CMF Phone 2 Pro review: The best phone to buy under Rs 20,000 today?
What makes a sub-Rs 20,000 smartphone tick? It could be a mix of a few different things, but generally, people who are buying these phones – much like any other phone across any other price point – want to get the most value and, if given a choice, use them for as long as they possibly can (yes, there is great value in that, too). So, the question is not so much about what these phones can get right, but how much bang for your buck they can deliver to pique the interest of the average buyer. Because let's face it, this is also a segment of intense buzz and activity. There are so many options.advertisementBeing nice and trendy and putting in a few gimmicky features here and there is not enough. Rather, all this is a distraction. The phone must pass the basics. In other words, it must have a slick user interface (the cleaner, the better), a smooth display, and reliable battery life. If you can get a functionally good camera, that would be a bonus. In my experience of using the CMF Phone 2 Pro for two weeks, I found that this new affordable Nothing phone comfortably ticks all these boxes, almost, and that is why I feel it is now the phone to beat in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment.
CMF Phone 2 Pro with 6.67-inch flexible AMOLED display
advertisementIt's the year of slim phones and CMF Phone 2 Pro got the memoNothing claims that the CMF Phone 2 Pro is its slimmest phone ever. It comes in at 7.8mm (versus CMF Phone 1 which was 8.2mm). Those numbers, however, don't tell the complete story. I held the CMF Phone 2 Pro and the Nothing Phone 3a (which is technically a more premium Nothing phone) and the difference was evident. The Phone 2 Pro feels slimmer and lighter. It has a great in-hand feel. And if you prefer over 6-inch-displays phones, you will really enjoy using this one. Unless you have small hands, this phone is an absolute joy to operate with one hand.
The edges of the phone have a metallic finish that is soft to touch and very premium to look at. The mint-green variant I have for review looks very nice and fresh even if it is a tad unusual at this price point. The back panel also has a bit of a shimmer, which adds a touch of playfulness to the device.Talking about design, the CMF Phone 2 Pro continues to feature exposed screws at the back (like the CMF Phone 1) to accentuate its modular aspect. However, the industrial design leans more towards the aesthetic this time. Sure, the little wheel in the bottom-right corner has been retained. You can use it to connect a few accessories, but the stand and the wallet accessories (that have launched alongside the phone) are slapped on magnetically through an optional backplate now. There is no option for changeable back panels any more. But the good thing is, this doesn't come in the way of the phone's experience, which is mostly clean and minimal.
Similar to the Phone 3a series, the CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with a dedicated Essential Space button
Essential Space: Some AI goodness now, some maybe laterEssential Space, an AI feature that launched with the Nothing Phone 3a series, has been added to the CMF Phone 2 Pro as well. At the most basic level, it is meant to aggregate and sort information in your screenshots automatically, so that you don't have to scramble through them for information when you most need it.For instance, you take a picture of a pamphlet that has information about a play – the day, date, time and the works. You don't have to go back to that picture to look at the details of the play. In a few days, when the time comes, and you need that information, Essential Space will sort it for you in one place, automatically.advertisementI think that is quite useful. However, I also think the feature is still quite limited in functionality at this point. Nothing has promised more helpful features are in the works for a future update. Be that as it may, the dedicated key that invokes the Essential Space, could have been placed better.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro supports up to 20x digital zoom
Big screen experience that is mostly good newsThe CMF Phone 2 Pro has a 6.67-inch flexible AMOLED display with support for up to 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 3,000nits peak brightness. In real-life use, the smartphone's display is bright, it has rich colours, and it is super responsive. Even if you are using the phone outside, under direct sunlight, the phone's brightness adjusts well enough for the content to remain legible making the CMF Phone 2 Pro well suited for multimedia consumption.advertisementThe bezels on the phone have also been made more even this time (compared to the CMF Phone 1). They are relatively slimmer, too. Nothing has done away with the big chin we saw on Phone 1. But there is room for some more improvement. Maybe the next version will cut down on bezels even further.Decent performance and outstanding battery lifeThe Phone 2 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro chip. It supports up to 120fps in games like BGMI and comes with either 128GB or 256GB of storage and 8GB RAM. It runs NothingOS 3.0 based on Android 15, and Nothing promises 3 years of Android updates and 6 years of security patches. Rounding off the package is a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging.I have been using the CMF Phone 2 Pro as my primary device which means, all my work apps, social media apps, and some gaming apps are all loaded on the device. I was switching between multiple apps, and scrolling through social media for hours, and I did not face any lag while doing all this.advertisementI played BGMI on the phone, and as Nothing promises, you can play graphic-intensive games on the device, but I found that if you play in high graphs mode for a long time, the device is not able to sustain peak performance. That said, over the CMF Phone 1, you can see visible improvement in performance here. For everyday use, which is taking calls, surfing through social media, and even multitasking, the CMF Phone 2 Pro will not disappoint.Supporting the performance is a battery that's built to last. I used the phone on 5G with all the usual heavy usage I mentioned earlier, and I was easily able to get a full day's worth on a single charge. On lighter days, the battery has lasted me well over a day. A big reason for this is the optimisation in the CMF Phone 2 Pro's operating system, which is one of my favourite things about the phone. NothingOS is clean, ad-free, and very intuitive. And it's not just me — my mother-in-law used the CMF Phone 1, and she was able to pick up the UI quickly. For someone who isn't very tech-savvy and is over 60, that says a lot about the quality of work Nothing has put into it.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with a charger and adapter in the box
More camerasThe CMF Phone 2 Pro brings a major step up over its predecessor, especially when it comes to the cameras. It now features a triple rear camera setup, including a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom (and up to 20x ultra zoom), and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide lens with a wide 119.5-degree field of view. For selfies, there's a 16-megapixel front camera. These upgrades put it in line with Nothing's higher-end offerings, and for the price, you're getting solid hardware on the photography front.The camera performance of the CMF Phone 2 Pro is certainly not perfect. Low-light shots are sometimes noisy, the dynamic range could be better in some shots, and the shutter speed is a bit slow when taking portrait shots, but if you compare it to other phones in this price segment, the CMF Phone 2 Pro does well. In good lighting conditions, the phone's camera captures good details, portrait mode does decent background separation, and the colours are close to the natural tones. To make photography more fun on the CMF Phone 2 Pro, Nothing also sells interchangeable lenses that you can play around with.The CMF Phone 2 Pro is easy to recommendOverall, despite a few minor shortcomings, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is an easy phone to recommend. As I mentioned at the start of this review, what really matters is that it gets the essentials right — and it does do that. You get reliable everyday performance, a vibrant display, and a battery that comfortably lasts over a day. With the added promise of six years of security updates, the Phone 2 Pro stands out as a solid option under Rs 20,000, especially if you're looking for a phone that can go the distance.
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