Long summary
- HMD has announced its Skyline smartphone, the first Android phone to support Qi2 wireless charging.
- The Skyline also offers a seemingly replaceable battery, a 144Hz OLED display, and a flexible rear camera system.
- The phone is priced at £399.99 (~$520) in the UK and $499 in the US.
We’ve seen a lot of leaks about the HMD Skyline over the past few months, hinting at a smartphone with a design that vaguely resembles the classic Lumia phones. Now, the Finnish brand has fully revealed the new Android-powered phone.
Perhaps the most notable feature of the HMD Skyline is that it appears to be the first Android phone to support Qi2 wireless charging. This standard allows for magnetic wireless charging like Apple’s MagSafe charging, allowing for faster, more efficient, and cooler wireless charging. More specifically, the new phone supports 15W wireless charging, along with 5W reverse wireless charging.
Not interested in wireless charging? You can also opt to top up the 4,600mAh battery via 33W wired charging. What’s more, HMD says the battery is replaceable, with a promo video suggesting that the back cover pops off with the help of something resembling a SIM tray ejector tool.
The phone also features an exterior design that features a square body and rounded corners on the frame reminiscent of phones like the Nokia Lumia 920. The company adds that the device is designed to be repairable, thanks to its partnership with iFixit. Another noteworthy addition to the device is a remappable button on the left side, which allows you to launch apps and more with a double tap or press and hold.
HMD Skyline: Competing with the Pixel 8a?
The rest of the HMD Skyline specs reveal an upper-midrange phone. There’s a 6.55-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate (FHD+, 1,000 nits peak brightness), a mid-range Snapdragon 7s 2nd-gen chipset, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage. The phone also comes with a microSD card slot, offering up to 512GB of additional space.
The new HMD phone is also the most impressive camera phone the company has produced in a long time – on paper at least. The rear camera bump houses a 108MP main camera with OIS, a 13MP ultrawide lens, and a 50MP 2x (up to 4x) telephoto camera. We also have a 50MP selfie camera with autofocus and 4K support.
HMD Skyline is equipped with what it calls the “Balance interface” on top of Android 14. The company says this interface offers a Detox mode that is supposed to be a touch of digital wellbeing and “more relaxing” system sounds (such as alarms, ringtones, and notification alerts). The former is listed as coming soon. Unfortunately, those expecting a great update policy will have to make do with two OS updates and three years of security patches. It’s a real shame when phones from Samsung and Google get five to seven years of updates.
Other notable features include Gorilla Glass 3 on the front (tempered glass on the back), Bluetooth 5.2, IP54 rating, NFC, side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and Wi-Fi 6E.
The HMD Skyline is currently listed on the company’s UK and US websites. An 8GB/128GB model is available. £399.99 In the UK, the 12GB/256GB version will set you back £499.99. HMD representatives confirmed after this article was published that the phone will retail for £499.99. $499 In the US – the phone is only available in 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256GB flavors.
That means the device is priced the same as the Pixel 8a in the US and £100 cheaper in the UK. HMD’s device has features like Qi2 charging, faster wired charging, a bigger battery, a telephoto camera, a dedicated shortcut button, and expanded storage. However, Google’s device offers great image processing, decent water resistance, a longer update policy, and a brighter display. In any case, we’re happy to see HMD offering more than just budget phones again.
“Writer. Friendly troublemaker. Lifelong food junkie. Professional beer evangelist.”