So, I finally had more time to test out the HMD Skyline. Before dwelling into the imaging aspect, I will share my intermediate experience with the device. Build from aluminum frame and frosted glass back, the device is indeed slippery. I will advise to get a bumper case and a screen protector for the added layer of security and peace of mind. The display is truly immersive and after using it for some time, it makes the display on X30 more dull in comparison. Speaker is loud and clear , in fact among the loudest I have tested and battery life is good, up to a day of moderate use.
One main concern with the device is , it feels that that the power management should be optimized. The device gets fairly hot especially during gaming and extended 4K video capture. I believe this leads to throttling of its performance and I noticed that the frame rate during recording drops considerably.
Speaking of gaming, I tested Genshin Impact under high settings and it was totally playable with some occasional frame drops. While the game play was short, the device did get uncomfortably hot and I hope that HMD optimizes this aspect as the processor is quite capable of demanding games.
Imaging and Videography
Before going further into this one, just to be clear, HMD Global is aware of the bugs and performance of the current camera firmware and has assured that much of it will be fixed with the coming August update. Hence, this is just an early review of how the camera setup performs. And the unit I have is an early production unit, so that might also explain the bugs encountered.
In general, the camera setup is quite robust. In daylight, the images captured are quite good in terms of details and colour. But , the output reminds me of Nokia 9 Pureview, where the contrast tends to be higher leading to a darker image. The dynamic range is not quite there yet and shadowy areas appear darker. I also noticed that the focus option goes missing a times, and despite focusing, you still end up with a blurry image and you will need a few shots just to get it right.
The telephoto camera here is a bit confusing. In default setting, it appears that only the 2X image is using the telephoto sensor. With the Pro mode however, the 2X,3X and 4X uses the telephoto sensor.
Flash shot is also a mix bag. The focus tracking feature does not work as mentioned and, the option to focus disappears at time especially at lower zoom, but even if it returns , it does not track the object and in 90% of the scenario, the end results are blurry images.
Night mode 3.0 is an improvement over the likes of X30. But, the image captured are flat, and dull in comparison to the more vibrant output from X30. Ultrawide capture is good but despite the fusion with a 108mp sensor, the peripheries are not as sharp and bright as expected.
When it comes to videography, the quality is good but there are drop in frame rates and it seems that the EIS is not implemented in all modes. This is a far opposite than what we have seen with older device like the Nokia 8.3, which is able to capture 4K stabilized video very well, despite lacking OIS. At this point of time, it seems that the recording maxes out to 4kK 3OFPS but I do hope the coming update enables 4K 60FPS capture.
More samples here:
The front facing camera is actually quite good and well stabilized but the video capture at this point of time is limited to 1080p. Eye autofocus and selfie gestures work brilliantly well but the images are a tad softer than what I would prefer.
All in all, the HMD Skyline has a very robust camera system. Much of this issues are software related. The findings from the preliminary test has been shared with HMD. The August update will clear some of the bugs and introduce newer feature for the device and I hope HMD continues to fine tune the camera output of the device.
I will re do the above test once the August update arrives and I hope that much of these issues if not all, be sorted out, just in time for the global release of Skyline which should be in the third week of August.
As always, stay connected on X https://x.com/theoriginal086 for more updates on the go.
