We’re big fans of the phones and earbuds from Nothing, a young tech start up from the UK that made waves with its Nothing Phone 1, Phone 2 and Phone 2a that have glowing LED lights in their transparent cases. Though its products are competitively priced, the firm also has a sub-brand called CMF that makes even cheaper gadgets, and it has just launched its first Android smartphone, the CMF Phone 1 – at a cost of just £209.
CMF stands for ‘colour, material, finish’ in a nod to the design values the company holds, and the new phone certainly catches the eye. It has a bold industrial look with exposed screws on the rear that allow you to remove the back plate and replace it with other plastic or vegan leather coloured casings that cost £29.
Each case has a distinctive circular part in the bottom right corner that unscrews and allows you to add any one of three accessories at a time, each of which costs £19. There’s a flip stand for watching videos in landscape, a card case, and a lovely looking lanyard. It’s great to see thoughtful design touches at accessible prices for a phone that’s already very affordable.
Express.co.uk has had the phone in hand for a week, and it feels well built despite the non-descript black plastic version, and it is very large at nearly the same dimensions as an iPhone 15 Pro Max. That said, we’ve been impressed that Nothing has shipped it with the latest version of its excellent Android 14 software, a bright 120Hz display, expandable storage up to 2TB, IP52 dust and water resistance, a huge 5,000mAh with great battery life to match and 33W fast charging – though there’s no charger in the box, only a USB-C cable.
There’s also a 50MP main camera that will do the job, but don’t expect it to beat premium phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S24. Nothing has decided to not go with an ultra-wide or telephoto lens, instead opting for a second lens here to bring in data for better portrait shots of people.
The CMF Phone 1 will cost from just £209 in the UK for a model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, though pay just £30 more and you’ll get 256GB.
If that wasn’t enough, Nothing has also introduced two other incredibly affordable gadgets. The £59 CMF Buds Pro 2 boast active noise cancellation and a moving, pushable dial on the charging case that can control them, showing innovative ideas on very well priced tech.
