HMD Skyline Smartphone Review
HMD Skyline Smartphone Review: The HMD Skyline was launched in July 2024 and interested customers can add it to their carts right now. It is available globally in many countries and will expand to more regions in the future. HMD usually releases its smartphones under the Nokia brand, but recently, the company started releasing phones under its own branding.
As far as looks are concerned, the smartphone looks a bit similar to the older Nokia N9, at least from the front. Since this is an upper-mid-range smartphone, it has decent hardware inside, including 5G connectivity. HMD is hoping that its modern hardware and N9-like design will be enough to attract users to this new phone. Let’s do a detailed review of the HMD Skyline smartphone and see if it’s worth buying.
HMD Skyline Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The HMD Skyline has a 6.55-inch P-OLED display with 144Hz high refresh rate support.
- The SoC inside the smartphone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 5G chipset that is capable of reaching clock speeds of 4×2.4 GHz.
- The smartphone comes with Android 14 with the promise of delivering 2 major Android updates.
- The smartphone has a 108MP triple rear camera system with a 50MP selfie camera system.
- The smartphone is powered by a 4600mAh battery with support for 33W wired fast charging and 15W wireless fast charging.
Design and exhibition
The HMD Skyline features a premium design with a combination of aluminum and glass for the body. The front and back are flat, but the sides are curved. The corners are curved and give the look of the Nokia N9, which brings back a lot of memories. It’s a great design and there’s a good chance you’ll love it.
The smartphone is available in Neon Pink and Braided Black colours. Apart from the Black colour, all other colour options feature a dual-tone design. Overall, it has a great design that fans will surely appreciate. The smartphone also has uniform bezels on all four sides, giving it a premium look.
The best part about this smartphone is that it is extremely repairable and you will be able to easily purchase and swap parts from HMD’s site, including the display. Speaking of the display, you get a 6.55-inch P-OLED display with 144Hz high refresh rate support. The screen has an FHD+ resolution and can also display HDR10 content. The panel can get pretty bright and shouldn’t cause any major issues when using it under direct sunlight. The display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3, which will protect it from scratches and light drops.
Memory and internal
HMD has equipped the HMD Skyline with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 5G chipset, which is capable of delivering clock speeds of up to 4×2.4 GHz, giving you all the performance you need to run all your social media apps and games smoothly. The same performance can be seen in the gaming realm as well.
You will be able to play graphics-intensive games like Black Desert Mobile, Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Summoners War, and CODm at smooth frame rates. As for the software, the HMD Skyline runs on Android 14 with a stock UI for a clean experience. Nokia also promises to offer 2 years of Android updates. The chipset also supports 5G connectivity, which will offer gigabit-level speeds and low latency for multiplayer gaming. As for RAM and storage, the smartphone can be purchased with up to 8GB/12GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage.
Camera
The HMD Skyline has a 108MP triple rear camera system. The main camera consists of a 108MP sensor, which is properly optimized to capture more light. This allows the camera to take excellent photos with a high dynamic range, more details, and natural colors. It is a truly impressive camera that exceeds our expectations.
Thanks to the optimization HMD made to the night mode algorithm, it allows you to capture some amazing shots at night. The 13MP ultra-wide camera is also quite capable and can capture images with a wide field of view and good levels of detail, but there is a slight color shift in the photos compared to the main camera.
There’s also a 50MP telephoto sensor, which can capture images with 2x optical zoom, and the pictures are more than decent. It’s not on the same level as the telephoto camera on Samsung Galaxy phones, but it’s good enough for regular use. At night, you can turn on night mode, which should result in some great nighttime photography.
On the front, there is another 50MP sensor, which can take great selfies with a natural color tone. As far as video recording is concerned, the rear cameras can record up to 4K at 30 FPS, but the selfie camera can only record videos at a maximum of 1080p at 30 FPS. Images from the rear cameras are stabilized with OIS and gyro-EIS, but there is no stabilization for the selfie camera.
Battery and others
The HMD Skyline has a high-capacity 4600mAh battery, so it can last 1-2 days comfortably with light to medium usage including a bit of camera work, social media, YouTube, etc. However, the battery won’t last as long with more intensive usage including gaming, but this shouldn’t worry you as the smartphone supports 33W wired fast charging.
You can fully charge the smartphone in just 1 hour and 30 minutes or so. There is 15W wireless charging support as well, which is another thing that makes this smartphone more attractive than others in the same price range. Apart from that, the phone also has dual-band Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, NFC, stereo speakers, and a USB Type-C port for charging. The HMD Skyline starts at $500 (Rs 41,990 in India) approximately.
Pros and cons of the HMD Skyline
Detailed specifications of the HMD Skyline
Below you can see the HMD Skyline Smartphone Full Specifications.
| Budget | HMD Horizon |
| Grid | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | July 2024 |
| SIM card | Electronic SIM |
| Dimensions | N/A6.29 x 2.99 x 0.35 inches |
| Weight | 209.5 grams |
| Size | 6.55 inches |
| Show | P-OLED 144 Hz 1000 nits brightness HDR10 Ratio 20:9 Density of ~402 PPI |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 IP54, dust and splash resistant. Able to repair it yourself |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Operating system | Android 14, up to 2 major Android updates |
| Chipset | 4nm: Qualcomm SM7435-AB 2nd Gen Snapdragon 7s |
| UPC | Octa-core 4×2.40 GHz Cortex-A78 processor 4×1.95GHz Cortex-A55 processor |
| GPU | Adreno 710 |
| Card slot | microSDXC |
| RAM | 8 GB, 12 GB |
| Internal | 128 GB, 256 GB |
| Camera | 108 MP (wide angle), PDAF, OIS 50 MP (telephoto), PDAF, 2x optical zoom 13 MP (ultra wide angle) LED flash, HDR Max: 4K at 30 fps, gyro EIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP (wide angle), AF Max: 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yeah (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm connector | No |
| Wireless network (WLAN) | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual band |
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD, aptX adaptive |
| GPS | GPS (L1+L5), Galileo, GLONASS, BDS |
| NFC | Yeah |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | not specified |
| USB | USB Type C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, compass and barometer. |
| Battery | 4600 mAh 33W Wired, PD3.0 PPS, QC4 15W wireless, Qi2 5W wireless reverse |
| Flag | Neon pink, twisted black |
| Expected price | $500 (Rs. 41,990 in India) approximately |
Conclusion
The HMD Skyline is, at its core, an upper mid-range smartphone and its specs convey the same message. The HMD Skyline’s strengths include a premium design with a high-end display, a great chipset, a fantastic camera and excellent battery life.
Considering the specs it has, the price is pretty decent. Normally, we don’t get big prices from HMD, but this time, it’s pretty decent. Other smartphones like the OnePlus 12R have a better display, chipset, and battery, but lose out on design, camera, and wireless charging. However, the final decision is up to you, so it’s better to choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
