As HMD Global gradually lays its classic Nokia brand to rest, the Finnish phone maker is establishing its own HMD brand, starting with its new Pulse phones. The new HMD Pulse series features three phones, HMD Pulse, Pulse+, and Pulse Pro, all of which are priced between the €100-€200 range.
HMD is confident that consumers are leaning towards eco-friendly products and are giving importance to how easy it is to repair them. According to HMD, the Pulse range is designed with “Gen 1 repairability” in mind, and users can get DIY repair kits from iFixit. These repairs cover two of the most commonly damaged components, the screen and the battery.
Starting with the HMD Pulse, serves as the starting point among the three models. It’s important to highlight that all of them are powered by the same chipset, the Unisoc T606 with Android 14 and 2 years of promised OS updates.
Moving on, the 6.65” LCD is another feature shared by all three models. It has a 720p+ resolution (20:9 aspect ratio) and a 90Hz refresh rate. However, it doesn’t stand out much, offering a peak brightness of 600 nits and covering only 70% of the NTSC color space.
What distinguishes the three models most noticeably are their cameras. As the entry-level option, the Pulse features a 13MP main camera on the rear, equipped with autofocus and dual-LED flash, accompanied by a single depth sensor. Meanwhile, the punch-hole cutout in the front features an 8MP selfie camera.
Regarding the battery, it packs a 5,000 mAh capacity and is labeled as “QuickFix replaceable.” While it is not as easily replaceable as old phones with removable rear panels, HMD says it should only take 5 minutes to replace the battery with simple, easily available tools.
The battery should be good for about 800 cycles and can be charged at 10W speeds if you can even call it “speed.”
HMD Pulse has a starting price of €140 and memory configurations include 4 to 6 RAM with 64 GB built-in storage that can be expanded through a microSD card. It comes in black and pink color options.
HMD Pulse+ is priced slightly higher at €160 but keeps the same screen specs as the HMD Pulse as well as the Unisoc T606 chipset, an old 12nm chip with two Cortex-A75 cores and six A55 cores. However, it takes RAM up to 8 GB and the built-in storage is 128 GB instead of 64 GB, expandable through a memory card.
The main upgrade comes in the camera department, which features a 50MP sensor (up from 13MP), alongside the same 2MP depth sensor. There is no mention of video recording capabilities but it is worth mentioning that the chipset cannot go higher than 1080p recording. The selfie camera is an 8MP shooter.
The 5,000 mAh battery is also shared between the two, with the same 10W charging. HMD Pulse+ takes the price up to €160 and comes in Apricot Crush (Orange) and Midnight Blue color options.
Despite being the top dog in the series, the HMD Pulse Pro is not that far ahead of its siblings. The main camera setup is the same as the HMD Pulse+ (50MP + 2MP) and the Unisoc T606 budget chipset is shared too. The 720p screen is sized at 6.65 inches, just like the others and the memory options are identical as well. The selfie camera takes a major jump to 50MP.
The other upgrade would be the phone’s charging tech, which is rated at 20W instead of 10W like the others, but it’s still on top of the same 5,000 mAh battery, which is not low by any means.
HMD Pulse Pro adds another €20 to the price, taking it up to €180. The colors are called Glacier Green, Black Ocean, and Twilight Purple.
| HMD Pulse | HMD Pulse+ | HMD Pulse Pro | |
| Chipset | Unisoc T606 | Unisoc T606 | Unisoc T606 |
| CPU | Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) | Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) | Octa-core (2×1.6 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU | Mali-G57 MP1 | Mali-G57 MP1 | Mali-G57 MP1 |
| OS | Android 14 | Android 14 | Android 14 |
| Supported Networks | 2G, 3G, 4G LTE | 2G, 3G, 4G LTE | 2G, 3G, 4G LTE |
| Display | 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz | 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz | 6.65″ IPS LCD, 720 x 1612 pixels, 90Hz |
| RAM | 4 GB, 6 GB | 4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB | 4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB |
| Storage | 64 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Card Slot | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Main Camera | 13 MP, (wide), AF Auxiliary lens | 50 MP, (wide), AF Auxiliary lens | 50 MP, (wide), AF 2 MP, (depth) |
| Front Camera | 8MP | 8MP | 50MP |
| Colors | Meteor Black, Dreamy Pink | Apricot Crush, Midnight Blue | Black Ocean, Glacier Green, Twilight Purple |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh, 10W wired charging | 5,000 mAh, 10W wired charging | 5,000 mAh, 20W wired charging |
| Price | €140 | €160 | €180 |
