We hope to see this direction for HMD in the coming months.
Just about a week ago, a brand known as HMD (short for “Human Mobile Devices”) is making waves online because of one particular phone, the Crest. At first glance, it looks like your typical budget phone with minimalist design. So what’s making people ruffle on the phone?
Well, HMD isn’t exactly a new player in the industry. In fact, you might have seen them sell phones before under the Nokia brand. Yes, they are the licensee to Nokia’s phone line which includes both smartphones and feature phones. However, due to Nokia not being to cope with harsh competition, specifically from Chinese smartphone brands, HMD decided to take matters to their own hands and manufacture phones under their name. Licensing the Nokia name is already pricey, so it’s a smart move for HMD to downsize Nokia’s phone business to just feature phones, where they naturally excel. Surprise, there are still people who like phones with a keypad, even younger ones.
HMD is also a European brand, and probably the last European brand standing. Wiko pretty much pulled out and got China-fied, but HMD is pure Swede. This reason, combined with surprisingly aggressive specs and price is why the Crest is valuable for those looking for a budget phone but without the clutter. It seems like HMD is learning. We hope to see their future lineups be consistent and maybe even better, without breaking the bank. This is the kind of breakthrough they need in this saturated market.
The HMD Crest is a modest device. It has a 6.67″ 60Hz OLED screen with FHD+ (2400x1080px) resolution. It comes with several colours in different regions but the Philippines, for some odd reason, only gets Midnight Blue. The other colours include Lush Lilac and Royal Pink.
It is equipped with a powerful budget chipset, the UNISOC T760. This has 5G capabilities and typically, phones at this price range are stuck with an older 5G chip or just not have 5G at all. This is combined with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage.
There are practically only two cameras here. There is a 50MP at the back and a 50MP at the front. The depth sensor is here too to add a bit of cuteness to the phone. However, this setup is alright for this price range. At least there are fewer gimmicky cameras here than most budget phones.
The battery size is also modest. HMD decided to be a little conservative in this department. It’s got a 5000mAh battery with a Li-Po compound, paired with 33W fast charging.
The phone also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner despite it using an OLED display, a 3.5mm jack, OZO speakers, USB-C, Bluetooth 5.0, and IP52 dust/splash resistance. HMD is also promoting easy repairability, wherein regular users can replace parts such as the display and battery easily with just a few tools and a tutorial, even if you don’t have the experience of a professionally trained technician.
The phone is listed on Shopee for PHP 7,990, making it easily one of the best budget phones so far this year. It is valued at PHP 12,990.
SPECS:
- 6.67″ FHD+ (2400x1080px) OLED
- IP52 dust/splash resistance
- UNISOC Tiger T760 (6nm)
- CAMERAS:
- 50MP (Primary)
- 2MP (Depth)
- FRONT: 50MP
- Android 14
- 5000mAh, 33W fast charging
- USB-C, 3.5mm jack, Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, OZO speakers
- 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
- Midnight Blue, Lush Lilac, Royal Pink
- PRICE:
- 8/256: PHP 7,999
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