HMD Fusion Customisable Phone With “Smart Outfits” Announced at IFA 2024

HMD, best known for producing smartphones under the Nokia name for the past few years, is continuing to transition to its own brand with the new HMD Fusion. This smartphone, announced just as the IFA 2024 trade show in Berlin kicks off, promises to be uniquely customisable. A set of accessories called “Smart Outfits” will let users change the device’s looks as well as add functionality to it. Moreover, the HMD Fusion is designed to be easily repairable by owners themselves.

The new HMD Fusion is priced starting at €249 in Europe and £199 in the UK (approximately Rs. 21,990 before taxes) and will be sold through the company’s own website along with its Smart Outfits later this year. 

Smart Outfits are designed to be functional as well as to offer multiple different design styles. The HMD Fusion features six electrical contact pins on the lower back, which allow for Smart Outfits to draw power from or recharge the phone as well as integrate with apps. The company will also offer open-source software and hardware developer kits so that users can create their own accessories.

The Flashy Outfit adds a ring light around the Fusion’s rear camera module, but it can also be flipped up to illuminate selfies. Users will be able to control mood lighting and set camera effects. Slipping a Rugged Outfit onto the Fusion will make this phone IP68 water and dust resistant. You also get wireless charging and an emergency alert button, for those adventuring outdoors. A Gaming Outfit will snap on to the device turning it into a portable gaming console with physical D-pads, buttons and triggers.

HMD has not announced whether these Outfits will be compatible across multiple models, and has not committed to any future plans for a larger ecosystem. 

All buyers will receive a simple translucent Casual Outfit in the box along with the HMD Fusion. The phone itself is available only in black, which HMD calls a “raw grunge aesthetic”. In photos, the device appears to have an exposed battery and several visible screws. Official company promos show what appear to be pink, green and blue options for the Casual Outfits.

HMD has also been touting easy and affordable repairability as an advantage for some of its recent models. It recently announced a tieup with iFixit to sell tools and spare parts directly to consumers in some markets. Screen and battery replacement kits will be available to HMD Fusion users in supported countries. 

The HMD Fusion is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC. It runs Andriod 14 and will receive two major OS upgrades. It has a 6.56-inch screen with an HD+ (720 x 1612 pixel) resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. The 5000mAh battery can be charged at up to 33W. HMD’s website suggests that variants will be available with 4GB, 6GB, 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage, which might vary by country.

This phone also has a 108-megapixel main rear camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The front camera has a 50-megapixel resolution. There’s Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a microSD card slot. The Fusion supports an eSIM, and has an IP52 rating.