HMD has kept the Nokia brand alive since 2016, but the Finnish company also wants to start making phones of its own and that’s exactly what’s happening now.
The new Pulse range is its first line of own-branded handsets, and all three are targeted firmly at the budget phone market. Whether you opt for the regular HMD Pulse (£99.99), Pulse+ (£129.99) and Pulse Pro (£149.99), they all have one big thing in common: user repairability.
The screen, battery, charging port and back cover can all be easily replaced at home and without any technical knowledge. Parts will be available via partner iFixit, as was the case for the HMD-made Nokia G22 and Nokia G42 5G, with repair kits starting at £17.99.
HMD cites a couple of key reasons for the move to repairability.
One is feedback from the Pulse’s Gen Z target audience, with 41% of respondents to internal research saying they’d be “more likely to purchase an electrical device if they could repair it themselves at home”.
Of course, that would eliminate a lot of the frustration linked to getting a broken phone fixed, but sustainability is a big motivating factor for HMD. Being able to repair a broken screen or replace an ageing battery is much better for the environment than buying a new device.
However, given that focus on longevity. HMD’s commitment to software support is underwhelming. While the two years of OS updates and three years of security updates are better than some rivals at this price point, it falls well short of the best around.
Even Samsung’s £169 Galaxy A15 offers four OS updates and five years of security updates. As a result, software will be the main limiting factor here, rather than hardware. You may not need to replace anything before the software support ends.
Nevertheless, let’s look at the three HMD Pulse phones and what they have to offer.
HMD Pulse
The regular HMD Pulse looks like it could be one of the best phones you can buy for under £100. It features a 6.65-inch, 90Hz 720p display, dual cameras (13Mp rear, 8Mp selfie) and claims of up to 59 hours of battery life from the 5000mAh cell.
HMD
Performance is the main concern, but the 4G-based Unisoc T606 chipset should be fine for the basics, especially with either 4- or 6GB of RAM. While 64GB of internal storage won’t be enough for some people, the Pulse supports expansion up to 256GB via a microSD card.
Other features of note include 10W charging, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and slick Android 14 software.
The HMD Pulse costs £99.99. It’s available now via the HMD website, and will be “coming soon” to Vodafone and O2 stores across the UK.
HMD Pulse+
The Pulse+ has a lot in common with the regular Pulse, but also a couple of key upgrades.
The main one is the camera, with the rear sensor upgraded to a 50Mp lens. You also get the option for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, though the latter is still microSD expandable up to 256GB.
HMD
The HMD Pulse+ costs £129.99. It’s available now via the HMD website, and will be “coming soon” to Vodafone and O2 stores across the UK.
HMD Pulse Pro
There are a few more improvements on the top-of-the-line Pulse Pro, despite it only being £20 more expensive than the Pulse+.
The main rear camera is still 50Mp, but it adds a range of selfie gestures, a selfie slow-mo feature and dedicated modes for night selfies and AI-enhanced portraits. A separate 2Mp depth sensor should also help with the latter.
HMD
Elsewhere, the 5000mAh battery here can charge at double the wattage of the other two phones, making it a reasonable 20W.
The HMD Pulse Pro costs £149.99. Unlike the other Pulse phones, it’s “coming soon”, but will also be available via the HMD website.
There’s no word on US availability at this stage, but Android Police suggests the regular HMD Pulse or Pulse+ could be rebranded as HMD Vibe in the US, costing $149.99. This hasn’t yet been confirmed by HMD, though.
Tempted by one of these devices? If not, you may prefer one of the other great budget phones that we recommend.
