CMF Phone 1 (2024): a $199 phone made modular with screws, not electronics

Budget phones compete on specs alone, while earlier modular phones such as Moto Mods and Project Ara failed because their electronics made accessories expensive and fragile. CMF, Nothing's budget sub-brand, wanted a $199 device that made personalizing a phone feel fun again.

Make modularity low-tech: screws instead of pogo pins or magnets, so a $199 phone gains swappable backs and bolt-on accessories anyone can 3D-print.

The rear panel is held on by visible stainless-steel screws; each replacement panel ships with its own screwdriver, screws and color-matched SIM tray for $35. A round Accessory Point in the bottom corner takes a lanyard, wallet or kickstand for $25 each. CMF then released the rear-panel CAD files so anyone could design and 3D-print their own accessories, and ran a Maker World printing competition.

The Verge called it "proof that gadgets can still be fun," and Android Authority dubbed it "the semi-modular phone done right." Within weeks the community had printed Lego-brick backs, gamepad-style grips, a Buds holster and a folding fan, and the screw-based system carried into the 2025 CMF Phone 2 lineup.

On July 8, 2024, CMF by Nothing launched the CMF Phone 1, a $199 Android phone with a radical twist: the back panel is attached with visible stainless-steel screws. Taking it off reveals the battery and internals, and each replacement cover ships with its own micro screwdriver, screws and a color-matched SIM tray.

Where earlier modular phones such as Moto Mods and Project Ara bet on magnetic or electronic add-ons, CMF deliberately went low-tech. There are no pogo pins, no bespoke connectors — just screws. The round Accessory Point in the bottom-right corner accepts a lanyard, a wallet or a kickstand, and the design keeps the phone splash-resistant while costing the same as a normal budget slab.

The cleverest move came after launch: CMF published the 3D CAD files for the rear panel, so anyone could design accessories and print them at home. Android Authority's writer used them to print a camera grip in hours, and a Maker World competition surfaced community designs ranging from Lego-brick backs to gamepad grips, a Buds holster and even a folding fan.

Reviewers framed it as the first modular phone that made sense at scale: The Verge called it "proof that gadgets can still be fun," while Android Authority argued that open-sourcing the panel design effectively guaranteed the phone a long accessory life even if CMF changed the layout later.

Screws cost almost nothing and keep the phone at a $199 price, where expensive modular electronics could never survive.

Swappable hardware gives buyers a reason to engage with the phone again, turning customization from a case purchase into a hobby.

Shipping a screwdriver with every panel removes the fear of taking a phone apart — it is designed to be opened.

Releasing the CAD files shifted accessory production from the company to the community, multiplying the ecosystem for free.

Keeping modularity mechanical rather than electronic preserves durability and repairability instead of adding failure points.

Modularity fails when it means expensive electronics; made from screws, it becomes cheap enough for a $199 phone and open enough that the community builds the accessory ecosystem for you.

The CMF Phone 1 sold globally from July 2024 and its community grew around the open back-panel design, with 3D-printed accessories quickly appearing from independent makers. In 2025, CMF carried the screw-based modular system into the Phone 2 and Phone 2 Pro, letting buyers attach accessories and design their own parts with the same approach, cementing modularity as the sub-brand's signature rather than a one-off stunt.