KIANEWS 
HMD Global today unveiled its latest smartphone, the HMD Fusion, an affordable device whose idea is to change functions and style with a shell. This is how the HMD Fusion will initially be distributed, but additional devices will be available later this year.
Sidephone - Looks like an old Nokia, but can do what a smartphone can
04. 05. 2025 Sunday / By: Robert Denes / Generic / Exact time: BST / Print this page
E veryone knows what modern smartphones look like, which no longer have physical buttons. Large blocks with screens that make up the majority of the device have become standard, with different color combinations. The upcoming sidephone, however, is supposedly fighting against this approach. The smartphone should look like an old Nokia, while also offering physical buttons, thus making the device look classic.
Currently, we can easily buy so-called dumbphones, i.e. simple devices without smart features, created for basic activities such as calling and sending messages. Using such devices, we completely cut ourselves off from modern functions that are needed today - e.g. banking, navigation or instant messaging applications. The sidephone should be something between a dumbphone and a smartphone.
The external sidephone looks like an ordinary classic phone. The device on top should have a 2.8-inch touchscreen (probably with a 60Hz LCD), which is said to work like a typical smartphone display. Its size means that at most we can use it for simple navigation between apps, but writing on it seems practically impossible.
Therefore, on the bottom part, the manufacturer has used a keyboard with physical keys in several layouts. In one, the user will have access to the classic T9 alphanumeric keyboard known from old phones, and in another version, a full-fledged keyboard will be available with letters, numbers and spaces.
The Sidephone will also include Android, which includes a proprietary overlay adapted to such a small display. Since it will be Android, the device will not lack support for applications such as WhatsApp, Uber or web browsers. We will also probably find Google Play services here, that is, all kinds of applications provided by Google, such as YouTube, Gmail or Google Maps.
| Country | Price (Expected) |
| 1. Sidephone Price in Canada | 344 CAD |
| 2. Sidephone Price in Australia | 386 AUD |
| 3. Sidephone Price in Bangladesh | 30 254 BDT |
| 4. Sidephone Price in Nigeria | 396 901 NGN |
| 5. Sidephone Price in Mexico | 4875 MXN |
| 6. Sidephone Price in Russia | 20 604 RUB |
| 7. Sidephone Price in UAE | 914 AED |
| 8. Sidephone Price in Hong Kong | 1929 HKD |
| 9. Sidephone Price in Brazil | 1408 BRL |
| 10. Sidephone Price in Argentina | 291 653 ARS |
| 11. Sidephone Price in Switzerland | 205 CHF |
| 12. Sidephone Price in Japan | 36 100 JPY |
| 13. Sidephone Price in Madagascar | 1 113 530 MGA |
| 14. Sidephone Price in Tanzania | 669 227 TZS |
| 15. Sidephone Price in Hungary | 89 126 HUF |
| 16. Sidephone Price in South Korea | 348 622 KRW |
| 17. Sidephone Price in Saudi Arabia | 933 SAR |
| 18. Sidephone Price in Colombia | 1 058 001 COP |
| 19. Sidephone Price in Paraguay | 1 992 336 PYG |
| 20. Sidephone Price in Peru | 908 PEN |
| 21. Sidephone Price in China | 1810 CNY |
| 22. Sidephone Price in Etiop | 32 680 ETB |
| 23. Sidephone Price in Honduras | 6445 HNL |
| 24. Sidephone Price in Angola | 229 666 AOA |
| 25. Sidephone Price in Barbados | 498 BBD |
There are currently no details on the detailed specifications, but we know that the device supports LTE, WiFi and Bluetooth cellular connectivity. There is no talk of 5G support, so it is likely that the heart of the device will be an older or less advanced processor. After all, it is supposed to be a smartphone for very basic activities, so we do not expect the best chip like the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The phone will have a single 12 MP camera on the back, while there will be no selfie module on the front. The whole thing will be charged via USB-C. Therefore, we can say that this is a combination of modern solutions and classics.
The big advantage of the side phone will be the 1800 mAh battery. Its capacity is not impressive in the era of smartphones with 7200 mAh batteries, although the device is expected to last up to 8 days on a single charge. Finally, it is worth mentioning the price. The device will be available for purchase for $249 (GBP 187, EUR 220, INR 21,048) in a metallic finish on online platforms.