HMD’s new budget phone lineup bets big on easy battery swaps

HMD Global has launched a new budget-friendly Android phone lineup that boasts easily replaceable batteries. The new HMD Pulse series consists of the HMD Pulse, Pulse Plus, and Pulse Pro. As you can guess, the Pro model has the highest specifications, although it shares its 5,000mAh battery, display, and chipset with the other two models. The cameras are the only difference between the three new HMD phones.

When it comes to repairability, it’s not like the HMD Pulse series phones come with a removable battery that simply pops out by opening the back cover. However, the company says replacing a damaged battery is super easy using a self-repair kit from iFixit. The task can be accomplished in minutes without prior knowledge of smartphone repairs.

HMD Pulse series specs

Other than their easy repairability — which HMD labels “Gen 1 repairability” — the HMD Pulse phones are an average lot. Specs don’t impress with a Unisoc T606 SoC powering all three devices. They also have a 90Hz 6.56-inch display in common, though it’s an LCD panel with a 720p+ resolution.

The Pulse Pro features a 50MP camera up front and another 50MP shooter paired with a 2MP depth sensor at the back. The Pulse Plus also has a 50MP rear shooter but an 8MP selfie camera. The vanilla Pulse makes do with a 13MP primary camera at the back paired with a second unspecified sensor and an 8MP selfie snapper.

The Pulse and Pulse Plus sport 10W charging, but the Pulse Pro bumps this up to 20W. All three phones feature a 3.5mm headphone jack. They don’t have 5G connectivity and are restricted to 4G. Other connectivity solutions include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC.

HMD Pulse series pricing and availability

The HMD Pulse Plus and HMD Pulse are now available online at HMD.com. The HMD Pulse Pro and its Glacier green charger are coming soon.

The Pulse starts at £99.99/€140 (~$123) for the version with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, the HMD Pulse Plus goes for £130/€160 (~$161) for 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, and the HDM Pulse Pro is priced at €180 (~$192) for 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. All three phones have higher RAM options and expandable storage via a microSD card.