So, I reviewed the HMD Skyline earlier and I could not cover much at that time as the device was for internal use only. HMD was kind enough to send me a different unit to test the device to its fullest.
At the time of writing this article, the HMD Skyline is already available globally and the Topaz Blue color variant is introduced officially. If you are wondering if there will be other colors introduced in the future, there are no confirmation on that at this point of time.
And, it also received a new update in August which boast the July security update that is suppose to fix much of the imaging issues. And, this is probably one key issue that is holding of potential buyers.
HMD Skyline
My initial impression of the device was generally good. To set the bar here, the HMD Skyline, with its premium build and design, and improved hardware is actually priced cheaper than the Nokia X30 5G. In fact, in key Asian markets, the HMD Skyline is priced very competitively that during the sales, the price of the highest variant offered (12/256) was just a mere USD350.
Much of the specs have been shared earlier, so I wont be repeating on that in my take 2. But, having the extra time to use this device, I will share my extended use review and why the Skyline will be replacing my Nokia X30 5G as my primary driver.
One thing that makes the HMD Skyline stand out compared to other devices in the market other than its vibrant color option is the design. The Skyline is not just another fabula design brought back to stir our sentiments. The Skyline is designed from the ground up to be fixed easily by anyone with some guide and recommended parts. No other manufacturer have been pushing this aspect of a device and this transition of allowing end users to replace key parts of their devices by themselves without voiding the warranty is a major step up in improving the experience and trust by users.
The aluminum frame with the frosted glass back is indeed among the most slippery experience I have had and that means you need to get a case. Thankfully, there are official cases by HMD that not keeps the experience vibrant but does not affect its wireless charging capability. One case that I would recommend is to get the rugged case by HMD that only comes in black. This rugged case not only protects it from drops , but also improves the IP rating to IP68 and keeps the wireless charging experience intact. In my book, this is definitely a must have accessory to compliment the Skyline, though it does add significantly to its size.
The Qi 2 protocol that is introduced with the Skyline is supposedly backward compatible with Qi but a few reviewers have noticed that it does not work well. I have tested the Skyline with third party wireless charger and it works well, and the magnetic part of it is just brilliant. The coil is just directly beneath the HMD logo, if you are wondering where the contact point is. And this is also important to know if you plan to reverse wireless charge other device or the Nokia Clarity Pro buds if you have one.
The display on the Skyline is among the best I have seen on a Nokia/HMD device till date. It is capable of 1000nits of brightness and is HDR10 certified. While the 1000nits of brightness may seem inadequate compared to the competition offering double or triple the intensity, in practical day to day use scenario, the outdoor readability of the display works just fine, even under direct intense sunlight. In other scenarios, the Skyline’s display is good enough to rival even flagship devices. I find the display attractive, the 144Hz to be smooth and the sharpness adequate. The only issue I have regarding the display is that it is not able to playback HDR videos from YouTube. I am not sure if this would be fixed in subsequent updates, but it is something that HMD should look into especially if they are marketing a HDR capable display.
Audio is another area where the Skyline shines. The stereo output with OZO playback support and Audio Boost feature elevates the listening experience. It is loud and the quality is good. The OZO playback feature is not a gimmick and you can actually test this out yourself. The Audio Boost is best reserved to listening/communicating in noisy environment. The experience is better than the XR21 , but it is not something you would want to use to enjoy quality audio output as it may sound hollow.
The review unit I have comes with 8GB of RAM and with the SD7s Gen 2, the experience is smooth. There are a few preinstalled apps which can be removed, but strangely, Facebook app can only be disabled. The nearly stock Android experience is otherwise fluid and responsive. Battery life is also quite remarkable for the Skyline. Under moderate use, the battery would easily last more than a day and the 33W charging speed, while not the fastest in the market, should get you fully charge in just over an hour. For those with overnight charging habits, this wont be an issue for you.
Imaging Pre August Update
Skyline comes with a capable camera system. A new app to compliment the robust hardware to elevate imaging experience. The initial imaging experience from the Skyline was good but it seemed to be an unfinished execution. The newer update is supposed to fix this issues. But this are the observations from the initial camera experience that I had.
The 108mp primary sensor is good, but the image is not sharp and the dynamic range could be better. The output is generally darker and areas in shadows remain dark. The UW fusion on the other hand works well, but the drop is sharpness and details as you shift to the peripheries area significant. Nightmode is good, but colors are muted especially if you have been spoiled by the more vibrant output from the Nokia X30. The telephoto camera produces 2X lossless zoom (not 4X) and utilizes a new fusion output for 4X zoom that combines details from both the primary and telephoto sensor to give a better output.
