Itās been over 15 days with the CMF Phone 2 Pro and hereās my honest quick review of the device.
šØ In this Post, I wonāt be covering the cameras since I will be posting a Detailed Camera Review in a few days, so stay tuned for that !!
Now letās Start !! ā”
First Things First: The Unboxing Experience š¦āØ
The moment I got my hands on the Phone 2 Pro,I immediately noticed something different this time. The box itself, unlike the slim and minimal packaging we usually see with Nothing phones, this one feels slightly bigger and bulkier. Itās made using recycled materials, which is great to see, yet the build of the box doesnāt compromise on quality at all.
Sliding open the box gives a very premium vibe, itās simple, clean and well organized. Honestly, I did say this has been one of the best unboxing experiences I have had with any Nothing device so far. One of the biggest highlight here is the inclusion of essentials that were missing earlier, the Phone 1 shipped without a charger, but this time CMF has listened to feedback, and now inside, you will find a 33W charging brick along with a Transparent TPU case, which means you are ready to go right out of the box without having to spend extra.
Hereās everything neatly packed inside:
~ The CMF Phone 2 Pro itself.
~ A transparent TPU case ( Itās a decent quality soft TPU case with a dotted design and it feels flexible and easy to squeeze).
~ 33W Charging Brick With CMF branding over it.
~ USB-C to USB-C cable.
~ User Guide.
~ That orange SIM ejector tool really adds character to the whole unboxing, it gives off a screwdriver vibe š and has a CMF logo on top of it.
Overall, the unboxing felt complete and satisfying.
Design šØ
The first thing that really caught my attention was the dual tone orange shade. Itās bold and vibrant. The top part has this matte sandstone like texture, while the bottom has a smooth metallic finish and together they give the phone a nice contrast. At first, the silver nuts on the frame felt a bit odd,but after using the phone for a while I started to appreciate how they give it this raw, mechanical vibe. It makes the phone look a bit different from the usual clean and simple designs we get these days.
On the bottom right corner of the phone, thereās a orange rotating wheel screw that you can actually remove to attach things like a lanyard or even a phone stand. Also the screws on the back let you swap in CMFās proprietary back cover with optional add ons like a macro lens or a fisheye lens that can be attached to the back cover, which sounds fun for someone into photography. I havenāt tried these accessories myself, but the idea of customizing a phone this way feels fresh and different. I donāt know why these accessories are out of stock on Flipkart, CMF really needs to figure that out, especially since the macro lens is something people are really interested in.
Build š ļø
The phone feels slim and lightweight. It never feels sharp because of the rounded corners which improves the overall grip as well .The whole body ~ including the Frame rame, Back Panel, and Buttons are made of polycarbonate, which keeps the weight down to around 185 g, it also comes with IP54 Rating.
That said, the phone does feel a bit broad, similar to the Phone (3a) series. One handed use isnāt very comfortable because of the wider frame and I often found myself stretching my fingers or shifting the phone around to reach the top of the screen. On the front, it comes with Panda Glass protection, which I feel they could have gone for at least Gorilla Glass 5 for better durability.
To really test the build, I have been using it without the provided case. Since the back is polycarbonate, it has picked up a few minor scratches and tiny dents, mostly from keeping it in my pocket with keys and coins and also inside my college bag with pens and other stuff. So yeah, if youāre planning to get this phone, Iād say its better to use it with the case on.
Display š±
The phone comes with the same 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel,running at a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Brightness goes up to 800 nits in normal use, 1300 nits in high brightness mode, and a peak of 3000 nits, so on paper it looks pretty solid. Thereās also HDR10+ support.Since I have already used this exact panel on the Phone (3a Pro), I kind of knew what to expect.
In real world usage the display experience has been really good so far. It gets bright enough outdoors and the colors look nice and vibrant. The 120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel smooth, whether Iām scrolling through social media, switching apps or just using the phone normally.
The bezels are a little thick, but since they are uniform on all sides, they donāt look bad. Coming from the Phone (3), Yes it definitely had a much brighter and sharper display, but I donāt have any major complaints, the panel here still feels good enough.
The fingerprint scanner is quick and reliable and the auto-brightness also works well. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to adjust when moving from outdoors to indoors, but thatās not a big issue in daily use.
Software āļøšļø
For me, software is also a big part of how I enjoy a phone. It runs on NothingOS 3.2 based on Android 15, and CMF is promising 3 Years of OS updates and 6 Years of security patches, which feels pretty reliable as Nothing has maintained a fairly steady update cycle with its older devices.
I switched to this from the Phone (3) honestly felt like Iām still using the Phone (3). The UI is clean, minimal to use. Most smartphones under ā¹20k usually come loaded with unnecessary Pre-Installed apps and bloatware,but here you donāt get any of that. App switching feels quick, day to day multitasking and scrolling hasnāt given me any problems.
Ofcourse, I did notice some stutters and frame drops here and there, especially when opening heavier apps, games, or sometimes the camera app. But these are rare and they donāt really affect how I use the phone daily.
