HMD Fusion Smartphone Review – The HMD Fusion was announced in September 2024 and will go on sale by the end of that month. The smartphone will initially be available only in Europe, but it will soon launch in the US and other regions. The HMD Fusion has a new modular design language that allows you to customize its rear panel.
This modular design also allows you to do some quick repairs that are not possible on other phones. The HMD Fusion also comes with some decent specs inside, including 5G connectivity. HMD is hoping that the new modular design along with 5G and other features would be enough to attract new customers. So, let’s begin with a detailed review of the HMD Fusion and see if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
HMD Fusion Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The HMD Fusion has a 6.56-inch IPS display with 90Hz high refresh rate support.
- The smartphone has the Qualcomm SM4450 Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 5G chipset, which is capable of reaching up to 2×2.2GHz clock speeds.
- The HMD Fusion comes with Android 14 with a stock user interface for a better user experience.
- The smartphone has a 108MP dual rear camera system with a 50MP selfie camera.
- The HMD Fusion is powered by a 5000 mAh battery with a 33W wired fast charger support.
Design and Display
The HMD Fusion features a modular design, which allows you to not only change the rear panel but also gives you access to some of the internals for quick do-it-yourself repairs. You can even build your own custom rear panel with the HMD Fusion development toolkit that the company is providing. It will have everything you need to build the rear panel with a 3D printer.
The body of the phone is flat, but the corners are rounded for better usability. Also, the HMD Fusion won’t slip out of your palm since it has a stronger grip. Overall, the build quality of the phone is solid, and it should last a really long time. Unfortunately, the HMD Fusion will only be available in Noir color, which can be a bit of a bummer.
On the front of the phone, you will find a 6.56-inch IPS display with 90Hz high refresh rate support. This panel has HD resolution, which can be a deal breaker for some people. However, the panel can get as bright as 600 nits, so it will offer a decent viewing experience. There is no protection for the display, but the phone is protected from dust and water splashes with an IP54 rating.
Memory and Internal
The HMD Fusion comes equipped with the Qualcomm SM4450 Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 5G chipset, which can reach clock speeds of up to 2×2.2GHz. This is a decent chipset considering the price of the smartphone and can comfortably run everyday apps, such as Facebook, Prime Video, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and more.
This chipset is also quite good at gaming. Its Adreno 613 GPU can comfortably run games like PUBG mobile, Black Desert Mobile, CODm, Summoners War, and even Genshin Impact without any overheating issues. However, it’s not a gaming chipset, so don’t expect any high-fidelity graphics or high refresh-rate gaming capabilities.
The HMD Fusion has 5G connectivity, so you will get high download speeds and low latency during online gaming. Apart from that, the HMD Fusion can be purchased with up to 4GB/6GB/8GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of internal storage. The HMD Fusion is running on Android 14 with a stock user interface for better user experience. It even has a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is not available in all the smartphones these days.
Camera
The HMD Fusion comes with a 108MP dual rear camera system. The primary 108MP camera can capture some great pictures with high detail levels, decent dynamic range, and a natural color tone. The picture quality is quite good for the price of the phone, but the same cannot be said for the 2MP secondary camera, which is pretty useless.
There’s an LED flash as well if you ever need it. On the front of the phone, there’s a 50MP selfie camera, which honestly surprised us with its picture quality. It is capable of taking some fantastic selfies, and they tend to have a good amount of detail with a natural-looking skin tone. As for video recording, the HMD Fusion can record videos at up to 1080p@30FPS from both the rear and selfie cameras. Also, there’s gyro-EIS when shooting videos from the primary rear camera, so the footage will be somewhat stable. However, there’s no such feature for the selfie camera.
Battery and Others
The HMD Fusion has a 5000mAh battery, which can last for around 2 days or more with light usage. Therefore, if your usage mostly includes camera, social media, watching videos, and so on, getting 2 days’ worth of battery won’t be a problem. However, if you play a lot of games, the battery will drain faster and may not even last a full day.
As for charging, the HMD Fusion supports a 33W wired fast charging, which can fully charge the battery in about 2 hours. Apart from that, the phone also has Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, GPS, NFC, OTG, and a USB Type-C port for charging. The smartphone is available for purchase starting at $280 (Rs 23,499 in India) approx.
HMD Fusion Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the HMD Fusion smartphone.
| Specifications | HMD Fusion |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | September 2024 |
| SIM | Hybrid Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.46 x 2.97 x 0.33 inches |
| Weight | 202.5 g |
| Size | 6.56 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 90Hz 480-600 nits brightness 20:9 ratio ~269 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | IP54, dust and splash resistant HMD Fusion toolkit: CAD file and API access for building your own outfits Repair-it-yourself capable (display, back cover, battery and charging port repairs) |
| Resolution | 720 x 1612 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, up to 2 major Android upgrades |
| Chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM4450 Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 |
| CPU | Octa-core 2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | Adreno 613 |
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
| RAM | 4GB, 6GB, 8GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB |
| Camera | 108 MP (wide), AF 2 MP (depth) LED flash, HDR Max – 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6 |
| Bluetooth | 5.1, A2DP, LE, aptX Adaptive |
| GPS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG, magnetic accessory connector pins |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Battery | 5000 mAh 33W wired, PD, QC |
| Colors | Noir |
| Expected Price | $280 (Rs 23,499 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The HMD Fusion was designed with repairability and sustainability in mind, which you will rarely find in other smartphones these days. The hardware inside the phone is also quite decent. The display is color-accurate and can get decently bright. The chipset is quite good and can play many of the latest mobile games. Even the camera and the battery performance are quite good.
The pricing is a bit high compared to other smartphones in the market with the same hardware, but none of them have the same DIY repair capability as this phone. The closest alternative phone is the Infinix Note 40 Pro Plus, which has far better features inside but costs a little more. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
