HMD Skyline review

GSMArena Team, 05 August 2024.

Design and ergonomics

HMD has a rather unique approach in terms of design with the Skyline. The company is prioritizing repairability, not just aesthetics. The back cover is removable and grants easy access to some of the hardware, so most users can repair their own phone. But more on that later.

HMD Skyline review

Design-wise, the HMD Skyline is a throwback to Nokia N9 times with sharp corners, flat bottom and top sides and a rounded side frame. The screen's rounded corners are in stark contrast to the sharp angles of the frame; hence the Nokia N9 looks.

HMD Skyline and Nokia N9 - HMD Skyline review HMD Skyline and Nokia N9 - HMD Skyline review
HMD Skyline and Nokia N9

It's good that the left and right sides of the frame are rounded as they provide a comfortable grip, but the pointy corners can be too much for some as they poke into your palm every time - it's a love-it-or-leave-it affair.

The back panel, although removable, is made of glass with a frosted finish, and the camera island doesn't protrude as much. The glass is nice to touch, maybe a bit slippery, but fingerprints and smudges aren't visible. At least on our Neon Pink color. There's also the Twisted Black paint job available.

HMD Skyline review

Back to the frame itself, we find an additional Custom Button on the left with a textured surface so it's easier to find it without looking. You can assign different apps or actions to it.

The right side houses the volume rocker and the power button. Both buttons sit a bit too high up the frame, so you'd have to reach with your thumb. Secondly, the power button lies flush with the frame, and it's easy to miss if you are not looking.

HMD Skyline - HMD Skyline review HMD Skyline - HMD Skyline review
HMD Skyline - HMD Skyline review HMD Skyline - HMD Skyline review
HMD Skyline

Granted, we are not huge fans of the side-mounted fingerprint readers - we prefer under-display ones. A side-mounted FP reader is easier to use with a right hand, and HMD hasn't provided an additional setting to unlock the phone upon a press of the power button, so it's easy to lock yourself out of the phone due to accidental touches with your palm.

We weren't impressed with the scanner's accuracy and reliability, either. There were quite a few misreads during testing.

HMD Skyline review

Even though it's a 6.55-inch smartphone, the HMD Skyline is somewhat hefty, tipping the scale at 209 grams and measuring 8.9 mm in thickness. At least it has some modest IP54 protection, despite the detachable back.

Servicing

HMD claims the disassembly of the phone is pretty easy so we tried it ourselves. The back panel pops immediately after loosing the screw and requires gentle prying afterwards.

HMD Skyline review

Getting it back in place is just as easy, just be patient. The screw doesn't come off completely, it's just used to seal the panel tight. It uses a T3 Torx screwdriver.

HMD Skyline review

It has to be noted that the battery inside is not meant to be removed regularly as it's glued in its bed and uses a ribbon cable to connect to the mainboard. It's DYI serviceable but it's not easily removable in the sense of what we had back in the day with older phones.

Reader comments

  • Punit-onlin
  • 10 Sep 2024
  • X$n

These buggers have Pure View tech. But they are doing to use it.

Even without Zeiss optics or PureView processing algorithm, I'm impressed with the photo quality. It leans on the realistic side with natural colour processing. I do see some degree of oversharpening effect here and there, but it doesn't do...

Yes, I get the impression Skyline was already late to market. It's a common thing with HMD releases to ship with bugs or lacking advertised features and that shapes the entire reception of the device long after the issues have been fixed by upda...