Two features are coming to an upcoming Android phone that virtually no other Android has yet, as HMD brings magnetic wireless charging and a way to quickly repair a phone.
We’ve been promised phones will be easier to fix, and we’ve also been promised that the magnetic wireless charging found on the iPhones is coming to more devices not made by Apple. As of August, both of those are finally coming, but not to a phone you may expect.
High-end features like this normally arrive on high-end phones. Not this year, it seems.
Repairability has to date only been in budget to mid-range phones, while Qi2’s magnetic wireless charging has just made an appearance on the iPhone 15 range, missing out on both of the major Android phones for 2024. Crazy.
Perhaps even crazier is where both of these features are coming, as HMD announces the “Skyline”, a 6.55 inch phone sporting an OLED display encased in an aluminium chassis with a glass back. It’s a touch more premium than we’re used to seeing from HMD, though the specs inside tell you the Skyline is focused on the mid-range.
There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 under the hood, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage, and Android 14.
Where things really get interesting is the cameras and feature set, which includes a 108 megapixel main wide camera and a 13 megapixel ultra-wide, as well as an extra 50 megapixel for getting closer shots, too. Three cameras on the back, plus one 50 megapixel on the front for some relatively high-res selfies.
Then there are the little extras which you may not expect, including Qi2, the magnetic wireless charging technology that has a lot in common with Apple’s MagSafe, and not only helps a phone magnetically hold to a charger, but opens up support for magnetic accessories at that.
Up to this point, no Android has included Qi2. Not the flagship Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, nor the flagship foldable Moto Razr 50 Ultra, nor Google’s equally flagship Pixel 9 Pro XL. So far, HMD is the only provider of a Qi2-ready phone, and that’s surprising.
It’ll come with a 4600mAh battery able to last as long as two days, and also able to be replaced, thanks to the self-repairable design used in the HMD Skyline. That’s similar to what we saw from HMD’s self-repairable Nokia devices, with iFixit selling kits to help you replace charging ports, batteries, and other parts.
HMD will also include a Digital Detox mode for its Skyline phone later in the year, expected in September. This feature will essentially block social notifications until you turn it off, while skinning Android so that you can view less.
From the sound of things, Digital Detox mode is a compromise between keeping your regular phone and switching to something deliberately simple, making the mobile experience less about everything, so you can get to enjoying life in those moments.
“The HMD Skyline empowers the humans behind the phone, with an impressive triple camera to capture memories, a unique digital detox mode to encourage people to live in the moment and fix-it-yourself repairability that has never been easier,” said Brendan Folitarik, General Manager of HMD in Australia and Oceania.
“It’s all about creating a fashionable way to have a healthy relationship with your smartphone,” he said.
Pricing in Australia will see the HMD Skyline land locally for $899, available from August 28 at Amazon, Big W, Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, and Officeworks.
