HMD’s Fusion modular smartphone is the latest attempt to make boring phones fun again

While Apple’s MagSafe strategy has already popularised attaching accessories to the backmost of smartphones, HMD (short for Human Mobile Devices) reimagines and simplifies the conception of modularity. Instead of pursuing the way taken by Google, Motorola, and LG—who each attempted and failed—HMD has refined the modular attack to guarantee it works effectively.

Fusion launches successful India with 2 astute outfits. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

The Fusion features pogo pins connected the backmost of the device, supporting what HMD refers to arsenic “Outfits.” These open-source astute Outfits are fundamentally cases that transportation some powerfulness and data. To start, HMD has developed a fewer astute Outfits. One includes a airy ringing astir the camera module, different transforms the smartphone into a handheld console with a crippled controller Outfit, and a 3rd adds wireless charging support. There’s besides a much precocious rugged Outfit that offers IP68 h2o resistance, an SOS button, and a push-to-talk button. HMD is encouraging third-party developers to plan open-source astute Outfits for the phone.

The Fusion itself isn’t a flagship instrumentality successful the league of the iPhone 16 oregon Galaxy S24. Instead, it offers mid-range specifications, including a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor, a 90Hz display, a 108-megapixel camera, and a 5000mAh battery. It volition person 2 Android OS upgrades and 3 years of information updates.

Additionally, the instrumentality is user-repairable—accessing its internals lone requires removing screws, and doing truthful won’t void the warranty.

The telephone tin treble arsenic a gaming handheld. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/The Indian Express)

HMD nary longer competes with the likes of Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus successful the high-end smartphone category. Instead, its smartphones autumn into the mid-range conception and person precocious leaned toward being much unconventional and experimental to basal retired from the crowd. A fewer weeks ago, it launched Skyline, a do-it-yourself (DIY) smartphone that tin beryllium afloat repaired astatine home.

The Fusion arrives astatine a clip erstwhile smartphones person go boring, and the marketplace is nary longer increasing astatine the accelerated gait it erstwhile did. With the Fusion, HMD joins Nothing’s sub-brand CMF successful bringing modular smartphones backmost into the conversation, albeit with a little ambitious approach. However, it remains to beryllium seen whether devices similar the HMD Fusion and CMF Phone 1 (review) volition pave the mode for much precocious modular smartphones successful the future.