Earlier this week, Nothing confirmed that CMF will no longer get a new smartphone later this year. However, the company also teased that a new model is still coming to Nothing itself. The initial tease did not include a model name or an image, thereby shrouding the new phone in mystery. Now, the mystery is gone as Nothing has definitively confirmed what’s coming: the Nothing (4b).

Nope, that’s not a typo. Nothing is following up the Phone (4a) series with the Phone (4b).

On X, Nothing teased the upcoming smartphone with a rough sketch of the model. Surrounded by designs from the Phone (4a) series, the Phone (4b)’s design shakes things up by introducing the usual wide camera island but affixing only a small vertical camera setup on the left side.

Meanwhile, a smaller pill-shaped cutout likely houses the phone’s LED flashes. Finally, a light strip on the lower right of the island will probably feature the model’s lighting element.

The Nothing (4b)’s launch is just over the horizon. The company has confirmed that the model will launch on July 7.

This is likely Nothing’s last ace up its sleeve this year. Earlier this year, Carl Pei already confirmed that the flagship-level Phone (4) will not arrive until next year.

Year after year, major phone brands are defying the manufacturing and costing challenges just to give the mid-class the smartphone cameras they deserve.

This 2026 and beyond, it seems like it’s the new norm for the freshest breed of premium midrangers.

Mainlander Midranger

The HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are two smartphones positioned in the peak of the midranger pyramid.

On paper, they are highly likely the closest in terms of camera hardware.

	HONOR 600 Pro	OPPO Reno15 Pro
Wide	200MP f/1.9 1/1.4” Samsung ISOCELL HP3 sensor	200MP f/1.8 1/1.56” Samsung ISOCELL HP5 sensor
Ultra-Wide	12MP f/2.2 112º FoV	50MP f/2.0 116º FoV
Telephoto	50MP f/2.8 3.5x optical zoom	50MP f/2.8 3.5x optical zoom
Selfie	50MP f/2.0	50MP f/2.0

First and foremost, while these phones rock a similar 200MP cameras by Samsung, the sensor sizes and age are quite different.

The HONOR 600 Pro has a bigger yet older (2022) 1/1.14-inch ISOCELL HP3. Meanwhile, a newer (2025) yet standard-sized ISOCELL HP5 was used in the Reno15 Pro.

The biggest disparity can be seen in their ultra-wide modules. HONOR didn’t focus too much on it by giving a smaller 12MP f/2.2 with a tighter 112-degree FoV (Field of View).

On the other hand, the OPPO equipped a bigger 50MP module with a brighter f/2.0 aperture, and an even wider 116-degree FoV.

Lastly, both the telephoto and selfie shooters are at 50MP. Both telephoto cameras are capable of optically zooming in to 3.5x.

Fair and Square

Both of these midrangers have their own set of special sauces. But, for the sake of fairness, I’ve stuck with each of their default camera color profiles: Natural for the HONOR 600 Pro while Original in the OPPO Reno15 Pro.

Disclaimer: If you are new here, sample photos were all taken using the default AI Camera Mode. These images were resized and labeled for faster loading and better online preview. No color correction, zoomed-in cropping, nor any other type of photo manipulation were applied.

3.5x Telephoto

Starting with the common denominator of both phones: their 3.5x 50MP f/2.8 telephoto shooters

T1

T2

T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10

T11

T12

Beyond Telephoto Zoom

We have to break the barriers just to test each phones’ telephoto unit limit.

ZB1

ZB2

ZB3

ZB4

ZB5

ZB6

1x Wide (Main)

Again, both phones rock a 200MP camera but of different aperture and sensor sizes. Can you differentiate them from another though?

W1

W2

W3

W4

W5

W6

W7

W8

W9

W10

Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA)

Each FoV value can be your primary hint to determine which is which. But, is it enough for you to tell who’s the better performer?

U1

U2

U3

U4

U5

Food

A separate section for prospective users who will use one of these for food shots.

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

Furry Friends

Whether it’s our pets or wild animals, they all have one thing in common: they are all very hard to capture especially when in motion.

FF1

FF2

FF3

FF4

FF5

FF6

FF7

FF8

Indoors

Subjects taken in any controlled lighting is another tricky test for both of these smartphones.

IN1

IN2

IN3

IN4

IN5

IN6

IN7

IN8

IN9

IN10

IN11

IN12

The Night is Right

The ultimate camera test all boils down to shots taken at night (or low-light).

Actual camera processing is one. Added AI algorithms and the actual output for another.

N1A  |  1x Wide

N1B  |  3.5x Optical Zoom

N2  |  Ultra-Wide

N3A  |  3.5x Optical Zoom

N3B  |  5x Lossless Zoom

N4  |  5x Zoom

N5  |  2x In-Sensor Zoom

N6  |  3.5x Optical Zoom

N7  |  1x Wide

N8A  |  UWA

N8B  |  1x Wide

N9  |  3.5x Optical Zoom

N10  |  5x Lossless Zoom

BONUS: Super Moon

That same telephoto module gives both the HONOR and OPPO midrangers a zoom reach as far as 120x.

