Nothing brings modularity to budget smartphones with CMF Phone 1

Tech company Nothing has made modularity and customisation two big selling points for its first budget-conscious phone, the CMF Phone 1, which was launched today.

The CMF Phone 1 is the first smartphone from Nothing‘s affordability-focused sub-brand CMF and retails from £209, making it less than half the price of Apple’s entry-level iPhone SE.

As with all of Nothing’s products, there is a focus on design and an ambition to inject a sense of fun and wonder into the product category.

The phone is partly modular, with a back cover that can be screwed off by the customer to change the coloured case and a port in one corner where accessories can be added.

Nothing also says that this will facilitate easy repairs, although it is not possible to simply swap out the internal components in blocks, as it is with the Fairphone, and they are mostly concealed by another layer of protection.

The back of the phone also has what Nothing is calling an “engineer’s aesthetic”, with visible stainless steel screws that are intended to “lay bare how the smartphone is made”.

There are four colour options and three accessories available on launch – a fold-out stand, card holder and lanyard.

The phone runs Nothing OS 2.6, Nothing’s modification of the Android operating system, which continues the brand’s visual style and offers a monochromatic option.

It aims to outclass other entry-level phones on its specifications, which include a 43-hour 5000 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery, an “extra bright” 6.670-inch Super AMOLED display and a Sony 50-megapixel camera with portrait sensor.

However, it also lacks some features that regular smartphone users may regard as standard, such as an NFC chip, multiple rear camera system and higher water resistance rating.

The CMF Phone 1 went on sale today and is already in the hands of reviewers. They have been generally positive in their reception, calling it “the best deal in Android” and “the first interesting £200 phone I’ve seen in a very long time“.

Nothing launched two other CMF products, a smartwatch and earbuds, at the same time, and says they all demonstrate that great design and high quality are not limited to premium price points.

“CMF Phone 1, CMF Watch Pro 2 and CMF Buds Pro 2 showcase Nothing’s unique approach to integrating creativity, practicality and personalisation through design,” said Nothing CEO Carl Pei. “These products further mark our commitment to injecting fun into a boring industry, and I’m very excited to see the market feedback.”

Nothing is a London-based brand that launched its first product, the Ear 1 wireless earbuds, in 2021. One of its founding partners is Teenage Engineering, which helps to drive the brand’s aesthetic.

In an interview with Dezeen earlier this year, Nothing design director Adam Bates said the brand took inspiration from the design of the past as much as today and that it was aspiring to a phone with full modularity.

“The repairability thing is clearly the way to go,” said Bates. “Maybe there are Nothing products in the future where you can touch the battery, and you can take the battery out.”