HMD Skyline Review And Specifications

Introduction and Specifications

HMD Skyline Review And Specifications The HMD Skyline is making waves as a potential breakthrough for the company in the post-Nokia era. Despite its design evoking the classic Nokia N9, the Skyline offers distinctive features that set it apart.

One of its standout attributes is its easy DIY repairability. HMD has designed the Skyline to be user-friendly when it comes to repairs—only one screw needs to be removed to access the internals. Replacing components like the battery or screen is straightforward and can be accomplished in under 10 minutes. HMD provides spare parts directly, and they are also available through iFixit, along with a standard repair tool kit. The cost of these parts is notably reasonable.

In terms of durability, the Skyline features a removable back that offers a degree of protection against water and dust. While its IP54 rating is modest compared to higher certifications, it still offers reassurance against dust and splashes, making it suitable for various environments.

HMD Skyline Specifications

The handset features a 6.55-inch OLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate, positioning it as a medium-sized option by current standards. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset handles the display’s high pixel density. It comes with 128GB of base storage, expandable via a microSD card—a feature that’s notably uncommon in this price range.

The camera setup is robust, with HMD opting for a 108MP primary sensor, a 13MP ultrawide lens, and a 50MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. Additionally, it boasts a 50MP front-facing camera with autofocus, a standout feature in this category.

The system is powered by a 4,600 mAh battery, supporting 33W wired charging. While these specifications aren’t groundbreaking, the Skyline does offer 15W wireless charging and can wirelessly charge other devices at up to 5W—a feature typically reserved for high-end models.

Overall, the Skyline presents a unique combination of features. Let’s take a closer look at what HMD’s first smartphone in this new era has to offer.

Unboxing the HMD Skyline

The Skyline’s retail packaging is quite minimal. Inside, you’ll find a color-matched USB-C to USB-C cable for both charging and data transfer. However, our European unit does not include a charger.

Design and ergonomics

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HMD Skyline: Design, Usability, and DIY Repairability

HMD takes a distinctive approach with the Skyline, focusing on repairability as much as on design. Unlike purely aesthetic considerations, the Skyline’s design emphasizes ease of repair. The removable back cover allows users to access and fix key components, though we’ll delve into that aspect further shortly.

Design-wise, the Skyline evokes memories of the Nokia N9 with its sharp corners, flat top and bottom, and rounded side edges. The contrast between the screen’s rounded corners and the frame’s angular edges mirrors the Nokia N9’s style. While the rounded sides offer a comfortable grip, the sharp corners can be a bit uncomfortable, potentially poking into your palm—a design choice that may not appeal to everyone.

The removable back panel is crafted from frosted glass, which, while aesthetically pleasing and resistant to fingerprints and smudges (at least in the Neon Pink variant), may feel slightly slippery. The camera module is designed to be less protruding, maintaining a sleek profile. A Twisted Black color option is also available.

On the left side of the frame, you’ll find an additional Custom Button with a textured surface for easy identification. This button can be programmed to launch specific apps or perform actions.

The right side features the volume rocker and power button, both positioned high on the frame, which may require stretching your thumb to reach. The power button is flush with the frame, making it easy to miss unless you’re looking directly at it.

The side-mounted fingerprint reader, while practical for right-handed users, can be less convenient due to the absence of an option to unlock the phone simply by pressing the power button. This can lead to accidental lockouts. Additionally, the fingerprint scanner’s accuracy and reliability fell short during our testing, with several misreads.

Despite its 6.55-inch display, the HMD Skyline feels somewhat heavy, weighing 209 grams and measuring 8.9 mm in thickness. It does offer IP54 protection, which is modest but valuable given the removable back.

Servicing

HMD asserts that disassembling the Skyline is straightforward, and we found this to be true. The back panel easily detaches once the screw is loosened, though gentle prying is needed. Reattaching the panel is equally simple; patience is key, and the screw remains attached to ensure a secure fit. A T3 Torx screwdriver is required for this task.

It’s important to note that while the battery is technically DIY-serviceable, it is glued in place and connected to the mainboard via a ribbon cable. This makes it possible to replace but not as effortlessly removable as older phone batteries.

144Hz OLED panel

The HMD Skyline features a 6.55-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and supports a 144Hz refresh rate. The screen is also capable of displaying HDR10 content. While HDR content plays well on YouTube, Netflix support is limited—though the app indicates FHD playback is possible, HDR is not supported.

In terms of brightness, the OLED panel lags slightly behind its competitors. In manual mode, it reaches 415 nits, while in auto mode it can peak at 1,060 nits. This brightness level is adequate for most outdoor scenarios but may fall short in very bright conditions.

Overall, the display offers vibrant colors and clear visuals, with no significant issues noted.

Refresh rate

The handset offers four display modes: Standard, 120Hz, 144Hz, and Auto. The Auto mode focuses on energy efficiency, supporting up to 120Hz and dropping to 60Hz when the screen is idle or displaying full-screen videos. However, it still maintains 120Hz for scrolling in apps like YouTube and Netflix. Most applications and system menus operate at 120Hz.

The 144Hz mode, on the other hand, utilizes the display’s full refresh rate potential but operates at a constant 144Hz regardless of the content or usage.

Battery life

The HMD Skyline is equipped with a 4,600 mAh battery, slightly smaller than the current standard of 5,000 mAh cells, and is powered by the energy-efficient Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset. Coupled with a 6.55-inch OLED display, it faces some endurance challenges.

In practice, the Skyline’s battery performance falls short compared to many competitors. Its Active User Score stands at 10 hours and 47 minutes, lagging behind most rivals, with only the Poco F6 Pro performing worse. The Skyline’s performance is below average in various usage scenarios, including call time, web browsing, and video playback. It performs just about average in gaming.

When compared to other devices with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, such as the Realme 13 Pro+, Realme 12 Pro+, and Edge 50 Fusion, the Skyline’s battery life is noticeably less impressive. However, it slightly outperforms some Xiaomi models with the same chipset, like the Poco X6 and Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G, despite its smaller battery capacity.

The varied battery performance among Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 devices suggests that battery life largely depends on software optimization and manufacturer-specific tuning, with HMD’s offering falling towards the lower end of this spectrum.

Charging speed

As noted earlier, the HMD Skyline comes with only a cable in the box, lacking a bundled charger. It supports 33W fast charging via Power Delivery 3.0, which is relatively modest compared to many competitors.

On the wireless front, the Skyline supports 15W charging with Qi2 and also offers reverse wireless charging at 5W—features that are uncommon in this price range.

However, the wired charging performance is less impressive. It takes over an hour—specifically, 76 minutes—for a full charge. A 30-minute charge replenishes only 57% of the battery, putting it behind many of its rivals in this segment.

Speakers

The HMD Skyline features a hybrid stereo speaker setup, with the main speaker positioned at the bottom and the secondary speaker doubling as the earpiece. This configuration can sometimes lead to imbalances in sound, though it’s not overly pronounced here.

The Skyline provides two loudness settings: standard and boosted. When using the boosted mode—activated by pressing the volume button one additional time once the slider is at maximum—the phone becomes one of the loudest we’ve tested, achieving an “Excellent” -21.4 LUFS rating. In standard mode, it scores a “Very Good” -24.4 LUFS.

However, the boosted loudness comes at the expense of sound quality. In this mode, high frequencies can become noticeably distorted, affecting the overall audio experience. On the other hand, listening in standard mode offers better sound quality, with a good balance of bass and less noticeable distortion in vocals and highs, though some distortion is still present.

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