate and my information to one of the best Nothing OS 2.5 options to search out out extra.
The producer merely added two new widgets right here. One for at the moment’s date and one other for “community” that I have never discovered. There’s additionally the wonderful digital camera widget that allows you to save exact digital camera settings which could be activated by default once you launch the digital camera software by way of this widget.
The CMF Telephone 1 will obtain 2 main Android updates and three years of safety updates. Even for a mid-range smartphone, that is fairly common. Mainly, it is the naked minimal a producer ought to present.
The large plus level of Nothing OS is the absence of bloatware. The interface implements all Android features whereas providing just a few customization choices from Nothing.
Efficiency and SoC
The Nothing CMF Telephone 1 is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC. The smartphone can also be geared up with 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of storage, relying on the mannequin and area. I used to be pleasantly shocked by the smartphone’s efficiency.
Professionals:
- Good temperature management and stability.
- Ample efficiency for many video games at 30 FPS.
Cons:
- Much less highly effective than Dimensity 7200-powered Nothing Telephone (2a).
- No NFC help.
The Dimensity 7300 in CMF Telephone 1 ought to, in principle, outperform the Dimensity 7200 Professional that powers the Nothing Telephone (2a). Each chips depend on the 4 nm manufacturing course of. Nevertheless, the Dimensity 7300, or extra exactly its most important core, has a decrease clock pace than the Dimensity 7200 Professional.
Benchmarks confirmed it to be considerably much less highly effective than the Nothing Telephone (2a). That is logical by itself because the Nothing Telephone (2a) is $150 costlier at launch and Nothing certainly desires to take care of a distinction between its most important vary and its CMF sub-range.
In any case, the CMF Telephone 1 proved to be simply as efficient because the Telephone (2a) when it comes to temperature management and stability. All of the cell video games I ran with their graphics high quality set to “medium” by default didn’t expertise any hiccups. At 30 FPS, I did not discover any dropped frames. Nevertheless, that is so far as it goes as cranking issues as much as 60 FPS resulted in a much less steady expertise.
Nothing CMF Telephone 1 (Dimensity 7300) |
Nothing Telephone (2a) (Dimensity 7200 Professional) |
|
---|---|---|
3D Mark Wild Life | 3,115 | 4,129 |
3D Mark Wild Life Stress Take a look at |
Greatest loop: 3,118 Worst loop: 3,099 |
Greatest loop: 4,131 Worst loop: 4,085 |
3D Mark Wild Life Excessive Stress Take a look at |
Greatest loop: 853 Worst loop: 848 |
Greatest loop: 1,153 Worst loop: 1,148 |
Geekbench 6 | Single: 1,041 Multi: 2,915 |
Single: 1,148 Multi: 2,589 |
Photograph high quality
A single digital camera lens is all you get with the CMF Telephone 1. The smartphone contains a 50 MP sensor behind whereas the second lens is solely a depth sensor for portraits. The selfie digital camera has a 16 MP decision.
Professionals:
- Respectable daytime photographs.
- Common selfie pictures.
- Portrait mode is appropriate.
Cons:
- Just one digital camera lens.
- Restricted digital zoom efficiency.
- Disappointing evening photographs.
Fundamental lens efficiency
The 50 MP most important lens incorporates a Sony IMX882 sensor which is evidently not a high-end photograph sensor. The default decision is 12.5 MP, achieved by way of pixel binning. It’s also attainable to seize full-resolution 50 MP photographs.
In the course of the day and below the proper circumstances, photograph high quality is first rate. Colours are pure and the dynamic vary is well-managed. Nevertheless, the extent of element is much from top-notch. Some areas on the fringe of the photograph stay a pixelated mess.
The CMF Telephone 1 incorporates a second lens which is an easy 2 MP depth sensor for portraits.
Portrait mode pictures are first rate with clear clipping. Topic detection within the foreground is pretty dependable however it doesn’t blow us out of the water.
Zoom high quality
The CMF Telephone 1 has no telephoto lens and the digital zoom can obtain as much as 10x magnification.
All pictures taken past the 2x zoom stage will find yourself disappointing. Such photographs will lose all their sharpness as a result of the smartphone’s algorithm will restrict picture noise by smoothening the picture. Consequently, quite a lot of element is misplaced.
