Numerous people have expressed interest in the HMD Skyline. Is there a sense of longing for the Nokia N9? Or is it the aspect of repairability that attracts attention? Will you purchase the phone now that it's out in certain places (and available for pre-order in others)?

The design seems somewhat new—we've seen every possible round rectangle—and there's a pleasant similarity to the N9 for those who recall the MeeGo phone. However, this one has a contemporary metal-and-glass structure in place of polycarbonate.

The phone is made so that amateur repairers may simply fix it at home. In only ten minutes, you should be able to repair a broken screen if you have the iFixit tool kit or just use your own Torx screwdrivers. While we think this is fantastic, we wish HMD had given software support the same priority as repairability. Three years of security patches and two OS upgrades is much too little.

Apart from that, the Skyline has an unexpectedly strong hardware combination. Starting with the 6.55" FHD+ 144Hz OLED display, the device has a 4,600mAh battery that can be charged physically (33W) or wirelessly (15W). Qi2, the wireless solution, uses magnets like those in Apple MagSafe. Is this the first Qi2-enabled Android device? It might be because we are at a loss for ideas.


The 50MP 2x telephoto module (with 4x zoom) and the 13MP ultra-wide camera are attached to the 108MP primary camera (with OIS) to enable 4K video recording at 30 frames per second. Expect in-depth testing as we're working on a comprehensive review, but the 50MP selfie camera also seems good. In any case, the headphone jack and microSD slot are nice to see. A few drawbacks should be mentioned. The previous Gorilla Glass 3 is more difficult to understand, but the repairability has restricted the IP rating to IP54.

The 8/128GB variant of the HMD Skyline costs £400 in the UK, while the 8/256GB model costs £500. The phone is listed as "coming soon" in Germany, where its August 9 debut date is scheduled, and its 8/256GB model costs €550.