HMD Skyline Smartphone Review – 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 down the line. HMD usually launches its smartphones under the Nokia brand but recently, the company has started releasing phones under its own brand name.
In terms of looks, the smartphone looks a bit like 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 this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
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 a promise to deliver 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 4600 mAh battery with 33W wired and 15W wireless fast charging support.
Design and Display
The HMD Skyline features a premium design with a combination of Aluminum and glass for the body. The front and the rear side are flat but the sides are curved. The corners are curved and sort of give the appearance of the Nokia N9, which brings back a lot of memories. It’s a great design and there’s a good chance you will love it.
The smartphone is available in Neon Pink and Twisted Black color options. Apart from the Black color, all other color options feature a dual-tone design. All in all, it has a great design that fans will surely appreciate. The smartphone also has uniform bezels on all four sides, which gives it a premium appearance.
The best part about this smartphone is that it is extremely repairable and you will be able to easily buy 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 display features an FHD+ resolution and can also display HDR10 content. The panel can get decently 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 light scratches and 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, which has all the raw performance you need to run all your social media apps and games without breaking a sweat. The same performance can be seen in the gaming side of things as well.
You will be able to play graphically intensive games like Black Desert Mobile, Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, Summoners War, and CODm at smooth framerates. As for the software, HMD Skyline is running on Android 14 with a stock user interface for a clean experience. Nokia also promises to deliver 2 years of Android updates. The chipset also supports 5G connectivity, which will deliver gigabit-level speeds and low latency for multiplayer gaming. 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 primary camera consists of a 108MP sensor, which is properly optimized to capture more light. This allows the camera to take some great shots with a high dynamic range, more details, and natural colors. It is a seriously impressive camera that exceeds our expectations.
Thanks to the optimization that HMD made with the night mode algorithm, which allows it to capture some amazing shots during the night. The 13MP ultra-wide camera is also quite capable and can capture pictures with a wide field of view and good detail levels, but there’s a little color shift in the photos compared to the main camera.
There’s also a 50MP telephoto sensor, which can capture pictures with 2x optical zoom and the pictures are more than decent. It’s not on the same level as Samsung Galaxy phones’ telephoto camera but it’s good enough for regular usage. At night, you can turn the night mode on, which should lead to some night pictures.
On the front, there’s another 50MP sensor, which can take some great selfies with a natural color tone. When it comes to video recording, the rear cameras can shoot up to 4K@30FPS, but the selfie camera can only shoot videos at a maximum of 1080p@30FPS. The footage from the rear cameras is stabilized with both OIS and gyro-EIS, but there’s no stabilization for the selfie camera.
Battery and Others
The HMD Skyline has a 4600mAh high-capacity battery, so it can last 1 – 2 days comfortably with light to medium usage that includes a bit of camera, social media, YouTube, and so on. However, the battery will not last that long with heavier usage, including gaming, but this shouldn’t worry you since the smartphone supports 33W wired fast charging support.
It can fully charge the smartphone in just about 1 hour and 30 minutes. There’s also a 15W wireless charging support, which is another thing that makes this smartphone more attractive than others around 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) approx.
HMD Skyline Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the HMD Skyline smartphone.
| Specifications | HMD Skyline |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | July 2024 |
| SIM | eSIM |
| Dimensions | N/A6.29 x 2.99 x 0.35 inches |
| Weight | 209.5 g |
| Size | 6.55 inches |
| Display | P-OLED 144Hz 1000 nits brightness HDR10 20:9 ratio ~402 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 IP54, dust and splash resistant Repair-it-yourself capable |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| OS | Android 14, up to 2 major Android upgrades |
| Chipset | 4nm – Qualcomm SM7435-AB Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.40 GHz Cortex-A78 4×1.95 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | Adreno 710 |
| Card slot | microSDXC |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB |
| Camera | 108 MP (wide), PDAF, OIS 50 MP (telephoto), PDAF, 2x optical zoom 13 MP (ultrawide) LED flash, HDR Max – 4K@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Selfie | 50 MP (wide), AF Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes (stereo speakers) |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| 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 | Yes |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | Unspecified |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
| Battery | 4600 mAh 33W wired, PD3.0 PPS, QC4 15W wireless, Qi2 5W reverse wireless |
| Colors | Neon Pink, Twisted Black |
| Expected Price | $500 (Rs 41,990 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The HMD Skyline is essentially an upper mid-range smartphone and its specs convey the same message. The HMD Skyline’s pros include a premium design with a high-end display, a great chipset, a fantastic camera, and superb battery life.
Considering the specs it has, the pricing is decent enough. Usually, we don’t get great pricing from HMD but it’s quite decent this time. Other smartphones, such as the OnePlus 12R, have a better display, chipset, and battery, but lose out in design, camera, and wireless charging. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
