HMD looks to broaden its horizons with new ‘easy-to-fix’ phones

HMD is looking to branch out from Nokia phones with the launch of three new budget smartphones for the Australian market.

HMD Pulse, Pulse Plus and Pulse Pro all retail for less than $300 but promise to set the tone for the brand going forward through a combination of modern aesthetics and an emphasis on repairability.

The move represents a strategy shift from HMD, who have previously relied on the now-aging Nokia brand to catch the eye of consumers. Where the sales pitch for HMD's Nokia devices was about simple designs and the cleanest version of Android, the company's house-brand hardware is looking to differentiate on repairability.

According to HMD's GM for Australia and Oceania Brenden Folitarik, the brand wants to deliver something different to what Australian consumers might expect given the price. 

"As Human Mobile Devices our focus will always be what is best for Australians, balancing the very best in design, technology and value," he said.

To that end, each device in HMD's inaugural Pulse "Collection" of devices can be repaired by consumers using a self-repair kit available through iFixit. That's far from the only quality that the three devices share. The HMD Pulse, Pulse Plus and Pulse Pro all feature a 6.56-inch HD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 5000mAh battery, a Unisoc T606 processor, IP52 water resistance and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Of the three models, not one has 5G connectivity.

For all those many similarities though, there are a few subtle differences when it comes to the specs. For instance, the Pulse and Pulse Plus feature just 4GB of RAM while the Pulse Pro features 6GB. In addition, the Pulse Pro and Pulse Plus have 128GB of storage while the standard Pulse has only 64GB.

Then, there's the camera situation. The HMD Pulse has a 13MP rear camera (plus a 0.2MP depth sensor) and an 8MP selfie camera, the Pulse Plus ups the former to 50MP and then the Pulse Pro adds a 2MP depth sensor to the equation while pumping up the megapixel count for the front-facing camera to 50MP.

In Australia, the HMD Pulse starts at $229, the HMD Pulse Plus starts at $259 and the HMD Pulse Pro starts at $299.

All three devices are available through JB Hi-Fi, Big W and Officeworks from this week. The Pulse Plus will be coming to Telstra and Vodafone later down the line.