July 8, 2024. The CMF Phone 1 just sold 100,000 units in three hours on Flipkart. The sub-brand that Nothing launched in September 2023 with earbuds and a smartwatch has now shipped its first phone, and demand in India has exceeded every public projection made by Nothing or CMF. Three hours. 100,000 units.
The CMF Phone 1 specification: Dimensity 7300 5G, 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED at 120Hz, 50MP Sony camera, 5000mAh battery with 33W charging, and the modular back system that is CMF’s core design proposition. Replaceable back covers in multiple colors, a functional screw attachment system that also allows add-on accessories like a wallet case and a kickstand. Starting price: ₹15,999. This is below the Nothing Phone (2a)’s ₹24,999 entry point and well into Redmi and Realme territory.
Why 100,000 units in three hours matters
The CMF Phone 1’s launch demand is a test result for the sub-brand strategy that Nothing announced less than a year ago. The question when CMF launched was whether “Nothing’s budget brand” would carry enough of the parent brand’s equity to generate real consumer demand in a segment where Samsung, Xiaomi, and Realme have decades of presence in the Indian market. The answer is 100,000 units in three hours, which is approximately the same first-day scale as the Nothing Phone (1)’s global launch in July 2022. The sub-brand has achieved in one day what the parent brand took its entire first year to build.
The modular back system is the feature that is getting the most social media attention today. Buyers are sharing photos of their different color configurations. The kickstand accessory is being called out in review threads as unexpectedly useful. The design philosophy that CMF represents, that a budget phone can have personality and configurability rather than just adequate specifications, is translating into purchase decisions in a market where Redmi and Realme have largely competed on hardware-per-rupee alone.
Nothing now has two brands making phones in India. CMF Phone 1 at ₹15,999. Nothing Phone (2a) at ₹24,999. The question now is whether CMF buyers become mainline Nothing buyers when they upgrade, and whether Nothing can maintain design coherence between the sub-brand and the parent without letting CMF cannibalize the brand differentiation that makes the mainline worth the premium. Three hours, 100,000 units. The sub-brand test is passed.
Part of Nothing Company: The Complete Story, my running diary of Nothing from founding to global expansion.
Related reading: how Xiaomi’s flash-sale model set the template CMF is now using.