At this Black Friday price, this is the cheapest phone I would actually recommend buying

Black Friday is just around the corner, and as such, we’re seeing the pace and scale of Black Friday phone deals ramping up, with big discounts being offered on the very best phones as well as the best cheap phones. In fact, I’ve spotted a sweet discount on the cheapest phone I’d confidently recommend, as you can now get the CMF Phone 2 Pro for £179 (was £219) at Amazon.

• Shop Amazon’s full Black Friday sale

The CMF Phone 2 Pro features on our list of the best cheap phones in the US and in the ‘Also consider’ section of our equivalent guide in the UK, so it’s a great choice for those on a tight budget who still want a competently made phone from a recognisable brand.

What’s more, you’re not paying for a brand name here as much as you are with Samsung or Google, as Nothing and its sub-brand CMF carry less weight than these bigger rivals, making this Black Friday discount an especially sweet one.

Granted, the CMF Phone 2 Pro doesn’t perform nearly as well as the flagship phones it emulates – the cameras, while numerous, are pretty bad, performance is subject to lags and delays, and the large battery is hampered by slow charging. But at this price, the value for money is still so huge that, despite its shortcomings, the phone still scored 3.5 stars in our full CMF Phone 2 Pro review.

And to throw a little personal opinion into the mix, I’m a real fan of the CMF Phone 2 Pro’s overall aesthetic. The dot-matrix design of NothingOS merges well with the raw industrial look of the phone’s rear panel. You’ll want to check our list of the best cheap phones for a more reliable performer, but for £179 you won’t find a better-running or cooler-looking option.