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Why I still recommend this $200 Android phone in 2025 - even though it's a year old
Engaging features make the CMF Phone 1 one of the rare budget phones I'd recommend to almost everyone. Just make sure your carrier supports it.
As a phone reviewer, it's always a challenge to evaluate cheaper, sub-$300 handsets, especially after my senses have been spoiled by glorified, eye-candy displays, snappy processors that can manage 20+ tabs, and cameras that can capture the birds in the sky. The lack of bloatware and duplicated features plays well with the CMF Phone 1's MediaTek Dimensity 7300 5G processor, which biases toward extended usage and efficiency over short stints of power (like on its rivaling Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset). Sure, the YouTube app will take an extra few seconds to load thumbnails and videos, and I've noticed the occasional stutter when swiping back to the home screen, but the CMF Phone 1 throttles much less than competitors like the Samsung Galaxy A15 5G and Motorola Moto G Power 5G.
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