Overall, the software feels solid and polished and so far I donāt really have anything major to complain about.
Performance ā”
The phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro. Itās definitely not the most powerful chip in this price range, but it feels well optimized for day to day use. The phone comes with LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage and memory management is actually pretty decent, itās able to keep apps in the background for 2-3 hours without reloading.
I tested a few benchmarks and also played BGMI, it has 120fps unlocked, and I tried it out. The frame rate wasnāt perfectly stable though, I was mostly getting around 90-100fps and during intense scenes I did notice some frame drops. For a smoother and more consistent gameplay, Iād honestly suggest keeping it at 90fps instead of pushing for 120fps.
After about an hour of continuous gaming, the phone did get slightly warm, especially around the top part of the display and the back. But nothing extreme, itās expected since this phone isnāt really made as a performance focused device.
For my regular usage like social media, photography, browsing, and a bit of casual gaming, the performance has been solid so far, and I didnāt face any issues.
Battery š
It comes with a 5000mAh battery and battery life has been one of the strong points so far. With my usual medium usage like calls, online meetings, scrolling Instagram and X, watching YouTube, and around 15-20 minutes of casual gaming, I was getting around 7.5 to 8 hours of SoT. Which is more than enough to easily last a full day or even a little more.With light usage you can expect 9-10hrs of SoT.
Also didnāt notice any unusual idle drain. Overnight, with mobile data on,the battery only dropped by about 1-2%, which is perfectly normal. So overall, the battery life here feels reliable and consistent.
Charging š
It supports 33W fast charging, but I notice some inconsistency in the speeds. I tested it with the in-box charger and cable,while the brand claims a full charge in about 1 hour, in my experience it usually took around 1 hour 25-30 minutes to go from 1% to 100%.
Hereās a detailed charging breakdown from my test š
Start: 5: 10 PM - 6:35PM
~Plugged at 1%
~Initial phone temperature: 31Ā°C
~Room temperature: 25-26Ā°C
~Airplane mode was Onn
Charging progress -:
~1-10% ā 5 min
~1- 20% ā 12 min
~1- 50% ā 31 min
~1- 80% ā 58 min
~1- 100% ā 1 hr 26 min
During the entire test, I didnāt notice any heating issues. The phoneās temperature only went up slightly, from 31Ā°C to 35Ā°C, which is pretty normal. and the charger itself felt a little warm which is again not a big issue.
Speakers š
For me, the speaker is probably the weakest part of the Phone 2 Pro. It only features a single buttom firing speaker and you can tell the difference right away if you have used a phone with dual stereo speakers before. The sound just isnāt that loud and when I turned on the āmaxā mode, it actually made things worse,while it does increases the loudness slightly but the audio starts cracking.
For watching a quick video, rarely taking calls on speaker or scrolling through reels, it gets the job done. But for music, movies or gaming, I didnāt really enjoy the experience.
Now talking about the earpiece, itās loud and clear, the call quality has been really good, I never had trouble hearing the other person, even when I was outside and the microphone also does a good job.
Haptics š³
The haptics are the same X-axis linear motor that we saw on the Phone (3a) series and honestly, they feel really good. The feedback is crisp and precise, which makes everyday things like typing or navigating the UI more satisfying.
Itās definitely way better than what most phones in this price range offer and it does adds a nice premium touch to the overall experience.
Connectivity š¶
I have been testing with my Jio 5G SIM, and so far the experience has been solid. Calls were clear with no drops and VoNR worked reliably most of the time and the phone stayed locked on 5G+ speeds, though I did notice it occasionally switching down to 4G+. Itās not a huge issue, but something that could probably be fixed with a software update.
On the wireless side, you get Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3. Pairing my TWS earbuds was quick and easy, and I didnāt face any random disconnections during music or calls. One small thing I did notice is that Quick Share transfers (like sending photos or videos) felt a bit slower than I expected. Wi-Fi performance, on the other hand, was fast and stable throughout my usage.
Final Thoughts š
Under ā¹20K, Iād say this phone is a complete all round package. Usually, phones in this price range stick to the typical 50MP + 2MP setup, but here you get a proper versatile camera system a 50MP main, a 50MP 2x Telephoto and an 8MP UltraWide. I havenāt mentioned anything about the cameras in this thread because Iām already working on a detailed camera review separately, stay tuned for that. But so far, I can confidently say itās one of the best camera setups you will find in this segment. On the software side, the user experience is clean. Unlike most phones under 20K that come loaded with unnecessary apps and ads. Also most phones in this segment only promise 2 + 3 years of updates, but here you are getting a 3 + 6 years.
If I had to point out weaknesses, the single speaker is a down side and the inconsistent charging speed,sometimes it takes longer than expected.With the BBD sale right around the corner, if this phone drops closer to ā¹16K, itās honestly a steal deal š„.
So that was my quick review of the Phone 2 Pro.