Selfie high quality
The 16 MP selfie digital camera can also be somewhat odd. The pores and skin on my face lacked just a little texture however my complexion remained pure. Element and dynamic vary left one thing to be desired with out a lot to crow about, however neither is it excellent in any means.
Evening pictures
It is all the time at evening that you simply understand you’ve got obtained an affordable smartphone in your fingers. I did not like several of the photographs I took at evening with the CMF Telephone 1.
All the colours are over-emphasized, particularly the sky. Scenes are unrealistic, over-lit, and the lack of element on account of low gentle circumstances turn into much more noticeable. Alternatively, the CMF Telephone 1 dealt with sturdy gentle sources properly, successfully limiting the lens flare impact.
In the case of movies, the CMF Telephone 1 can document as much as 4K at 30 FPS with its most important lens.
Battery life and charging
The Nothing CMF Telephone 1 contains a 5,000 mAh battery and wired charging as much as 33 watts. Wi-fi charging isn’t supported neither is there a charger included along with your buy.
Professionals:
- Massive battery capability.
- Wonderful battery life.
Cons:
- Sluggish charging pace.
- No charger included.
A 5,000 mAh battery is fairly normal in a sub-$300 Android smartphone. Charging at 33 watts can also be somewhat widespread for a producer with no proprietary fast-charging protocol.
In our battery life benchmark, the CMF Telephone 1 lasted 14 hours and 45 minutes earlier than hitting lower than 20% battery life. This is a wonderful rating. In real-life use and with a mean display screen time of three hours, I used to be capable of final two days with none downside earlier than needing to recharge the smartphone.
Nevertheless, recharging was comparatively glacial. This turns into stark once you examine it to the host of Redmi fashions on this worth vary. It took me over 1h 30m to completely recharge. That is sluggish by at the moment’s requirements and the CMF Telephone 1 additionally doesn’t help wi-fi charging. Should you’re searching for a bundled charger upon unboxing, you may overlook about that.
Charging time | Nothing CMF Telephone 1 5,000 mAh | Ugreen 140 W charger |
---|---|
5 min. | |
10 min | |
20 min | |
30 min | |
1 hour | |
Full cost |
Technical knowledge
Technical specs | |
---|---|
System | Nothing CMF Telephone 1 |
Picture | |
Display screen |
|
SoC | MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G |
Reminiscence |
|
OS |
|
Photograph module |
|
Selfie | 16 MP selfie |
Battery |
|
Connectivity | 5G | Wi-Fi 6 | Bluetooth 5.3 | No NFC |
IP certification | IP52 |
Dimensions and weight | 164 × 82 × 8 mm, 202 g |
Conclusion
Would I like to recommend the CMF Telephone 1 for $199? Sure!
The CMF Telephone 1 does some issues very properly. The design is exclusive, and no different producer provides such a elegant look. Battery life is great. Display screen high quality and efficiency are additionally superb for this worth vary.
Nevertheless, the CMF Telephone 1 isn’t one of the best smartphone for anybody with a $300 price range. The digital camera lacks versatility whereas the IP52 ranking is considerably disappointing. The three-year safety replace interval is not very reassuring and the absence of NFC is tough to grasp on this worth vary.
Now we have extra highly effective fashions from Poco and extra versatile digital camera fashions from Samsung. The Nothing Telephone (2a) may also be discovered for round $349 for its 8/128 GB mannequin, which boasts a far cooler type issue with its Glyph interface and superior cameras, higher IP ranking, and a quicker charging pace.
The CMF Telephone 1 is principally relegated to the realm of reasonably priced smartphones. These fashions pull out all of the stops on one or two key parts. They make heavy compromises on the remainder. Xiaomi/Redmi focuses on quick charging and efficiency. Samsung focuses on its digital camera efficiency and software program updates. CMF’s focus is on the design. You’ll be able to inform from the “Color, Material, Finish” identify, and it can’t be faulted by sticking to its id.
So no, the CMF Telephone 1’s design is not simply window-dressing to cover its imperfections however stays its main, best-selling level.
What do you consider the Nothing CMF Telephone 1 after this complete evaluate? Do you propose to purchase Nothing’s reasonably priced smartphone?
Nothing CMF Telephone 1
To gadget database