Conclusion - Advantage gone, but still good
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is the successor to the CMF Phone 1, which was originally designed for India and is now aimed at the global market - including NFC, but with eSIM only in Japan.
The plastic casing with distinctive screws has a modern look, but is no longer removable. While the microSD slot remains, the Wi-Fi is quite slow. The OLED display impresses with its high brightness and color depth, even if PWM is not ideal at low brightness.
The triple camera delivers solid photos, including optical zoom, but without image stabilization. The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 ensures good everyday performance, but shows weaknesses during intensive use.
The long battery life, crisp vibration feedback and biometric unlocking methods are positive features. The software is based on Android 15 with NothingOS 3.2 and promises six years of updates.
Pros
Cons
Price and availability
The CMF Phone 2 Pro can be purchased directly from Nothing. Unfortunately, it's not yet available via amazon.com at the time of the review.
- $6.95Mr.Shield Screen Protector compatible with Nothing (CMF Phone 2 Pro) [Tempered Glass] [3-PACK] [Japan Glass with 9H Hardness]
- $47.00CMF Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds, Hi-Res Audio with LDAC, 50 dB Hybrid Noise Cancelling Earbuds, Ultra Bass Technology, Bluetooth 5.3, 43H Play Time with Charging Case, 6 HD Mics Headphones, Orange
Table of Contents
- Conclusion - Advantage gone, but still good
- Specifications: CMF Phone 2 Pro
- Case and features - CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with NFC
- Communication and operation - Slow Wi-Fi 6 in the CMF Phone 2 Pro
- Software and sustainability - 6 years of updates
- Cameras - Optical zoom in the CMF Phone 2 Pro
- Display - Accurate OLED display with up to 1,300 cd/m²
- Performance, emissions and battery life
- Notebookcheck overall rating
- Possible alternatives in comparison
The predecessor of the CMF Phone 2 Pro, the CMF Phone 1, was originally only planned for the Indian market and therefore came without NFC.
Due to its great success, Nothing is thinking bigger and the global market (except India) is being covered with NFC throughout, but eSIM is only available for the Japanese models.
Although the manufacturer is not completely abandoning the modular approach, it is limiting it more. Read the review to find out whether the CMF Phone is robbing itself of one of its strengths.
Specifications: CMF Phone 2 Pro
Case and features - CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with NFC
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is housed in a plastic casing (green, white, black or orange), which still has prominent screws on the back. These can also be removed, but the cover is no longer removable. Too bad, CMF is squandering some potential here. The accessory button is still there, but is now flush with the back.
While NFC support is new, microSD support has been retained, which is not necessarily normal in this price range. Unfortunately, the slot is very slow in the copy test, but also supports the exFAT file system.
Like its latest siblings from Nothing, the 2 Pro also has the Nothing AI Essential Space and the corresponding button below the power button. A nice feature for organizing your own ideas and notes.
| SD Card Reader - average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Motorola Moto G75 (Angelbird V60) | |
| Average of class Smartphone (5.72 - 58.9, n=70, last 2 years) | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
Cross Platform Disk Test (CPDT)
Communication and operation - Slow Wi-Fi 6 in the CMF Phone 2 Pro
Due to the small number of antennas, the Wi-Fi module of the CMF Phone 2 Pro only transmits data at Wi-Fi 5 speeds, which is not a problem in most scenarios. However, if larger amounts of data need to be moved, it will take longer.
In terms of mobile radio frequencies, the smartphone is well equipped, but it is not a globe trotter. The reception characteristics are good. In well-shielded locations, however, it reaches its limits more quickly.
The voice quality is natural to the ear, only loud background noise is hardly filtered out at all. The loudspeaker delivers an appealing quality, but the speaker seems a little cramped and the sound output is slightly tinny.
Biometric security is provided by an optical fingerprint sensor in the display, which offers high recognition rates and unlocks the Phone 2 Pro quickly. Face recognition via the front camera is also possible. The linear vibration motor provides crisp haptic feedback.
| Networking | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Average 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Average of class Smartphone | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Software and sustainability - 6 years of updates
The CMF Phone 2 Pro comes with Google Android 15 and NothingOS 3.2. It receives three years of major updates and a total of six years of security patches. The interface as such is identical to that of the Nothing Phones.
The smartphone comes in a slim cardboard box that is plastic-free. Nothing does not provide precise details on the use of recycled materials for the CMF Phone.
Cameras - Optical zoom in the CMF Phone 2 Pro
The front camera takes nice photos in good lighting conditions. However, video is limited to 1,080p with up to 60 FPS, and the image stabilization is not particularly effective.
The triple camera on the back is really well equipped for its price range and even offers an optical zoom, but unfortunately no optical image stabilization.
The photos are decent, only the ultra-wide angle is a little lower quality and shows visible aberrations at the edges. Videos can be recorded in Ultra HD (30 FPS) or Full HD (60 FPS).
Image Comparison
Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.
HauptkameraHauptkameraUltraweitwinkel5-facher ZoomLow-Light
Display - Accurate OLED display with up to 1,300 cd/m²
The rather large display of the CMF Phone 2 Pro offers a sharp and accurate display. The peak brightness of almost 1,300 cd/m² is at a good level, but we did not reach the offered brightness of up to 3,000 cd/m² in the test, even with reduced white areas. However, there may be various reasons for this.
