Easy to repair, affordable price. CMF Phone 1 – what is this device?
Some phones are assembled in such a way that you can't just change the cover or, for example, the battery: they are too difficult to disassemble, you need special tools and, of course, experience. But there are smartphones designed for relatively easy repair. That is, you can replace the battery, cover, display and some other elements yourself. One of such smartphones is the CMF Phone 1. The manufacturer assures that it can be repaired with just a screwdriver. Another advantage immediately catches the eye – the low price. Details – under the cut.
You can change the covers and battery
Let's start with a nice feature – if you want, you can quickly replace the back panel of this smartphone. It is removable, attached with bolts, and they can be unscrewed with a small screwdriver. By the way, the screwdriver is already included in the standard package, so you don't have to buy it.
The back cover is available in four colors: mint, dark blue, orange and black:
After removing the back cover, you can replace the battery. It is easy to do, even if you have no experience at all. Batteries for CMF Phone 1 are sold by Nothing.
In the lower right corner of the device there is a round mount for accessories. For example, you can attach a stand so that the phone stands on a horizontal surface – convenient when watching videos. Or a cardholder – for different cards or money.
Specifications and equipment
The smartphone has the following characteristics:
screen: 6.67 inches, AMOLED, 120 Hz, brightness up to 2000 nits, HDR10+;
CPU: MediaTek Dimension 7300;
memory: 8 GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128 GB UFS 2.2 storage;
battery: 5000 mAh, fast charging 33 W;
cameras: main 50 MP from Sony, auxiliary 2 MP, front 16 MP;
OS: Nothing OS 2 based on Android 14.
5G and NFC are supported. You can also insert two SIM cards at once.
In addition to the already mentioned screwdriver (which is also used to remove the SIM card), the kit includes a USB Type-C cable. There is nothing else – not even a charger.
The device is not very good in terms of protection from external factors. It provides protection against penetration only according to the IP52 standard. In fact, this will help prevent splashes of water from getting inside, but nothing more. You won’t be able to dive with a smartphone.
Display and battery
This smartphone has a pretty decent display. The screen diagonal is 6.67 inches, and the resolution is 1080 × 2400. The aspect ratio is quite common – 20.5: 9, the pixel density is 395 PPI. Type – Super AMOLED.
The maximum refresh rate of the screen is 120 Hz, it is positioned by the developer as adaptive. In fact, the smartphone can only work in two modes – 120 Hz and 60 Hz. These two options are offered when setting the refresh rate. The first is simply a limitation of 60 Hz. The second is work with the maximum frequency, which drops to the lower threshold if the user does not use the device.
The smartphone automatically recognizes full-screen video playback and reduces the frequency to 60 Hz to save power.
The developers installed a 5,000 mAh battery, which is enough for about 16 hours active use. The device supports fast charging with a power of 33 W – wireless, unfortunately, is not provided.
In fifteen minutes the phone charges to about 26%, in half an hour – up to 50%. A full charge takes more than an hour.
What about performance?
The device does not break records, but it copes with high-resolution video. CMF Phone 1 is based on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. The chip is manufactured using a 4-nm process technology, which provides good energy efficiency. The processor has four Cortex-A78 cores with a frequency of 2.5 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores with a frequency of 2.0 GHz. And the Mali-G615 is used as a GPU.
The developers have provided several memory capacity options – 6/128 GB, 8/128 GB and 8/256 GB. NAND chips are manufactured according to the UFS 3.1 standard. As usual, the file space can be increased using microSD.
The phone can handle most of the everyday tasks of an ordinary user, including games, but it certainly won’t cope with the “heaviest” ones. Another plus of the phone is its good cooling system.
What's the bottom line?
The phone is suitable for users who do not need exclusive features or a powerful processor. It has average performance, a high degree of repairability and a fairly ordinary design.
A big plus is the availability of additional accessories, including a card holder, strap and stand. The manufacturer promises to increase their variety in the near future. Cons – no charger included, relatively weak protection from water and dust.
Price of CMF Phone — $1,199. So if we take the price/quality ratio, the device has it at its best.
