CMF Phone 2 Pro review: The best midrange phone in Nepal

So today I have the all-new CMF Phone 2 Pro in for review, which was launched a few weeks ago in Nepal for NPR 34,999. And if you look at the Nepali smartphone market right now, you'll notice that there aren't a lot of phones in the 35K segment. So, should you buy the CMF Phone 2 Pro? Or are there any better alternatives in this price range?

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Specifications

• Design and build: 164 x 78 x 7.8 mm, 185 gm, IP54 rating
• Display: 6.77-inch AMOLED panel, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
• Chipset: Dimensity 7300 Pro 5G (4nm mobile platform)
• Memory: 8GB RAM, 128/256GB UFS 2.2 storage (non-expandable)
• Software & UI: Android 15 with Nothing OS 3.2 on top
• Rear Camera: Triple (50MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 50MP 2x telephoto)
• Front Camera: 16MP sensor (hole-punch)
• Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display)
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, NFC, 5G
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light, E-compass, Gyroscope, Proximity
• Battery: 5,000 mAh with 33W fast charging (no power adapter inside the box)
• Price in Nepal: NPR 34,999 (8/128GB) | NPR 39,499 (8/256GB)
• Check the full specifications of CMF Phone 2 Pro here

CMF Phone 2 Pro review:

Alright, I have been testing the CMF Phone 2 Pro for the past 10 days. And the one thing that immediately stood out to me is how this phone has a couple of interesting, meaningful upgrades over the CMF Phone 1.

Design and build

• 164 x 78 x 7.8 mm, 185 gm
• Glass front, plastic back/frames
• IP54 dust/splash resistant

So last year, Nothing introduced this sort of modular design on the Phone 1, which created quite the buzz. You can’t actually change the entire back panel on the Phone 2 Pro — but what you can do is — you can unscrew the screws and add an additional cover for different accessories. And I like this implementation better for 2 reasons:

• Number 1: Nothing is able to bump the IP rating from IP52 to IP54, so we get better splash resistance this time.
• And number 2: A lot of people reported frequent damage to the back panel on the Phone 1 because of all the screw, unscrew action. And the extra back panels were quite expensive, so users would be spending a lot of money for the thrill of modularity. But that won't be the case anymore!

Anyway, you still get plastic back here like last year, but I love how Nothing has worked on the build quality this time. The CMF Phone 1 felt a bit cheap in my hands, but this one feels more premium to hold. Nothing has also trimmed the bezels a bit this time, so from the front, too, the Phone 2 Pro looks quite modern.

Display

• 6.77-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel
• Panda Glass protection, 120Hz refresh rate
• 1,300 nits (HBM) / 3,000 nits brightness (HDR)

Moving on, I also like the display experience on this phone a lot. This is the same display that we get on the Nothing Phone (3a) (review) that starts at NPR 48,999. So not only can it get super bright, but the overall quality of this screen is top-notch too. This is also a 10-bit panel vs an 8-bit panel we got on the CMF Phone 1, and it is able to play local HDR videos and even HDR videos on YouTube really nicely. There is no HDR playback support on Netflix on this phone, though! Nothing has also improved the haptics this time. Last year, I complained about the buzzy vibration on the CMF Phone 1, but this year, typing on the Phone 2 Pro is actually a pleasant experience. I only wish the company had provided stereo speakers for a better multimedia experience. The Phone 2 Pro carries a single speaker setup that sounds horrible at the highest volume, so I won't recommend you set its loudness beyond 80 – 90%.

Performance

• MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro (4nm)
• 8GB RAM, 128/256GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable)

When it comes to performance, we get the Dimensity 7300 Pro chipset here, which isn’t all that different from the regular Dimensity 7300 that we got on the Phone 1. So there really isn't much of a performance upgrade this time. That being said, the Phone 2 Pro still manages smooth everyday performance. Even its gaming performance is quite good for the price actually. You can play games like PUBG and Mobile Legends here at a fairly stable 90 fps. I even tried Genshin Impact in high settings and 45 fps mode, and I was able to get an average of 40 fps. Which is not bad for a midrange phone at all. Although I have to tell you, while the stability in games was good, the temperatures reached above 40°C in most of the games I played. And considering it’s not even peak summer yet, there are chances that things might escalate.

