CMF Phone 1 vs OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite: OnePlus should be very worried

CMF Phone 1, the first smartphone from Nothing spin-off CMF, has officially arrived. It has some decent specs, but it is more than the sum of its parts. The Phone 1 is an attempt to break the rut that smartphones around Rs 15,000 have been in for a while now. It does that by doing something we haven’t seen smartphones doing in a long time.

The CMF Phone 1 has a unique design, but that was mostly expected. The unexpected bit is that despite the budget constraints, Nothing was able to design yet another phone that does something different. The see-through elements are gone. There are no glyph lights either. So what did Nothing do to differentiate its new phone? It made it customisable.

Basically, the Phone 1 has a removable back panel that you can easily remove. The screws are right there. Then, you can purchase covers (worth Rs 1,499) separately and put them on, as easily. Moreover, you can attach accessories to it through a dedicated connector at the bottom. Nothing offers a kickstand, lanyard, and card holder—all of them will be available for Rs 799 each. Phones have lost the charm of bringing a smile to our faces, to surprise. The CMF Phone 1 breaks the mould and makes smartphones fun again.

We will have more to share about the CMF Phone 1 in our full review coming soon. For now, let’s see how it stacks up against its arch nemesis, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite. Long story short—OnePlus should be very worried.

CMF Phone 1 vs OnePlus Nord CE 4 comparison:

1. Design: Although both phones are inherently made of plastic and have polarising designs, the Phone 1 offers a bevy of options for personalisation not seen in its price range in a while. Even back in the day, only Motorola phones used to provide removable back panels. With optional accessories, Nothing takes it to a whole new level. The idea of having a “new” phone without having to buy a new phone is pure gold. Plus, the accessories are quality-of-life value-adds.
2. Display: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite had a 6.67-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and up to 2,100 nits of peak brightness. It has aqua touch that reduces ghost touches when your hands are wet or you’re stuck in a drizzle. OnePlus doesn’t specify any IP rating for the Nord CE 4 Lite on its product page though. The CMF Phone 1 has a 6.67-inch LTPS AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. The panel can top 2,000 nits. The phone is IP52 rated.
3. Processor: The CMF Phone 1 has a superior MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor while the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite has a 3-year-old Qualcomm Snapdragon 695.
4. Memory: The CMF Phone 1 comes in a choice of 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB. The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite comes in 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB.
5. Camera: The CMF Phone 1 has a 50-megapixel main camera paired to another 2-megapixel depth or portrait sensor. 4K@30fps video recording is available. The front camera is a 16-megapixel. The OnePlus Nord CE , too, has a 50-megapixel main camera (different sensor) but with OIS. There’s a secondary depth sensor here as well. Video recording tops out at 1080p@20fps.
6. Battery: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 has a 5,500 mAh battery with 80W fast charging (charger in box). The CMF Phone 1 has a 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support (no charger I’m the box).
7. Speakers: The Nord CE 4 Lite has dual speakers while the CMF Phone 1 has a single speaker.
8. Software: The CMF Phone 1 runs Nothing OS 2.6 based on Android 14 with clean, bloat-free experience. The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite runs OxygenOS 14 based on Android 14. It’s not as clean as OnePlus phones used to be at one point.
9. Price: The OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite starts at Rs 19,999 for 8GB/128GB. The top-end 8GB/256GB model is priced at Rs 22,999. The CMF Phone 1 starts at Rs 15,999 for 6GB/128GB. A model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage will set you back by Rs 17,999.