Nothing cancels CMF Phone 3 Pro as memory costs make budget phones unviable
Nothing has scrapped the CMF Phone 3 Pro entirely, with no replacement planned for 2026. Co-founder Akis Evangelidis confirmed the cancellation on X, saying memory costs have made it impossible to ship a phone that represents genuine progress at the CMF price point. The move leaves a clear gap in the sub-$250 Android market, where the CMF Phone 2 Pro won MKBHD's Budget Phone of the Year for 2025.
The memory problem
The core issue is a historic spike in DRAM and NAND flash prices. Memory now accounts for more than 50% of a smartphone's bill of materials — a figure that historically sat at 10–15%. Evangelidis put it bluntly: building a CMF Phone 3 Pro with the same specs as its predecessor would now cost the equivalent of $360–$420, compared to the CMF Phone 2 Pro's launch price of around $230. Nothing decided shipping an overpriced, feature-identical successor was worse than shipping nothing at all.
A lot of you have been asking when the next CMF phone is coming and as always we'd rather be transparent.
— Akis Evangelidis (@AkisEvangelidis) June 19, 2026
CMF Phone 2 Pro was a product we were incredibly proud of. It even won Budget Phone of the Year from MKBHD and the response from all of you made it even more special.
We…
The price surge isn't limited to smartphone components. AI data centres are consuming the majority of global DRAM and NAND supply, pushing consumer device makers to the back of the allocation queue. Gartner's Q2 2026 Memory Price Forecast projects a 130% memory cost increase by year-end, translating to roughly 13% higher smartphone prices across the UK and US markets by end of 2026.
What it means for buyers
Nothing's flagship Phone (4) has also been delayed to 2027, with the company pivoting attention to a mid-range Phone (4a) series instead. The CMF sub-brand — which targeted first-time Android upgraders and cost-conscious buyers at Currys and online — has no confirmed phone on the roadmap for this year. Evangelidis did say CMF will still release other products in 2026, with at least one described as a surprise for fans, though no categories were named.
The transparency here is notable. Rather than issuing a vague statement about "market conditions" or silently delaying the device, Nothing chose a direct public explanation. That's unusual in an industry where cancellations typically surface via leaked supply-chain reports months later.
For anyone waiting on a CMF Phone 3 Pro, there's no equivalent from a single rival right now. Competing budget lines from Xiaomi, Realme, and Poco are all absorbing the same memory price pressures — expect those to get more expensive too, not cheaper.
