Updated
Updated · Boy Genius Report · Aug 22
Nothing Scraps 2026 CMF Phone Launch Over Rising Memory Costs
Updated
Updated · Boy Genius Report · Aug 22

Nothing Scraps 2026 CMF Phone Launch Over Rising Memory Costs

1 articles · Updated · Boy Genius Report · Aug 22

Summary

  • Nothing said it will not launch a new CMF phone in 2026 because high memory prices make it impossible to deliver a meaningful upgrade at the brand’s budget target.
  • CMF’s appeal has relied on low-cost parts — including LPDDR4X memory, UFS 2.2 storage, plastic materials and a midrange Dimensity 7300 Pro chip — to keep prices well below Nothing’s $449-$499 phones.
  • The pause leaves CMF without a current handset after the $279 Phone 2 Pro from May 2025 and the Phone 1 from July 2024 disappeared from Nothing’s website, with stock already sold out in some markets.
  • The setback comes just eight months after Nothing repositioned CMF as an India-based independent subsidiary, and as the budget Android market shifts: U.S. sub-$100 sales fell 64% in Q2 2026 while the $200-$299 segment nearly tripled.

Insights

As CMF quietly pivots to an independent Indian subsidiary, will the beloved budget brand ever release another smartphone globally?
With AI driving up memory costs, is CMF's phone cancellation the first sign of the budget smartphone market's total collapse?