The CMF Phone offers high-frequency PWM dimming of up to 2,160 Hz, but we only measured 769 Hz at minimum display brightness. Only when the brightness is increased further does the PWM frequency also increase, which is not optimal, especially in the dark.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 97 %
Center on Battery: 1280 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.3 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.84
ΔE Greyscale 2 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
97% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.14
| CMF Phone 2 Pro AMOLED, 2400x1080, 6.8" | Xiaomi Poco X7 AMOLED, 2712x1220, 6.7" | Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, 6.7" | Motorola Moto G75 IPS, 2388x1080, 6.8" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen | 6% | -6% | -30% | |
| Brightness middle | 1280 | 1156 -10% | 1127 -12% | 947 -26% |
| Brightness | 1277 | 1150 -10% | 1137 -11% | 946 -26% |
| Brightness Distribution | 97 | 98 1% | 98 1% | 95 -2% |
| Black Level * | 0.46 | |||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.3 | 1.1 15% | 1.8 -38% | 2.53 -95% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.9 | 3.1 21% | 2.8 28% | 4.91 -26% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 1.6 20% | 2.1 -5% | 2.1 -5% |
| Gamma | 2.14 103% | 2.22 99% | 2.11 104% | 2.237 98% |
| CCT | 6776 96% | 6304 103% | 6466 101% | 6733 97% |
| Contrast | 2059 |
* ... smaller is better
| Display | |
| APL18 Peak Brightness | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| HDR Peak Brightness | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 90 Hz Amplitude: 13.04 % Secondary Frequency: 769 Hz |  | |
The display backlight flickers at 90 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 90 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8363 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Measurement series with fixed zoom level and different brightness settings (The amplitude curve at minimum brightness looks flat, but this is due to the scaling. The info box shows the enlarged version of the amplitude at minimum brightness)
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 0.93 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.48 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.45 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 0.54 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.258 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.286 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 1 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.1 ms). | ||
Performance, emissions and battery life
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 which has access to 8 GB of RAM. This ensures largely smooth system performance, but it can be a bit jerky, especially with more demanding apps or when updates are running in the background. The graphics power is sufficient for simple games, but detail level will have to be reduced for modern games.
Its surface temperatures can rise sharply in places under constant load, but the Phone 2 Pro still does not feel uncomfortable. The SoC is not slowed down by this either.
The mono speaker cannot really inspire with its sound. Fortunately, the CMF smartphone offers a fairly wide range of codecs for Bluetooth.
The battery life is also very good, meaning that most users should easily be able to get by for two days on a single charge.
| Geekbench AI | |
| Single Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Average of class Smartphone (51 - 1501, n=53, last 2 years) | |
| Average MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (137 - 564, n=5) | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| Half Precision TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Average of class Smartphone (51 - 9453, n=53, last 2 years) | |
| Average MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (136 - 1342, n=5) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| Quantized TensorFlow NNAPI 1.2 | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Average of class Smartphone (123 - 13084, n=53, last 2 years) | |
| Average MediaTek Dimensity 7300 (397 - 2786, n=5) | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 49.8 °C / 122 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 48.9 °C / 120 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.8 °C / 82 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
3DMark Steel Nomad Stress Test
| 3DMark | |
| Wild Life Stress Test Stability | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Steel Nomad Light Stress Test Stability | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
CMF Phone 2 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (94 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 21.2% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (2.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 5.9% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 10.3% higher than median
(+) | highs are linear (4.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 28% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 64% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 47% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 46% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (90.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 26.4% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | reduced mids - on average 6.1% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (1.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (17.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 14% of all tested devices in this class were better, 8% similar, 78% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 35% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 57% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
| Battery Runtime - WiFi v1.3 | |
| CMF Phone 2 Pro | |
| Xiaomi Poco X7 | |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 5G | |
| Motorola Moto G75 | |
Notebookcheck overall rating
Despite its large display and battery, the CMF Phone 2 Pro is quite light and robust.
Unfortunately, it is no longer as modular as its predecessor, but still offers an attractive overall package.
CMF Phone 2 Pro
- 06/20/2025 v8
Daniel Schmidt
Total Sustainability Score: Possible alternatives in comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Drive | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. 76.9%  | CMF Phone 2 Pro MediaTek Dimensity 7300 ⎘ ARM Mali-G615 MP2 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: 1. $7.99 Suttkue for CMF Phone 2 Pro ... 2. $6.95 Mr.Shield Screen Protector c... 3. $47.00 CMF Buds Pro 2 Wireless Earb... List Price: 279€ | 185 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.77" 2400x1080 389 PPI AMOLED |
2. 77.7%  | Xiaomi Poco X7 MediaTek Dimensity 7300 ⎘ ARM Mali-G615 MP2 ⎘ 12 GB Memory, 512 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: 1. $7.99 Suttkue for Xiaomi Poco X7 P... 2. $4.99 Fhyeugfy for Xiaomi POCO X7 ... 3. $4.99 Suttkue for Xiaomi Poco X7 P... | 185.5 g | 512 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.67" 2712x1220 446 PPI AMOLED |
3. 78%  | Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 710 ⎘ 6 GB Memory, 256 GB | Amazon: 1. $6.99 Supershieldz (2 Pack) Design... 2. $5.95 Mr.Shield Screen Protector c... 3. $9.99 [3+3 Pack] Galaxy A36 5G Scr... List Price: 379€ | 195 g | 256 GB UFS 3.1 Flash | 6.70" 2340x1080 385 PPI Super AMOLED |
4. 77.4%  | Motorola Moto G75 Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 ⎘ Qualcomm Adreno 710 ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB UFS 2.1 | Amazon: 1. $2.99 Heenjer 2 Pack for Motorola ... 2. $11.99 Ibywind 2 Pack Screen Protec... 3. $8.60 Zeking (2 Set for Motorola M... List Price: 299€ | 205 g | 256 GB UFS 2.2 Flash | 6.78" 2388x1080 387 PPI IPS |
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was given to the author by the manufacturer free of charge for the purposes of review. There was no third-party influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
