We all want more for less—or at least I do. It’s that Holy Grail of deals that makes the idea of budget gadgets so appealing, and especially so in the world of phones. The whole idea of a budget phone is pitching you what may as well be the bargain of the century. For less money, budget phones ostensibly offer you a device that does it all: browses the web, retrieves your email, makes calls and texts, gives you near-unlimited access to apps, and even captures important memories like your niece’s first birthday and the horrible decision to hire a clown (therapy stuff). It’s everything for almost nothing—write that down, phone companies.
But if you’re like me, you see a good deal, and you wonder, “What’s the catch?” That’s what I say when I see a budget phone, but each and every time, I put my skepticism aside and open myself up to the prospect of forgetting the idea of flagships and embracing the warm bosom of budget stuff. That’s what I did with the CMF by Nothing Phone 2 Pro (hereafter shortened to the shorter CMF Phone 2 Pro), and surely this will be the one that clicks… right?
CMF Phone 2 Pro The CMF by Nothing Phone 2 Pro is a budget phone with more value than you'd expect. See at Amazon Pros Nice camera for the price
Nice camera for the price Solid battery life
Solid battery life Fluid AMOLED screen Cons Cheap-feeling materials
Cheap-feeling materials Shooting 50-megapixel photos is slow
Shooting 50-megapixel photos is slow No more customizable backplate
No more customizable backplate Accessories were botched at launch
The CMF Proposition
There is a sea of budget phones out there, and most of them aren’t even trying to be different. The same can’t be said for the CMF Phone 2 Pro, a $280 device from a subbrand of Nothing, the company that makes see-through earbuds and, most recently, the divisive Phone 3. What makes CMF different in the budget phone space? A host of first-party accessories that position its Phone 2 Pro as modular in some ways. At launch, CMF offered a few: an attachable lanyard, additional camera lenses that include a fisheye and macro, a “universal cover” for actually putting stuff on, and a magnetic wallet mount. There’s even a cool screw for attaching the lanyard built into the bottom of the device!
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