Nothing has just revealed its latest smartphone under its CMF sub-brand in the form of the CMF Phone 2 Pro.
Launched as a successor to the 2024 Nothing CMF Phone 1, the CMF Phone 2 Pro promises to be “the ultimate daily smartphone.” But how does it compare to the budget-friendly, 4.5-star rated Nothing Phone 3a?
To help you decide which Nothing Phone might suit you better, we’ve compared the specs of both and highlighted the key differences, alongside any noteworthy similarities, below.
Keep reading to decide whether you think the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro will make its way to our guides on the best cheap mobile phones or best Android phones.
Pricing and Availability
At the time of writing, the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro is available for pre-order and will be readily available on 6th May 2025.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro is available in two sizes, 128GB or 256GB, with a starting RRP of £219/€249 for the former and £249/€279 for the latter. Finally, the 256GB handset is also available in the US but only via the Beta Program, with an RRP of $279.
The Nothing Phone (3a) is the pricier of the two phones, with an RRP of £329 for its smaller 128GB model and £379 for the larger 256GB handset.
One of the main differences between the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro and Nothing Phone 3a is their respective processors. While the CMF Phone 2 Pro runs on MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Pro, which sports an eight-core CPU and is promised to process 10% faster than the CMF Phone 1, the Phone 3a runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3.
Although Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 isn’t the most powerful chipset available, and certainly doesn’t compete with the likes of the OnePlus 13 or iPhone 16 series, we found it works perfectly well for “casual use-cases”, with enough speed and fluidity to even handle everyday gaming.
Having said that, if you’re looking to run heavier titles like Call of Duty Mobile, then we’d suggest you’re better off with one of our best gaming phones instead.
Despite the different chips, both the CMF Phone 2 Pro and Phone 3a run Nothing’s AI tool, Essential Space, which automatically organises your screenshots and voice notes into handy summaries or action points to deal with later.
CMF Phone 2 Pro is thinner and lighter
Nothing explains that the CMF Phone 2 Pro is the “slimmest and lightest smartphone” the brand has ever designed. It’s just 7.8mm and weighs just 185g, whereas the Nothing Phone 3a is slightly thicker and heavier at 8.3mm and 201g.
Otherwise, both handsets sport the same 6.77-inch Flexible AMOLED Panda Glass display, with a 1080 x 2392 resolution. The displays also have a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and can reach a 3000-nit peak brightness.
Nothing Phone 3a has an IP64 rating
It’s worth pointing out first that neither the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro or Phone 3a offers a particularly high IP rating. Even so, the Nothing Phone 3a takes the lead with an IP64 rating, which is normally found in earbuds and portable speakers, and means the handset is dust-tight and is protected from water splashes.
The CMF Phone 2 Pro instead has a pretty poor IP54 rating. Although an improvement from the CMF Phone 1’s measly IP52 score, an IP54 rating essentially means the handset is protected from limited amounts of dust and splashes of water from all directions.
Nothing Phone 3a has a 32MP front camera
If taking selfies or making video calls are things you do often, then you may be swayed towards the Nothing Phone 3a and its 32MP front camera. The Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro instead sports a 16MP selfie lens which remains unchanged from its predecessor, the CMF Phone 1.
Considering the majority of Nothing phones now sport at least a 32MP front lens, this does undoubtedly date the CMF Phone 2 Pro, but we’ll refrain from making a conclusion until we review the handset.
Both have three rear cameras
Both Nothing phones have three rear cameras, though they differ slightly in the performance on offer. Both have a 50MP main and 8MP ultrawide, though the CMF Phone 2 Pro has a 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom, while the Phone 3a’s 50MP telephoto camera offers up to 30x digital zoom.
As we haven’t reviewed the CMF Phone 2 Pro yet, we can’t comment on the exact difference this really makes. Having said that, it’s worth pointing out that we found the Nothing Phone 3a’s camera set-up is overall reliable, with its zoom “strong in well-lit scenes”.
On the other hand, as the sensors here are smaller than those found in the best camera phones, you’ll notice when you try pushing the camera further that it comes up short, with “blurry, dark and soft images” that lack “sharpness and dynamic range.”
Early Verdict
Although the handsets may seem fairly similar at first glance, there are a few key differences between the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro and Nothing Phone 3a. Not only do they run on different processors, but the CMF Phone 2 Pro is lighter, while the Phone 3a is more durable and has a higher-resolution front-facing camera.
We’ll refrain from giving a conclusive verdict until we spend enough time with the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro. However, if you’re keen to get a Nothing Phone but want to save a bit of money in the process, then the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro represents a solid choice.
