CMF, which stands for “Color, Materials, and Finish” in the world of industrial design, is a fitting name for the company. With the Phone 1, the attention to detail and sensible design choices are noticeable. Here’s a quick list of things that immediately stood out to me:
- The power and volume buttons are separated on each side, making it easier to tell which key you’re pressing.
- The bezels, while thicker than what you’d find on more expensive handsets, are admirably symmetrical.
- At setup, you’re given the choice between Nothing’s dot-matrix launcher and stock Android, a freedom often buried in phone settings.
- Dark mode is enabled by default, helping to reduce battery consumption and eye strain.
- Instead of spec-padding with unnecessary camera sensors, there are only two on the back, a 50-megapixel main and 2x zoom.
Most consumers probably won’t notice these design elements, but they all contribute to a hardware/software package that feels more premium than it should.
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One thing you’ll definitely notice is the DIY nature of the CMF Phone 1, with four screws and a thumbscrew on the back that keeps the default cover intact. Should you want to change the color, CMF will sell you $35 swappable covers that come in orange, light green, and blue. The whole process only takes a few minutes to do, and I’d highly advise picking up either the orange or blue finishes as they’re made with a gripper, leather-like texture. I’ve had no trouble commuting in NYC without a case.
The software experience of the CMF Phone 1 is nearly identical to that of a Nothing Phone, meaning there are several ways to stylize your icons and home screen, thoughtful widgets, and navigation pathways akin to stock Android. The lack of bloatware and duplicated features plays well with the CMF Phone 1’s MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G processor, which biases toward extended usage and efficiency over short stints of power (like on its rivaling Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset).
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Sure, the YouTube app will take an extra few seconds to load thumbnails and videos, and I’ve noticed the occasional stutter when swiping back to the home screen, but the CMF Phone 1 throttles much less than competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G. I just wish CMF had committed to software updates for more than just two years. With Android 15 coming soon and an earlier-than-expected release for Android 16 next year, the Phone 1 will theoretically stay feature-relevant until the end of 2025.
Lastly, I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t speak to cellular connectivity and compatibility. While the CMF Phone 1 pulled in data from my T-Mobile SIM card, including when I was hiking in the mountains and commuting on a subway, it lacks the bands to support 5G on AT&T and LTE on Verizon. Therefore, I’d advise Verizon users to consider other cheap phone options and folks on competing carriers to scan the list of supported bands before making the switch.