The initial firmware also lacks stabilized recording, be it 4K or in the Ultra Steady capture and it works OK-ish in the 1080p MODE but the drop in frame rate spoils the experience. One other issue with the Skyline is that if you chose to record with the primary sensor, it does not allow zoom. And you need to start recording with the telephoto sensor if you want to use the zoom in feature. The front camera is actually good, and while it lacks 4K recording in the initial firmware, the 1080p stabilization is very good and I hope the update brings the same amount of stability for the 4k capture. Most of these issues are software related that HMD should be able to fix with the new update or coming updates.
Imaging Post August Update
So, with the new update , what has changed? HMD introduced 4K stabilized recording to the front camera and for all three sensors for the rear camera. However, HMD needs to optimize the stabilization from the primary camera that has both OIS and EIS. While the EIS aspect of the device is good, the OIS part of it causes the video to jitter with each step, and it is not as smooth as the 4K output from previous device from HMD like the Nokia 8.3. In the Ultra Steady mode,you can capture stabilized 1080p or 4K video, however, there is a serious drop in frame rates that makes the video very choppy. I speculate that the thermal management is not optimized yet and it is throttling the hardware leading to drop in the frame rates. The other issue with videography in Skyline is that it cannot seamlessly change from 1X to telephoto for zoom purposes, which means that recording with the primary camera is limited only to 1X and if you need to zoom in, you need to start the recording with 2X from the start. Details and audio ouput remains excellent.
Regarding imaging, I would say that HMD has managed to rectify some significant issue with the primary sensor. Colors are more natural and accurate and dynamic range is improved. However, I also noticed that the focus issue is still there. When you tap to focus, the image in the viewfinder may look that it is in focus( same goes if you use the focus peaking feature), but the resultant target is not in focus leading to loss in detail. At this point, it might still be something fixable but the 108MP sensors have been notorious with focus issues in the past.
The telephoto performance is good, with good details and dynamic range, and perhaps the most interesting aspect of it is that the output is vibrant, similar to Nokia X30 which many would prefer. But on the other hand, I would actually prefer a uniform output in terms of color accuracy be it main, telephoto or ultrawide. And, the vibrant output can easily be done with just a slider in the editing app if you need it. The Ultra Wide performance is as expected, similar to previous HMD devices that utilizes the fusion algorithm . The centre of the image is sharp but there is sharp decline in details as you go to the peripheries.
Night mode with the new algorithm produces much more natural output compared to the Nokia X30, and for the first time, I feel like the X30’s vibrant output to be a bit more larger than life and I actually like how the Skyline captures the night. Details are good and noise is minimal. But, the auto focus is still an issue here occasionally when it fails to lock the focus on the intended subject. What I notice is that , occasionally it helps to tap around the subject rather than the subject to get the focus on point and this gives me hope that it might be a software update fixable issue.
General Performance
Android 14 on this hardware runs smooth with no lags or crashes. The beautiful display is among the best and it can rival more premium device out there. Occasionally, the auto brightness decides to do the opposite and the screen becomes dim and adjusting the slider does not improve the brightness much, and again, this is software related issues. Despite being HDR 10 certified, I am still not able to playback HDR videos via YouTube app which is a bummer. The device also has a WiFi bug that prevents it from auto connecting to the known WiFi network upon starting up. I did not experience any battery drain with it, though the device does get hot when doing hardware intense activities and I hope HMD can fix the power management so it does not throttle the performance.
To know how the device actually fares with the recent July security update, do check my lengthy video here:
Should you buy it?
The obvious question here is , do you have alternatives at this price point. For Asian markets at least, the device is priced very competitively compared to western market that makes it a bang for the buck purchase. Beautifully designed, easily repairable device with a good display and clear speaker is enough to sway buyers from the more generic approach by other manufacturers. The easy repairability is a highlight that many would appreciate in time to come and simply adds value to the device which is far more than any other competitor has to offer. The 2 years of OS update might be seen as a limitation, but given the hardware powering the device is modest, realistically, it is acceptable. However, I do hope that HMD unlocks the bootloader towards the end of its life to give the users options to tinker with the device software.
The first proper mid-ranger by the new HMD team is a very interesting device with unique offerings. The hardware selection is respectable, but much work needs to be done to address the less optimal software delivery. Given that the HMD team is multi tasking multiple devices at the same time , perhaps a more staggered approach would lead to quality software delivery.
As before, I will be sharing my findings with HMD so the necessary fixes can be delivered with the upcoming updates.
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