This $200 Android phone has no business being this good (and it's not a Samsung or Motorola)

As a phone reviewer, it's always a challenge to evaluate cheaper, sub-$300 handsets, especially after my senses have been spoiled by glorified, eye-candy displays, snappy processors that can manage 20+ tabs, and cameras that can capture the birds in the sky.

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But the CMF Phone 1, developed by the sub-brand of Nothing, made things easier than I expected. For its price, which fluctuates between $239 and $289 depending on whether you obtain it via Nothing's U.S. Beta Program or Amazon, this has been the best budget phone I've tested this year - and by a wide margin.

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.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

The thumbscrew can also be replaced with functional accessories, such as a lanyard, card slot case, and kickstand. Since the CMF Phone 1 is fairly sizable with its 6.67-inch display, I found that the bulkiness of some of the accessories made the phone less comfortable to hold. But if ergonomics are the least of your concerns, there's a world of 3D-printed back plates for you to toy with. Here's to hoping someone makes back plates that give the phone NFC (for tap-to-pay) or wireless charging support, as both are omitted.

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Display is another area that CMF knocked out of the park. You're getting a vibrant AMOLED panel with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, a visual pairing that's hard to find in the $200 price range. The brightness also cranks up to 2,000 nits, which made navigating an upstate hike last weekend a little less stressful. Just make sure you either remove the default plastic screen protector or replace it when using the phone; the layering retains fingerprints and smudges very easily and requires the strongest microfiber cloth to wipe them off.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

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 and Motorola Moto G Power 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.

Kerry Wan/ZDNET

Cameras on cheaper phones are often a mixed bag, with the best imagery requiring generous light sources (read: the sun on a bright day or ceiling lights in an office space). Otherwise, you're less with grainy shots, unrealistic colors, and a noticeable lack of depth. That holds true with the CMF Phone 1; subjects tended to appear washed out, and shutter lag made taking photos of faster-moving subjects difficult. But if you keep in mind that this is a $200 phone, the output is more than acceptable.

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It helps that the CMF Phone 1 sips battery, lasting me well into a second day with every charge. The combination of clean software, power-efficient MediaTek processor, and adaptive refresh rate display makes the device an endurance champion, even stacked against phones three or four times its price.

ZDNET's buying advice

The CMF Phone 1 is one of the few phones this year that I can confidently say gives you more value for the money. At a starting price of $239, the handset nails the essential needs of any budget shopper, from the large and vibrant display to the two-day battery life. Add on the swappable back cover and accessories, polished Nothing OS software, and smaller trinkets of CMF prowess, and you've got a winning recipe.

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.