For a fairly well-known Android manufacturer, Nothing has canceled as many phones recently as it has released.
First, there was news that the Nothing Phone 3 wouldn’t get a flagship follow-up in 2026, confirmed at the beginning of the year.
And recently, it also admitted that a CMF Phone 3 wouldn’t be arriving until at least 2027.
CMF stands for Color, Material, Finish, and it’s the brand’s budget line of gadgets, named after their vibrant looks.
Once a Nothing brand, it’s now technically its own thing, but it seems to still largely operate under the Nothing umbrella.
We’ve seen CMF release earbuds, headphones (like the funky CMF Headphone Pro), smartwatches, and phones, with the latter beating all but the cheapest Samsung Galaxy A series handsets on price and still offering solid specs.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro offered a big AMOLED screen, a zoom camera, and a powerful chip for around $280, but it didn’t get a full release in the US.
Compared to its main series of cell phones, Nothing has been reluctant to release CMF phones in the US.
And that’s a shame, because a phone like this would be incredibly important in 2026.
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Cheap mobiles are more important than ever
This is an important year for budget phones
It’s no secret that smartphones are getting more and more expensive as memory costs rise.
We’ve already written about why your next Android phone will cost $100 more, as rising component prices mean you’re getting less or paying more.
The budget phone segment is getting hit the hardest.
In past years, you’d find a cornucopia of solid smartphones for under $300. Now, brands can’t afford to create quality mobiles for a low cost, so there’s much less competition at the budget end.
The same is true of budget brands, or sub-brands.
We used to see companies like Samsung, OnePlus, and HMD Global release low-cost handsets that’d treat you well, but now Motorola and TCL are two of the only makers still offering reasonably-priced mobiles.
I’ve always found the lack of competition in the US cheap phone market shocking, even when more brands are competing, and nowadays, value-minded buyers have very little to pick from.
So Nothing entering the budget phone race would be a welcome addition.
Its CMF Phones would, based on currency conversions, easily sit under that $300 price ceiling, giving some much-needed new blood.
It’s done just this with its other kit. I’ve reviewed some of its earbuds, and they offer fantastic value for money.
The specs of the CMF Phone 2 Pro easily trump low-cost rivals from TCL and Moto with more powerful processors, advanced camera arrays, and a DIY-esque software design.
Nothing is already building a name for itself with mid-range mobiles. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro costs $500 for its budget model, and selling CMF Phones would cement it as an affordable phone powerhouse.
Avoid overcomplicating matters, like Nothing is planning
A new phone line makes drawing distinctions easy
I began writing this article when Nothing confirmed a new CMF phone wasn’t coming this year.
However, as I was halfway through, the brand also decided to begin teasing another, different budget mobile.
Apparently, a Nothing Phone (4b) is on the way, which is set to be announced in early July.
The company has already confirmed its design, which is akin to the Nothing Phone (4a) but without any rear LED panel, and the chipset, with a Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 behind the wheel.
Reading between the lines, the Nothing Phone (4b) isn’t set to be a budget device, like the CMF Phone 3 would be, but a cheaper version of the (4a).
The brand had to explain the naming to avoid confusion.
The presence of a letter means this is the mid-range family, the “4” refers to the generation, and the letter points to how far below the main line it is. A is one step down, B is two steps down.
To tech fans, this might be par for the course. We know how these brands roll. There’s a little bit of method, a lot of madness, and we get our heads around it.
But to general phone buyers, these strings of numbers and letters can be nonsense: confusing and off-putting.
I worry that Nothing is going to spoil its image with consumers by getting into the weeds with confusing names.
I don’t blame anyone for confusing a (4a) or (4b) phone, or presuming the (4b) model is the better one.
You know what wouldn’t be confusing? A completely different phone brand.
If Nothing released the Phone (4b) as the CMF Phone 4 instead, buyers would think it was part of a completely different family, and wouldn’t have any reason to get confused.
You don’t think the Samsung Galaxy S26 is better than the iPhone 17 purely because of the number, after all.
CMF could fill the OnePlus void
Goodbye Nord, hello CMF
For a while, OnePlus was a maker of low-cost phones in the US. Its Nord series, like the OnePlus Nord N300 5G, was never flashy, but they got the job done for a reasonable price.
However, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a Nord phone.
Right now, on OnePlus’ website, you can only see the OnePlus 15 and OnePlus 15R. Even in European countries, which saw more frequent Nord releases, its most recent such handsets are out of stock.
This is no surprise when you consider that, according to rumors, OnePlus is pulling out of the US, UK, and Europe. That’s despite the OnePlus 16 sounding pretty great.
So OnePlus is vacating its seat at the table, and there’s a big hole where it sat (in terms of sales, a very small hole, but it was still an important market rival). And someone needs to step up.
It’s looking like the new budget king could be Motorola, which has reinvented itself as a top Android maker, but it can’t deliver on everything budget phone buyers want.
I’ve found Moto phones to be great to look at, feel solid in the hand, and offer a fairly stock interface. But they’re slouches when it comes to the camera, processing power, and those are departments where Nothing is a lot more competitive.
If Nothing released CMF phones in the US, they’d be a solid alternative to Moto mobiles, offering a different kind of package. So it’s a real shame that it won’t be happening.
As a consolation to buyers, Nothing recently announced it’s finally launching phones via US retailers beyond Amazon, but that’s only a modest victory, knowing we could have had CMF.
7.5/10
SoC
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4
Display type
AMOLED
Display dimensions
6.83 inches
Display resolution
1260 x 2800 (450 PPI)