Nothing's CMF Phone 1 is a low-tech modular budget champ

Nothing has announced its lowest-cost phone to date, the CMF Phone 1, loaded up with standout modular design and a solid camera system for the price. Harking back to the Nokia days of old, the CMF Phone 1's optional back panels are available in four colors that can be swapped and screwed on at will. A card wallet, kick stand, and lanyard can also be afixed on the removable nubbin around the back, adding some welcome appeal that's seldom seen at the phone's budget price.

On the subject of price you can order the Phone 1 in two models, a 128GB storage option for $199 / £209 / AU$399 or a 256GB storage option for £239 / AU$449, both pack 8GB RAM and come with one back panel. The phones will start shipping on 12 July.

Pricing for the additional accessories are as follows: the case, available in Black, Orange, Light Green, and Blue, costs $35/£29, the screw-on Stand, Lanyard and Card Case all cost $25 / £19 ), and the accessories ship with a tool-kit to affix them onto your CMF Phone 1 if needed. 

While its accessories and style are the headline grabbers, the CMF Phone 1's specs are also fantastic for the price. The MediaTek Dimensity 7300 outperforms the Snapdragon 695 in the recently announced (and pricier) OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite and other key competition. 

Nothing has avoided wasting money on a weak secondary macro camera, instead, opting for a competitive main camera with a 50MP resolution, an f/1.8 aperture, and RAW capture within Pro Mode, adding a depth sensor for portrait capture.

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The CMF Phone 1's screen also impresses on paper. It measures a comfortable 6.67 inches and packs Super AMOLED screen technology for inky blacks and zingy colors. It sports a 2000 nits peak brightness when displaying content, and it's also smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate; plus, there's HDR10+ and DCI-P3 color support.

Another win over many other phones at the CMF Phone 1's price is 4K video capture at up to 30fps, not to mention microSD card expandability. With the promise of three years of security updates, a large 5000mAh battery with 33W fast wired charging and an under-display fingerprint scanner, Nothing could have just made the best budget phone of 2024, and a very worthy low-cost alternative to the mighty Nothing Phone (2a) launched earlier this year.

We've been using the CMF Phone for just under a week and can confirm, it's seriously good for the price, so if you're thinking about picking one up, check back for the full review and check out Digital Camera World's Nothing Phone (1) and Nothing Phone (2) reviews to see why Nothing's debut offerings impressed us so much.