The Rise of Niche Phones: CMFPhone1, Unihertz JellyMax and LightPhone3 Show There's Another Way

The Rise of Niche Phones: CMFPhone1, Unihertz JellyMax and LightPhone3 Show There's Another Way CMFPhone1 is the first smartphone launched by CMF, a sub-brand under Nothing, focusing on cost-effectiveness and replaceable back covers. It is priced around 2,000 yuan

The Rise of Niche Phones: CMFPhone1, Unihertz JellyMax and LightPhone3 Show There's Another Way

Recently, Canalys, a renowned international data research agency, announced that global smartphone shipments in Q2 2024 saw a significant increase compared to the same period last year, reaching 288.9 million units. The top five brands remained familiar, accounting for 67% of the market share, while the remaining 33% included big names like OPPO, Huawei, and Honor. Excluding these well-known brands, the truly "other" niche brands likely account for less than 10%. However, these seemingly minor players have launched a number of refreshing phones in July, injecting some much-needed excitement into the otherwise mundane smartphone market. It feels like we've gone back to the heyday of smartphone innovation, reminiscent of the diverse landscape of a decade ago.

While these phones may be interesting for domestic users, we don't recommend purchasing them.

The Most Fun Mid-Range Phone: CMFPhone1

CMFPhone1 is the first smartphone launched by CMF, a sub-brand under Nothing, focusing on cost-effectiveness and replaceable back covers. It is priced around 2,000 yuan. The CMFPhone1 boasts a unique back design with replaceable covers, allowing users to customize their phone with different colors and materials. This echoes the replaceable back cover design of the OnePlus 2, which explains why many users say Nothing feels like the old OnePlus.

Beyond the replaceable back cover, the CMFPhone1 also features screw holes for mounting phone stands, straps, or magnetic card holders. CMF has even released related blueprints, enabling users to DIY their own accessories. While the back cover is replaceable, the sim card slot is still a plug-in design, and the battery is not quick-swappable, due to the phone's IP52 water resistance rating.

In terms of specifications, the phone is relatively standard: it's powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor, features a 6.67-inch OLED straight screen with 1080P resolution, a peak brightness of 2000 nits, and supports a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The bezels are relatively even on all sides, resulting in a premium front look. Additionally, the CMFPhone1 features a 5000mAh large-capacity battery, supporting 33WPD fast charging, but lacks wireless charging and NFC. As for the camera, well, let's not go there.

Thanks to a friend, we had a chance to briefly experience this device. As a brand emphasizing design and personalization, the CMFPhone1's appearance is undeniably impressive clean, refined, and with surprisingly good craftsmanship, even surpassing some domestic brands' phones in the 3,000 yuan range. The back cover, even without screws, is so secure that it's impossible to remove without a pry tool. Regarding the system and features, we can say it's simple and smooth, or in less flattering terms, it's no better than a thousand-yuan domestic phone.

Fully Featured, Truly Small Screen: Unihertz JellyMaxi

Since the discontinuation of the mini series, the "small screen flagship" category has essentially been buried. Everyone has adapted, now considering flagships with six-inch screens as small. Today, even finding a smartphone under six inches is rare, let alone a flagship. Recently, a fully featured small screen phone has emerged, sporting a 5.05-inch LCD screen, 4000mAh battery, 66W fast charging, 100MP main camera + 3.4x optical zoom, high-precision dual-frequency GPS, infrared remote, global multi-band 5G, and NFC support. This is the JellyMax from Unihertz, likely one of the smallest 5G smartphones currently available.

It's powered by the Dimensity 7300 chipset, 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 256GB UFS3.1 storage, with a domestic price estimated at around 2,500 yuan. As a phone smaller than the iPhone 13 mini, the JellyMax measures only 128.7x62.7mm. However, to accommodate all the features, the overall thickness reaches 16.3mm, and the weight is 180g. The phone also comes with a transparent back cover, customizable operation buttons, and a rear fingerprint unlock feature, adding to its cool factor.

