HMD Global has been making smartphones under the Nokia brand name for some time now. Earlier this year it seemed as if the manufacturer would stop doing this. “Not true,” he said at the time. However, HMD Global, which has since marketed itself as Human Mobile Devices, would also release smartphones under its own brand.
HMD Originals
Those new phones, the ‘HMD Originals’, have now been unveiled. In concrete terms, this concerns a series of three devices that mainly focus on their low price. The basic model, the HMD Pulse, is available from 139 euros. Furthermore, HMD also comes with a Plus and a Pro model of that device. These will cost 159 euros and 179 euros respectively.
As similar as the price of the devices is, the HMD devices all look alike. The three devices all have the same housing and offer a 5.56-inch screen. Each device contains the same Unisoc T606 processor and a 5000mAh battery.
When it comes to storage, there is a bit more variety in the devices. There is a version of the normal Pulse with 64 GB of storage space. Those who want a little more can pay a little more for a device with 128 GB of storage. On the Pulse Plus and Pro, that is the only choice you have. There is also a little variation in the amount of RAM that the devices have available. The two cheapest models have 4 GB, while the Pulse Pro has 6 GB of RAM.
We see the same distinction with the camera. The Pulse and Pulse Plus get a 13MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The Pulse Pro gets a better main camera, at 50 MP.
HMD unveils the phones with the message that they are easy to repair. Replacement parts for the devices are easy to obtain via iFixit. The only downside is that the phones will only get 2 OS updates, and will also only benefit from 3 years of security updates. The question is whether repairing the smartphone is always desirable.
Tags: HMD unveils budgetfriendly Pulse smartphones TechPulse
