KIANEWS 
CES or the International Consumer Electronics Show is the premium event of the technology sector. It will take place between January 9 and 12, 2024 at the usual location, the Las Vegas Convention Center, where HMD Global, or HMD America, will now also be present. This year, the Finnish company that operates Nokia-branded devices rented a booth in Murano 3201A, which is the location of the meeting. Last year, HMD struck a similar deal and unveiled several US-based devices.
HMD has announced its first HMD Pulse, Pulse+ and Pulse Pro devices
24. 04. 2024 Wednesday / By: Robert Denes / Reviews / Exact time: BST / Print this page
T oday, HMD Global announced the first three HMD-branded smartphones, the HMD Pulse, Pulse+ and Pulse Pro. HMD was previously only known for Nokia devices, but the new Pulse phones no longer have Nokia.
HMD uses the same base in all new phones, but some technical features differ, such as cameras and memories. The HMD Pulse series relies on the easy-to-repair structure known from Nokia phones, as users can replace, for example, a damaged screen, battery or charging port themselves. The Pulse collection is also IP52 rated.
The phones have a 6.56-inch IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution and a 90 hertz refresh rate. All models are powered by the T606 system chip developed by the Chinese company Unisoc, which offers eight cores, the most powerful of which is clocked at 1.6 GHz. The system chip only supports 4G connections.
CMO of Human Mobile Devices, Lars Silberbauer, comments: “We’ve got our finger on the pulse, and recognise consumers’ needs and anticipate market trends; repair is the cornerstone of a fresh chapter in smartphone innovation. Forget the ordinary, this is a new era of smartphone sophistication with substance.”
Depending on the version, there are 4, 6 or 8 gigabytes of RAM and 64 or 128 gigabytes of internal storage. The Pulse collection also supports memory cards up to 256 gigabytes. The battery capacity is 5000 mAh and can be charged via the USB-C connector. Battery life is promised to be 59 hours on a single charge. Charging is possible with a power of 10 watts.
Ben Wood, Chief Analyst CCS insight, said: “Repairability is a hot topic for consumers, and CCS insight has seen interest in repairing mobile phones increase significantly in both the EU and US over the last year. Approximately 55% of those surveyed in the EU said they would like to have a device that’s outside its warranty period repaired at a reasonable cost rather than replacing it with a new device. In the US interest is also strong, at an impressive 49%. We also note that 47% of EU consumers and 48% of US consumers express readiness to pay slightly more for environmentally friendly products, which underlines an appetite for more repairable products.”1
There are changes in the cameras, but all models offer two rear cameras. HMD Pulse Pro is equipped with the best 50-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture lens. There is also a 2-megapixel depth camera. The HMD Pulse Pro also offers a 50-megapixel selfie camera.
Wood goes onto say: “HMD has been a trailblazer for more repairable smartphones. It’s encouraging that the HMD Pulse Family is even easier for consumers to repair, and this design decision aligns well with the consumer trends we are seeing in our research”. Ben Wood, Chief Analyst, CCS Insight.
HMD also uses 50 + 2 megapixel rear cameras in the Pulse+ phone, but the resolution of the front camera has been reduced to 8 megapixels. HMD has reduced the resolution of the main camera in the Pulse model to 13 megapixels, but there is still a 2 megapixel depth camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. The phones also offer AI HDR and skin tone optimization.
Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, comments: “HMD has just announced its fourth repairable device: HMD Pulse Pro. HMD’s ongoing commitment to designing phones with repairability in mind is an encouraging shift in our throwaway culture, proving that HMD has the innovative culture needed to drive advances in repairability. We’re keen to collaborate as they work towards making repairable phones the norm, not the exception.”
The operating system is Google's latest Android 14. The phone's update promise is 2 + 3 years, which means 2 years of Android version and 3 years of security updates. The HMD Pulse collection offers Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 5 and NFC connections, but also a traditional headphone jack. The fingerprint reader is located on the side of the device.