Technologies

I Tried This Cheap Android Phone. There’s a Lot to Be Excited About

The Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro is cheap, stylish and has six years of support.

Spending £219 (or $279) on a new phone won’t hurt your wallet, and Nothing’s CMF Phone 2 Pro still offers an impressive lineup of features for its low price. There’s the large, vibrant display, the multiple rear cameras, the capacious battery and the Android 15 software. Throw in the IP54 water-resistance and a generous six years of security updates and you really are getting a lot for your money.

But my favorite thing about the phone is its design. It eschews the plain looks of other budget phones, instead using exposed screw heads, metallic camera surrounds and, on my review model, a delightful soft spearmint color. There’s even a little removable circle on the back of the phone that allows you to attach a lanyard directly to it — ideal for those who love taking photos at festivals.

Read more: Best Phone Under $500

The Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro is available for preorder in the UK from today for £219 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. In the US, you’ll be able to buy 256GB model for $279, but only via Nothing’s beta program, which requires you to sign up and provide feedback on your experience with the phone. Nothing says the phone will not support all network bands in the US.

It’s certainly worth checking out the beta program if you’re interested. And hopefully Nothing will give the phone an official US launch in the future.

Strictly speaking, the phone is called the «CMF by Nothing Phone 2 Pro.» CMF is the confusing affordable sub-brand of already-affordable phone maker Nothing. It’s the second-gen CMF phone and I’m still baffled why Nothing thinks it needs to create a separate clunkily named brand, rather than just launching it fully under the Nothing name. But hey, maybe that’s why I’m writing about phones, rather than selling them.

Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro hands on

I’ve only spent a short time with the phone so far, but there’s already plenty I like about it. The design immediately stands out. It doesn’t have the flashing LEDs of Nothing’s more expensive phones, but I like the look and it feels surprisingly premium and sturdy to hold for such an affordable phone. It has an IP54 water resistance rating which will help keep it safe from the odd spilled drink, too.

The AMOLED display is bright and vibrant. Colorful YouTube videos looked good and it managed to counter the bright overhead lights of my office. It has a 1 to 120Hz variable refresh rate so playing fast-paced games shouldn’t be a problem here.

It runs on Android 15 at its core and Nothing has given it the same skin as its other phones. It relies on a stark monochrome aesthetic, with minimalist black and white icons and widgets which look quite cool (although I sometimes struggle to tell exactly which app I’m looking for). Nothing has committed to six years of total security support for the phone which is especially generous for a phone of this price. The OnePlus 13, for example, also offers six years of support and that phone costs almost £1,000 in the UK.

The rear cameras include a 50 megapixel main camera, a 50 megapixel telephoto camera (with a 2x optical zoom) and an 8 megapixel ultrawide. I haven’t used the cameras yet so I can’t speak to their quality, but based on the previous CMF Phone 1, I expect them to be able to take decent everyday snaps, but certainly won’t be a rival for top camera phones like the iPhone 16 Pro or Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Is the Nothing CMF Phone 2 Pro worth buying?

I haven’t tested the phone for long enough to give a final verdict yet, but I’m impressed with it based on my early impressions. It’s a quirky-looking phone that stands out from the budget crowd. The solid lineup of specs and its six years of support are generous at such a low price.

I’m especially keen to see how its cameras perform — along with the processor performance for everyday tasks and more demanding gaming — but on paper at least this phone should be able to do a fair job with both.

Technologies

Pope Francis Is Laid to Rest: Here’s What Comes Next as Conclave Begins May 7

The cardinals — at least, those under 80 years old — vote for as long as it takes to elect Pope Francis’ successor.

After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at age 88, was laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. The service marked a poignant moment in Catholic history, drawing dignitaries from around the world to the Vatican. Representatives from 123 countries, including 61 heads of state and 42 government officials, attended the solemn Mass, reflecting the global impact of Francis’ papacy.

The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.

A simpler service

The pope’s funeral was less elaborate than those of other popes according to his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).

Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and to not be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.

During the funeral, the coffin was taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re led the service. After the service, the coffin returned to St Peter’s Basilica before being carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial.

Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass is the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine consecutive days of mourning. A different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.

Who attended Pope Francis’ funeral?

Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, attended the pope’s funeral.

Notable attendees included King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, the King and Queen of Jordan and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway. Prince William of the United Kingdom attended in place of his father, King Charles III.

From the United States, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were present. which marked Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. Former president Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, and former fifirst lady Jill Biden also attended the funeral.

The conclave begins May 7

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will begin voting on May 7 for a successor in an assembly known as a conclave. Only cardinals younger than 80 years old are allowed to vote in a papal election, meaning 135 of the 252 existing cardinals are eligible to participate.

The conclave can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.

Although in the 13th century, it reportedly took three years to choose a pope, modern conclaves have been much shorter. Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth ballot on the second day of the conclave.

Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope

Who are the contenders?

Several cardinals are considered potential strong candidates for the papacy. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Italy is noted for his diplomatic efforts and alignment with Pope Francis’ vision. Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines is also a prominent figure, recognized for his advocacy for social justice and poverty alleviation. And Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana is being discussed as a possible first African pope in the modern era.

Look for the white smoke

After the cardinals vote and their ballots are counted, the ballots are burned, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, chemicals will be added to the flames to produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.

If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in the 2024 film Conclave.

In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.

For those interested in following the developments of the real conclave, live updates and analyses will be available through major news organizations and the Vatican’s official channels.

Technologies

ChatGPT Search Improves Its Shopping Experience

It’s a direct shot at Google’s Search-powered shopping tools.

ChatGPT Search, OpenAI’s AI-powered competitor to Google Search, is getting enhanced shopping features, including the ability to search for products, compare options and buy directly within ChatGPT, the company said in a press release Monday.

Users will see personalized recommendations, visual product details, pricing and product reviews. As with other ChatGPT queries, ChatGPT Search will, in the coming weeks, retain memory of users’ past shopping experiences and consider context from past conversations to help tailor a personalized experience.

Read more: Best AI Chatbots of 2025

ChatGPT Search will also provide direct links for products. This shopping experiment will include products in fashion, beauty, home goods and electronics, expanding the shopping categories as it learns more. OpenAI says it doesn’t make any affiliate revenue.

This feature is available to all ChatGPT users, including ones not logged in, via the GPT-4o model. OpenAI said the changes are now available in 4o, and beginning to roll out as of Monday to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Free and logged-out users.

A representative for OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Status of search

Online search is big business, and Google is currently the king of search, with 89.74% market share, according to Statcounter. With the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, more people have been turning to AI chatbots to satiate their online search demand.

Where traditional online searches rely on keywords and users filtering through sites to find the information they want, AI chatbots allow users to directly ask questions and get complete answers in the process.

Last year, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search, a version of its AI chatbot that also searches the internet for up-to-date information. There are other players in the AI-powered online search game, including Perplexity and You.com. Google has also added AI into its core search product with AI Overviews, an experience that’s still producing incorrect information.

Google remains highly popular, seeing about 14 billion searches per day. While ChatGPT is seeing 500 million active weekly users, its popularity still pales in comparison to Google’s. Currently, Google is pulling in 373 times more searches than ChatGPT, according to SparkToro.

Search brought in $198 billion in revenue last year, thanks to ads and shopping recommendations placed against user queries. If OpenAI does aggressively monetize shopping recommendations in the future, it could eat away at Google revenues, as well as revenues from sites that make money from reviewing and recommending products.

ChatGPT Search is getting some other improvements as well. WhatsApp users can now send messages directly to ChatGPT within the app. It’s a peculiar integration considering WhatsApp owner Meta already has MetaAI baked into its apps. ChatGPT Search will also allow users to see trending search topics.

The regular version of ChatGPT is seeing improved citations as well, with the ability to cite multiple sources.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 29, #1410

Here are hints — and the answer — for today’s Wordle No. 1,410 for April 29.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is tricky. There’s a double letter (again), and the word itself starts with a letter that’s not in a ton of starter words. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.