Mobile Phone Reviews

The CMF Phone 2 Pro was unveiled on Monday and is currently on pre-order with sales starting on May 12 (Monday two weeks from now). We will look at some alternatives in the meantime, plus some Pixel deals and Galaxy Watch offers.

CMF Phone 2 Pro (pre-order)

Содержание статьи:

1 CMF Phone 2 Pro (pre-order)
2 CMF Phone 1
3 Nothing Phone (3a)
4 Nothing Phone (2a)
5 Poco X7
6 Poco X7 Pro
7 Google Pixel 9a
8 Google Pixel 9
9 Google Pixel 9 Pro
10 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
11 Google Pixel Watch 3
12 Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
13 Samsung Galaxy Watch7
14 Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic

coming May 12
Read our review 8/128GB – £220 at Amazon UK

The CMF Phone 2 Pro starts at £220, which is pretty cheap already. But you can get the original CMF Phone 1 for £50 less. Is it worth it? You get a slightly smaller display (6.67” vs. 6.77”) and though it is a 1080p+ 120Hz OLED, it has a lower peak brightness (2,000 nits vs. 3,000 nits) and doesn’t have HDR10+ support like the Pro. It has basically the same Dimensity 7300 chipset, though, with expandable storage and the same 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging.

The real reason to get the Pro is for the cameras – the Phone 1 has a 50MP main on the back and that’s it. The Pro has a 50MP main with a fairly large 1/1.57” sensor (but no OIS), a 50MP 50mm telephoto and an 8MP ultra-wide. A new attachable back adds MagSafe magnets (there’s no wireless charging, but it’s nice for a car dock and to attach accessories) and serves as a mounting point for two lenses, macro and fisheye. Oh, and the Pro has NFC!

CMF Phone 1

£40 off
Read our review 8/128GB – £170 at Amazon UK

We’ve seen some commenters wish for features like OIS, for example. For that, you have to get the Nothing Phone (3a), but that costs 50% more. Compared to the CMF Phone 2 Pro, you get the same screen and cameras (now with OIS on the main) and a better Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset. Charging is boosted to 50W, but it’s still wired only. You do get the Glyph lights on the back, though.

Nothing Phone (3a)

Read our review 8/128GB – £330 at Amazon UK 12/256GB – £380 at Amazon UK

Okay, 50% more is maybe a bit much and you still don’t get things like eSIM (only the 3a Pro has that). What about the previous generation – the Nothing Phone (2a) is still around and is actually cheaper than the CMF Phone 2 Pro. You get a comparable 6.7” OLED display, HDR and all, plus Glyph lights and 45W charging for the 5,000mAh battery. There’s no telephoto camera, but how useful is a 50mm lens anyway? Plus, the 50MP main on this one has OIS and there is a high-resolution 50MP ultra-wide. The Dimensity 7200 Pro is only a bit slower, but you do lose the microSD slot.

Nothing Phone (2a)

£120/£100 off
Read our review 8/128GB – £200 at Amazon UK 12/256GB – £250 at Amazon UK

The Poco X7 is powered by basically the same Dimensity 7300 chipset as the CMF Phone 2 Pro and you can get more RAM and a lot more storage (12/512GB) for just £10 more than the CMF. There’s no microSD slot, but with 512GB built-in that’s not as necessary. The Poco has proper water resistance (IP69 vs. IP54) and a better 6.67” 12-bit 1220p+ display with Dolby Vision. The 50MP main camera does have OIS, but it uses a smaller 1/1.95” sensor and is only joined by an 8MP ultra-wide – there’s no tele lens here. The battery is a bit larger and faster at 5,110mAh capacity and 45W charging.

Poco X7

£50 off
Read our review 8/256GB – £215 at Amazon UK 12/512GB – £230 at Amazon UK

If you have more money to spend, the Poco X7 Pro upgrades to a Dimensity 8400 Ultra (with all big Cortex-A725 cores) and a 6,000mAh battery with 90W charging. The cameras are the same as on the X7, though, i.e. not as good as the CMF.

Poco X7 Pro

£25 off
Read our review 8/256GB – £285 at Amazon UK 12/512GB – £327 at Amazon UK

A couple of weeks ago, we shared some Pixel 9-series deals. The Pixel 9a offer is the same as it was then, a free pair of Pixel Buds A-Series.

The rest of the Pixel 9 models (the non-foldable ones) have the same deals as before with a couple of tweaks – first, you get a £100 coupon that you can use to buy a Pixel Watch 3, and second, the vanilla Pixel 9 is £50 more than it was a couple of weeks ago. Check out our Pixel 9 vs. 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro vs. 9 Pro XL articles for detailed comparisons.

Google Pixel 9a

free Pixel Buds A-Series
Read our review 8/128GB – £500 at Amazon UK 8/256GB – £600 at Amazon UK

Google Pixel 9

£200 off
£100 coupon for Pixel Watch 3
Read our review 12/128GB – £600 at Amazon UK 12/256GB – £700 at Amazon UK

Google Pixel 9 Pro

£200 off
£100 coupon for Pixel Watch 3
Read our review 16/128GB – £800 at Amazon UK 16/256GB – £900 at Amazon UK 16/512GB – £1,020 at Amazon UK

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

£200 off
£100 coupon for Pixel Watch 3
Read our review 16/128GB – £900 at Amazon UK 16/256GB – £1,000 at Amazon UK 16/512GB – £1,120 at Amazon UK

As for the Google Pixel Watch 3 itself, it’s £70 off at the moment and that can go up to £170 if you buy it alongside a Pixel 9, 9 Pro or 9 Pro XL.

Google Pixel Watch 3

Bluetooth
£70 off
41mm – £280 at Amazon UK 45mm – £330 at Amazon UK

If you prefer Samsung watches, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, Watch7 and Watch6 Classic (with a rotating bezel) are up to £150 off if you have an active Prime subscription. Prime Students get an extra discounts on the latter two watches as well.