I ’ve been using one of the bravest telephone of the year . It ’s the HMD Fusion , and it has found a way to support out in the current , engorged world of smartphones , let HMD to break devoid of itsNokia brand name ties .
It has n’t simply gone all - out with a $ 1,000 - plus flagship to trance attention and has arguably proceed down an even sturdy route to do so . The Fusion is a modular smartphone , and it ’s averybrave move on HMD ’s part .
HMD Fusion specs
2MP Depth
What is the HMD Fusion?
bait at Mobile World Congress 2024and at long last given itsdebut in September , the HMD Fusion is a take on theoften set about modular earpiece construct , where a theme phone can be added to with different component and upgraded over time based on your requirements . Its modularity means the HMD Fusion is also owner - repairable , from the battery to the cover , which is a great head start .
The other side of its modularity come in from Smart Outfits . HMD was n’t clear about how these would work , but now that I ’ve go the phone and its first official Smart Outfit , called the Flashy , it ’s easily interpretable . Think of Smart Outfits as high - technical school cases for the earpiece , so they ’re prosperous to put on and take off while ply protection and special functionality . Once on the earphone , they communicate with it using a set of pogo pins , intend they should be hardwearing and reliable .
What ’s unusual is the Fusion always has to wear an getup . In the box is the so - call Casual Outfit , a rather ordinary flexible , transparent case , and without it , the speech sound look exceptionally vulnerable with its exposed battery and multiple nooky .
No flashAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
The Casual Outfit does n’t have any special features outdoors of but keeping the phone safe . It ’s a regular case with a fun name . While many of us choose to expend a case on their phone , some do n’t , but the HMD Fusion ’s Casual Outfit looks to be an essential .
What about the Flashy?
HMD signify to release its own series of official Smart Outfits for the Fusion but has smartly made all the instructions on how to make them public , with the expectation that enthusiasts and occupation will make their own . I ’ve tried out the first official Smart Outfit , the Flashy , which bestow a ring light to the Fusion ’s camera system .
build into the environment of the television camera module , it can be used with the bottom - facing tv camera or hinged over the top of the phone to face the front for selfies . It does n’t need charge as it uses the phone ’s battery for mogul , and it ’s touch off inside the standard camera app , so there are no physical button or third - party apps to set up . It ’s a neat organisation , and you may correct the brightness and the color temperature of the light using a uncomplicated overlay when taking a exposure .
Modular headphone always struggled to find a simple solution to connect accessories — see theLG G5 for grounds — but the Flashy Smart Outfit is easy to expend because it ’s ramp up into a case , and absolutely everyone will instinctively know how to fit and remove it .
Screen-fill flashAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
The downside is that it turn over the Fusion into a rugged phone as the ring light is encased in a thick , hefty , solid instance . It ’s not something I ’d always want my earpiece to “ wear , ” and even if I kept it in my bag , it ’s always run to have to replace the Casual Outfit the telephone set has to have fit , intend I ’ll always be carrying around at least one case for the Fusion .
Is the Flashy worth it?
The Flashy Smart Outfit is made from recycled TPU and come in two colors : indigo blue and pink . It has a rectangular precede light source , and the Fusion ’s 50 - megapixel front television camera is likely last to be the one that most people will use with it . I tried it out in depleted light , and you’re able to see the difference it makes in the picture gallery above , terminated with an example of the Fusion ’s selfie camera without any special light and how the camera perform using the projection screen as a filling light .
Obviously , the first image without any luminosity is unusable , but it evince how drear the environment was when I have the photo . The one with the screen as a fill light is n’t atrocious ( all things think ) , but it ’s still granular and lowly quality . I used the Flashy ’s fill light at 100 % smartness as an example , which well clear up the scene . There ’s a niggling more detail , but what ’s more helpful is that the adjustable color temperature helps fetch out raw hide tones . In mid - light , it ’s sure to puzzle out better too .
Unfortunately , it ’s not a gaudy accessary at 80 British Sudanese pound or around $ 101 , so you ’ll have to be sure it ’ll be used regularly . A bigger problem is that a basic clip - on band light for your phone can be just $ 10 , and when you consider the cheapest version of the HMD Fusion earpiece itself is 249 pounds and expected to be $ 299 in the U.S. , it changes the character of mortal who may be calculate at the HMD Fusion in the first billet . After all , masses will buy the earpiece because of what it ’s like and not because of an accessory .
Flashy ring lightAndy Boxall / Digital Trends
Using the HMD Fusion
I ’ve had my SIM carte in the HMD Fusion for a day and can only give my initial impressions rather than allow for a full review . It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 central processing unit with a choice of 4 GB , 6 GB ( this is the version I have tried ) , 8 GB , or 12 GB of RAM , depending on the model you buy and where you live .
There ’s some lag and dropped frame rates in the animation when opening apps and leaflet , and it ’s not the fastest experience , but the HMD Fusion playsAsphalt Legends : Unitewithout a job , and it ’s fun and exciting , so it ’ll likely be hunky-dory for Clarence Day - to - day use . Android 14 is installed , and HMD will beam out two major OS adaptation updates in the time to come , along with three years of security department updates . It comes with a 5,000mAh bombardment and support for 33W pumped up charging . unco , there ’s a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the base of the headphone .
The 6.56 - column inch screen is a dashing hopes with hapless reckon slant where it quickly mislay luminousness , and although it has a 90Hz refresh pace , the software package nonremittal to 60Hz , and even when you switch over it to 90Hz adaptive , it ’s still not entirely slur - free . The 1612 x 700 - pixel resolution and 480 nit typical smartness are representatives of the gadget ’s price , but speech sound like theSamsung Galaxy A35andNothing Phone 2aprovide a higher - quality viewing experience .
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Fun and full of potential
The HMD Fusion is not an expensive flagship headphone , but I do n’t think that matters . It ’s the base for a customizable smartphone that could end up solving a trouble other headphone simply ca n’t , whether that ’s through its repairability or your own power to design and 3D mark a particular Smart Outfit . Like other modular phones , it ’s an exciting scene but also a marvellous rules of order .
If you like the thought of tailor-make the tone of your telephone set but are n’t apprehensive about expensive add - ons like the Flashy typesetter’s case , then the Fusion has some serious competition from theCMF by Nothing Phone 1 , where you may replace the exterior suit , tot up a laniard , and other belittled tweak to the style of the phone . I ’ll place at the as customizableCMF Watch 2 Proas the ideal companion , and the two can be yours for less than the price of the HMD Fusion alone .
There ’s potential in the Smart Outfits organisation , and HMD has approach it correctly by opening it up to the world at once . However , it really does need enthusiast as well as HMD to support it . This is why it ’s a brave move for HMD , and if blanket supporting does n’t quickly arrive , the Fusion risks being forgotten along with the many other modular smartphone experiments we ’ve seen over the years .
Andy Boxall / DIgital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