Unihertz is actually a domestic brand primarily targeting overseas markets. They offer products like the Tank series, focusing on rugged outdoor use, the Jelly series known for small screens, and even the TiTan series with physical full keyboards. Each model is unique and even somewhat unusual. Despite their low recognition, Unihertz has been around for nearly 10 years. The parent company, Shenzhen Dongfanglan Communication Technology Co., Ltd., was founded in 2012. Unlike mainstream phone brands that employ contract manufacturing, Unihertz has its own production lines, handling everything from product design, R&D, and production to sales. This allows them to create these "weird" phones and maintain reasonable prices.

Stop Obsessing Over Your Phone: LightPhone3

When I saw the LightPhone3, my first reaction was: "Wait, this brand didn't go bankrupt?" Their last product was the LightPhone2, almost five years ago.

The LightPhone3 is a minimalist functional phone, or maybe it's an intelligent phone, but it's definitely not a smartphone. It runs on a lightweight system based on deeply modified Android, offering only basic tools like alarm, calendar, navigation, hotspot, music, notes/voice memos, podcasts, timer, phone, and SMS. Any settings adjustments or tool additions require computer access via a web interface. Of course, it can't play TikTok or Weibo. WeChat, Alipay all gone. Games are out of the question. The goal is to get people off the phone and back to real life.

Hardware-wise, the LightPhone3 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 4Gen2 processor, offering outstanding power efficiency. It also supports 5G, making it perfectly suitable for a feature phone. The screen remains monochrome, but it's upgraded from an e-ink screen to an OLED display. The size is increased to 3.92 inches, with a resolution of 1080x1240 and a 60Hz refresh rate. Camera-wise, the LightPhone3 has a 50MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. It's more than sufficient for "getting the job done". Since the screen is monochrome, color accuracy doesn't seem as crucial. The phone also supports fingerprint recognition, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and GPS. It comes with a 1800mAh replaceable battery, offering a blend of modern technology and vintage vibes.

Currently, pre-orders are only available on their website, priced at $499, with deliveries expected in February 2025. Beyond basic hardware, Light also offers virtual operator services. Their cheapest plan costs $30 per month plus tax, including unlimited talk and text, but limited to 1GB of data. Their website candidly states: "By signing up for our service plan, you directly help support the new features and upgrades we're constantly developing."

Niche Market: Acclaimed But Not Necessarily Mainstream

These phones and the market they inhabit have a specific term: niche market. A niche market is a small and specific segment of a broader market, typically comprised of individuals with common needs, interests, habits, or preferences. Compared to the overall market, it's smaller in size but potentially sustainable. Niche market business opportunities often arise because the mainstream market hasn't met specific needs, whether it's a problem to solve or an unmet need like personalization represented by CMF, ultra-small screens represented by JellyMax, and minimalist design represented by LightPhone.

Because these brands focus on satisfying specific user groups, they receive considerable praise from their target audience. Many professional media also offer rave reviews: "CMFPhone1 is the best $200 phone ever made," "JellyMax is a small but powerful smartphone perfect for single-handed use," and "LightPhone3 is an ideal device for those seeking to reduce screen time."

However, niche markets are inherently small, and further segmentation based on different needs results in a very limited audience for products, hindering brands from achieving large-scale commercial success. Therefore, the phenomenon of being praised but not commercially successful is prevalent in niche markets. For example, I personally love the LightPhone3, but without WeChat or Alipay, I can't use it as my primary phone. Its price of over 3,000 yuan after conversion also makes it hard to swallow. To put it plainly, "I think this phone is great, but I wouldn't buy it."

Domestic smartphone users likely wouldn't be interested in these phones. For the same price, they can buy domestic phones with excellent gaming and photography capabilities. Few people would pay for these "flashy" features. However, these niche phones have carved out their own space in the global market.

"Money" Prospects for Niche Brands