If you think smartphones aren’t any fun anymore, the CMF Phone 1 (by Nothing) might catch your eye.
Amazingly, we’re talking about a phone with a detachable back – a miracle in 2024 – that allows you to customize the look of your device.
The customization options don’t end there: the CMF Phone 1 also has a mounting point in the bottom right corner that lets you (literally) screw accessories like stands, straps, magnetic wallets, and more onto the back of the phone (kind of like a cheaper version of Apple’s MagSafe).
Even better, Nothing is selling the base model of the CMF Phone 1 for just $200, making it one of the most attractive budget smartphones on the market.
Coincidentally, I think this is the biggest red flag about this orange (or green, or blue, or black) phone.
CMF Phone 1: Would you rather pay a small amount for a phone with a big personality, or be fooled by the gimmick and pay a large amount?
Too many colors! For iPhone users, the first photo will make you feel like you’re high on mushrooms. Image courtesy of MrMobile.
With a low-cost phone like the CMF Phone 1, the question to ask isn’t “Why is this great-looking phone only $200?”, but rather “How did this company manage to price this great-looking phone at $200?”
Of course, the answer is always “cut corners to save costs,” and that’s completely normal.
But while the swappable backs and ability to mount accessories might make the CMF Phone 1 the most fun smartphone of the year, it’s a bit like the Nothing Phone 2a, only more exaggerated.
No one missed a huge opportunity to make the CMF Phone 1 even more unique. Where is the user-replaceable battery?
Warning! Do not disassemble the battery and related protective parts without permission…Carl Pei said.
A big missed opportunity with the CMF Phone 1 is that the battery is not user replaceable. This would have given the CMF Phone 1 a unique selling point that takes it out of the “gimmick” category and makes it a more sustainable phone.
The CMF Phone 1’s biggest selling point is supposed to be its design, but I think its aesthetics are polarizing and it certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste.
What’s less debatable is that a modular design like the one presented here has some usefulness.
Removable back covers are a lot more convenient than you might think: For $30 (or less) you can easily replace the back, allowing you to use the phone without a case — you don’t even need to go to a cell phone store.
With Nothing releasing the blueprints for the phone, we’re sure third-party accessory makers will come up with even more cool and creative back covers and accessories for the CMF Phone. You can 3D print your own covers at home. How about a metal back cover!
While Nothing doesn’t recommend replacing the battery yourself, this battery is much more accessible than those in other mainstream mobile phones, making servicing the battery much easier (and, hopefully, cheaper).
Okay, Carl Pei! Is the CMF Phone 1 a low-cost phone designed to sell accessories?
256GB CMF Phone 1 + case + stand + strap = 355 euros. Motorola Edge 50 Fusion = 350 euros.
Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all the CMF Phone 1 has to offer.
Aside from the bright orange back and the cutesy screwdriver you use to remove all the screws to replace the back, this is a decent budget phone. But that doesn’t mean we recommend it over other phones in this price range. Quite the opposite in fact…
In the US, the CMF Phone 1 is currently on sale through an invitation program (lol) and costs 330 euros for the 256GB model + one extra back cover and the CMF stand (which you don’t need to buy separately).
The decision not to include an extra back cover in the CMF Phone 1 box makes sense given the phone’s price, but it’s the accessories that make the phone appealing in the first place. But buying all the accessories would raise the price to $200-$400, putting the phone in a different category of device.
So that brings us to the million dollar question of this story… would you buy a lower priced phone and spend even more money on buying a bunch of accessories… or would you use that extra money to… buy a better phone?
That’s not to say that the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion doesn’t exist, it does exist. It costs just 20 euros more in Europe than the CMF Phone 1, in line with its storage capacity, and offers the following advantages:
A much lighter body, IP68 dust and water resistance, a flagship-grade display with an ultra-slim frame, a much better camera system with a larger primary sensor with OIS, an ultra-wide camera with macro capabilities, 4K selfie video, stereo speakers (obviously!), NFC support for digital key use and contactless payments, 2x faster wired charging, and longer software support.
Besides missing out on some of the “extras” that are common on budget phones, such as dust and water resistance and wireless charging, the CMF Phone 1 also has one usable camera (no OIS), one mono speaker, no NFC, slow charging, and only two years of major Android updates. Carl Pei broke his promise and the CMF Phone 1 also lacks symmetrical display borders.
The CMF Phone 1 should feel just as reliable as the Nothing Phone 1.
Unlike the majority of excited YouTube reviewers, I disagree: CMF’s first phone doesn’t seem all that special.
The CMF Phone 1 is supposed to be a testing ground (pilot study) to explore the lower-priced market segment and see if people buying affordable phones are interested in something different.
But in my opinion, someone looking to buy a $200-300 phone is least likely to care about how colorful the phone is or how many screws they can remove to attach a strap.
In fact, quite the opposite is true, proving that people who buy refurbished iPhones or budget Samsung phones don’t really care about design and that value is in fact their number one priority.
So I think this thing (CMF Phone thing) can go in two directions: Either Nothing will completely drop the customizable design of CMF Phone, or Carl Pei & Co will be forced to turn CMF Phone 2 into a mid-range phone, just like the transition from Nothing Phone 1 to Nothing Phone 2.
So far, nothing.