M1  |  40x Digital Zoom

M2  |  120x Max Zoom

Results

Were you able to write down and tally your picks? Well, here are the results:

A — OPPO Reno15 Pro 5G 

B — HONOR 600 Pro

Conclusion

For the most part, samples taken on the HONOR 600 Pro are already social media-ready. They require little to no effort prior sharing it as your Facebook post or Instagram story.

And by that, the saturation and contrast game is strong as opposed to its rival — a look preferred by most users. These are clearly seen in Sets T1 / T5 / ZB5 / W1 / W2 / N1A.

Meanwhile, the OPPO Reno15 Pro leans more into the “natural” side.

Despite the absence of that premium Hasselblad partnership, it still gave desirable results for those who want the less “AI-processed” look (softer, reduced saturation, minimized contrast) which are evident in Photos T2 / T4 / T8 / T12 / ZB1 / ZB3 / W7 / W8 / FF7 / FF8.

Definitely, the results are not totally consistent. The OPPO Reno15 Pro mostly had a brighter and warmer output (T1 / T5 ~T7 / ZB6 / W1 / W4 / W5 / W8 / W10 / U1 / U2 / F1 / F2 / F4 / FF1 / FF2 / IN3 / IN8 / IN12 / N3A / N5).

Other times, the latter is brighter yet cooler (T12 / ZB1 / ZB2 / ZB3 / ZB4 / FF3 / FF8 / IN1 / IN2 / IN7 / IN9 / IN10 / IN11). Even the super moon shots on the HONOR 600 Pro were brighter, too.

These differences and inconsistencies might make or break your final decision which smartphone best suits your overall camera taste.

Pro-grade for less

Despite the continuous innovation and evolution of flagship smartphones when it comes to mobile imaging, phone manufacturers still try to balance everything out with midrange smartphones in the horizon.

The HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are two among the handful midranger wonders meant for any pro-grade user who lacks the purchasing power to buy the bestest in the lineup — but, still want a very capable device for their smartphone-tography needs.

Clearly, the camera hardware isn’t the most “powerful” out there. Still, they are clear with the positioning of these phones. They are your pro-grade cameras for less.

As similar as their camera hardware, the HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro also have similar SRPs — at least the 12+512GB configuration.

• HONOR 600 Pro = PhP 48,999 / MYR 3299 / SG$ 1049
• OPPO Reno15 Pro = PhP 48,999 / MYR 3299 / SG$ 1049 (as Reno15 Pro Max)

HONOR your Reno?

Over the years of making dedicated camera shootout write-ups, I always thought that photos that look closer to our naked eyes is something that I should call “the better smartphone camera” — especially because of the accuracy of their output.

Now, with the advent of smartphone cameras with countless camera partnerships and all the imaginable profiles / presets / styles / recipes (or whatever you want to call ’em) to ever exist, it got harder to decide which smartphone to recommend for most users.

Such sentiment made me realize that there is no single clear winner at all.

So what’s the point of making another extensive camera comparison like this? Well, it’s still for you to show how each phone is capable (or incapable) both in camera hardware and software. It’s also for you to choose the camera look that’s closer to your liking.

Clearly, both the HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are very capable smartphone cameras. But, at the end of the day, it’s your power as a buyer which pro-grade midranger wins your heart.

Now, if you will consider other aspects such as their core hardware, OS skin, and even after-sales service, that’s clearly for another story.

For the past few years, Nothing kept launching smartphone after smartphone. Further, every new iteration felt like a reinvention, rather than just a modest upgrade. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, including Nothing’s streak. This year, after announcing that we won’t get a Phone (4), Nothing has announced that CMF is also skipping 2026 for a hopefully better 2027.

Now, whenever there’s bad news about delayed phone launches, there’s only one culprit. The ongoing RAM crisis is wreaking havoc across the entire industry. Because of the AI industry’s desperate need to stockpile chips, consumer-friendly devices find themselves with a scarcity of components, leading to delays or price increases.

Recently, in a moment of transparency, Nothing’s Akis Evangelidis confirms that CMF will not launch a new phone this year. Citing more of the same, he says that “with memory prices where they are right now, we can’t build a phone that feels like a genuine step forward at a price that makes sense for CMF.”

As a tease, Evangelidis did say that the brand is currently working on a sequel to the CMF Phone 2 Pro. Unfortunately, it’s going to take longer for the phone to come out.

All that said, there is a silver lining. Evangelidis concludes the announcement by also confirming that Nothing still has something up its sleeve. “The smartphone launch season at Nothing isn’t over yet,” he said.

This is a huge deal. Previously, Nothing’s Carl Pei said that the Phone (4) isn’t coming out this year. Even with the Phone (4a)’s launch already done and dusted, the brand still has something left in the tank.

SEE ALSO: Nothing Phone (4a) + (4a) Pro review