Software

• Android 15 with Nothing OS 3.2 on top
• 3 years of OS and 6 years of security updates

As for software, Nothing OS is pretty interesting to use. It looks quite unique, and you also have a ton of customization options (especially with widgets). If you are someone who likes minimalism, I'm sure you will appreciate what Nothing provides. And except for Samsung and Motorola, Nothing is among the handful of smartphone brands that ships their devices with almost no bloatware apps. There’s also the "Essential Space" feature that you can access via a dedicated "Essential Key" located below the power button. Here, you can save voice memos or text notes with your screenshots, which a lot of people find quite intuitive, but I didn’t make much use of it, to be honest.

In terms of updates, the CMF Phone 2 Pro will get 3 years of OS and 6 years of security updates. I've already received two updates on this phone so far, fixing minor performance and a couple of camera issues. So, for a relatively new company like Nothing, the software support that they provide even in their budget offerings is quite commendable.

Cameras

• Triple camera setup at the back
• (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 50MP telephoto zoom)
• 16MP selfie camera (hole-punch cutout)

Getting to the cameras, I am extremely happy about the upgrades Nothing has brought out this time. We only got a main camera setup and a useless 2MP depth sensor on last year's CMF Phone 1, but this year, you also get an ultrawide and a 2x telephoto lens.

Portraits

And yeah, this is the only phone with a dedicated zoom camera in this price segment in Nepal. It can take excellent portraits at multiple zoom ranges like 2x, 3x, and 4x without losing much in the detail department. They do have a slight warm tone with a little hint of extra contrast, but I love the subject focus, the background blur, and the skin tone it manages. The images don’t get overexposed even when you shoot in scorching Sun, so that’s great too.

Selfie images

The selfies also have a slight pinkish tone like the portraits, but again, it looks good, so no complaints. And with the recent update, the color consistency has also been improved in the photos. There used to be a little lag while processing portraits as well, which has been fixed to some extent. So I'm pretty happy about it.

Main camera

Even the main camera has good colour reproduction 90% of the time. That remaining 10% is when the camera goes overboard with warm tones and overcompensates highlights. But other than that, the details are good, the dynamic range is well preserved — and overall — you will get nice pictures from the CMF Phone 2 Pro. The only thing that I would call out in its camera performance is:

• First, the Phone 2 Pro can't handle bright lights very well at night.

Like... the normal nighttime photos are detailed and nice, no issues, but as soon as you are shooting bright things, it’s not able to process them.

• And the next thing is that its ultrawide camera’s performance is only okay. Nothing extra. Especially during the night.

What about videos?

Videography-wise, I won’t complain. At least when it comes to the main camera. The footage at 4K 30 fps is considerably stable, thanks to EIS. Even from the front and the ultrawide camera, stabilization isn’t an issue, but do note there is no option to shoot at 4K from both the lenses. Just 1080p.

Battery and charging

• 5,000 mAh battery (33W wired charging)
• No power adapter inside the box

The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a surprisingly good battery life, even though it only has a 5,000 mAh battery. I was able to get straight 8 hours of screen on time here, or even 9 hours on some days with light usage. Obviously, the backup on this phone is not as good as something like the iQOO Z10 with a gigantic 7,300 mAh battery that gave me like 12 hours of screen-on time. But I feel confident saying that the Phone 2 Pro will last you an entire day even on heavy usage. But unlike its Indian unit, you don't get a charger inside the box in the global market. Including Nepal. And with a compatible power brick, the Phone 2 Pro takes an hour and 10 minutes to go from 0 – 100%.

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Conclusion

Okay. So, wrapping up this review, I definitely think the CMF Phone 2 Pro is an excellent smartphone at around NPR 35,000 in Nepal. Its single speaker setup sucks, and I wish Nothing had gone with a slightly more powerful processor as well, but I'd still say this is quite a balanced smartphone It has a cool design, versatile cameras, a nice bright display, decent battery life, and a clean software experience, which is very rare in this price range. And compared to other phones in this segment, like the Galaxy A16 (review) and Redmi Note 14 5G (review), the CMF Phone 2 Pro is in a different league altogether.

• Watch our video review of CMF Phone 2 Pro

CMF Phone 2 Pro review: Pros and cons