HMD’s new midrange smartphone brings a 144Hz OLED panel, Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, and Qi2 wireless charging
After loads of leaks and rumors, HMD has officially introduced its HMD Skyline smartphone in the global markets. HMD’s new smartphone comes with a repairable design which is something similar to the Nothing’s CMF Phone 1. HMD called it Gen 2 Repairability which allows users to fix bent, charging ports, and scratched back covers in addition to changing screen and a depleted battery, said HMD. HMD packs some interesting features in the Skyline smartphone such as Qi wireless charging support, an OLED panel, a powerful processor, and much more. Have a look at the detailed specs, price, and availability.
Let’s start with the battery, the HMD Skyline boasts a replaceable 4,600mAh battery that promises up to 48 hours of battery backup on a single charge. You also get 33W fast wired, 15W Qi2 wireless charging as well as 5W reverse wireless charging support. The Qi wireless charging standard is pretty much similar to Apple’s MagSafe charging feature that ensures a faster, more reliable, and more efficient wireless charging experience. This is the first Android smartphone that comes with Qi2 wireless charging support.
The smartphone has a square-cut body and rounded bezel corners that remind me of the Nokia Lumia 920’s signature design. It has a stunning 6.55-inch FHD+ OLED screen with 144Hz refresh rate, HDR10, and 1000 nits peak brightness. Additionally, HMD also incorporated a remappable button on the left-hand side, allowing users to assign different functions and shortcuts such as launching specific apps with a double-tap or press-and-hold.
The Skyline is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage which is further expandable up to 512GB via microSD card. The device runs on Android 14 based on HMD’s so-called “Balance Interface” out of the box. HMD promises only two major Android updates (up to Android 16) and three years of security patches, which is very disappointing. Compared to the competition the HMD falls behind its immediate rivals such as Samsung and Google bringing five to seven years of update policy on the same price point.
For lenses, HMD went with a 108MP camera setup on the Skyline. The OIS-enabled main camera is paired with a 13MP ultrawide lens and a 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. On the front, it has a 50MP shooter for selfies and video chats. Other notable features of the HMD Skyline include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, IP54 rating, Bluetooth v5.2, WiFi-6E, Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top, NFC, and Detox Mode.
The HMD Skyline retails at £399/$499 for the base 8GB/128GB model, while the 12GB/256GB model is priced at £499. It comes in Neon Pink and Twisted Black color options. The smartphone is already on sale via HMD’s official website.
Related
