The Human Mobile Devices brand, better known as HMD, has been producing budget smartphones for years now. This time, they showed something special. Today, we review HMD Fusion — a smartphone with the possibility of easy and self-repair. In addition, we’ll take a look at two accessories: the HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit case and the HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit gamepad.
Content
| HMD Fusion | |
| Display | 6.56 inches 20:9, 1612×720 pixels. 269ppi, IPS, 90 Hz, 480-600 nits brightness, |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, 8-core (6×2) |
| Graphics adapter | Adreno 613 |
| Memory | 4/128, 6/128, 8/256 GB |
| Main camera | 108 megapixels, wide-angle, 4K/60 fps 2 megapixels, depth sensor |
| Front camera | 50 megapixels, 1080/30 fps |
| Modules and systems | 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi 6 (AX Ready), Bluetooth 5.1 and NFC, aGPS, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| OS | Android 14 |
| Protection | YES, IP57 |
| Battery | 5000 mAh, 33 W fast charging |
| Body | Front glass, rear and sides made of plastic |
| Dimensions | 164.2 x 75.5 x 8.3 mm |
| Weight | 202 grams |
HMD Fusion comes in a small black and white box with a picture of a smartphone screen. On the back are the main features of the device and the logo of the famous brand iFIXIT.
Inside we find the hero of our review, documentation, a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable and a dark transparent case that looks quite solid with thick sides. It’s a bit reminiscent of shockproof counterparts. You’ll have to buy the power supply separately, like film or glass, etc.
The design of HMD Fusion is quite different from conventional smartphones. Especially the design of the back. Most of all, it resembles Nothing smartphones. However, there is a reason for this — it is designed so that there is easy access to the internal parts of the smartphone. This is especially necessary for subsequent battery replacement after a few years or replacing an external part after a drop.
The display takes up almost the entire front of the smartphone. On the top is a 50-megapixel front camera. The bezels around it are not thick, but in the lower part it is rather large. This is necessary to hide the internal connections of the IPS screen. Do you want it to be smaller? Yes, of course. The display is protected from scratches by glass of unknown origin. For those who are worried about the display, it is better to buy and install a protective film or glass.
On the back there are two cameras, a flash, a microphone, a magnetic connector for connecting accessories, and the HMD logo. The main part is protected by matte plastic. The frame and the back are united by a cover.
On the right side there are volume keys and a lock button with a built-in fingerprint scanner. On the top end there is only a microphone, and on the left — there is a combined SIM and MicroSD slot. On the bottom — there is a microphone, speaker, 3.5 mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C 2.0 port. The phone is made of matte plastic.
The fingerprint scanner works stably and well. You can simply put your finger to unlock it even when the screen is off. If you accidentally pressed the wrong finger, then the corresponding vibration response will be triggered.
The dimensions of HMD Fusion are 164.2 x 75.5 x 8.3 mm, and it weighs — 202 grams. Due to its size and weight, the smartphone is quite bulky. And if you put it in a case, it becomes even bigger and heavier. However, all this did not prevent me from using the smartphone even with one hand. Apparently, this feeling is due to the slightly rounded edges of the case.
Surfaces on both sides collect traces of use. It’s good when these traces are not visible after wiping. HMD Fusion has IP54 protection. That is, the smartphone is protected from dust and individual drops, but it should not be partially or completely immersed in water.
The reviewed version is Noir or simply black. This is the only color that has HDM Fusion. This may upset some people, but the variety of colors is achieved with separate cases. So I don’t see any problems.
HMD Fusion is equipped with a 6.56-inch IPS display. The screen resolution is 1612×720 pixels, the maximum brightness is 600 nits, and the display refresh rate is 60 or 90 Hz.
Nowadays, when we are spoiled with OLED/AMOLED, the display characteristics are not impressive, but this is more or less relevant for this segment. The screen is enough for everyday use, and thanks to the IPS-matrix, you won’t feel PWM.
The display shows a vivid picture and sufficient detail. As a former owner of the iPhone Xr and 11 (1792×828 pixels; 60 Hz), I was not disappointed with the display.
At the top of the screen we see a 50-megapixel front camera with face unlocking, but don’t expect FaceID.
HMD Fusion supports mono sound, which is realized using the main speaker. The sound from the earpiece speaker is loud and clear, nothing buzzes 100%. There were no problems with the sound during conversations.
The smartphone is quite large, but I did not encounter any problems with vibration response. But you need to understand that the bundled case is quite thick and there are cases when you will not hear the incoming vibration call in your pocket.
The bass and volume are absent, the detail and clarity are at a mediocre level. But the speaker is very loud! At 50%, the maximum volume was 98 decibels (average 87), and at 100% — 102 decibels (average 96). And this is without sound amplification, which adds 2-3 decibels to each of the values! Not only you, but also people around you will hear an incoming call.
HMD Fusion has a dual-camera unit. The main camera is a 100-megapixel wide-angle camera without optical stabilization. The second is a 2-megapixel depth sensor. As you can imagine, only the main camera can take photos and shoot video, which, looking ahead, is of mediocre quality.
Here are examples of photos and videos in 1x mode. You can see the original photos here at the link. Daytime photos are still quite good. But at night, it is clearly not enough and is not the level of 2025, although it is suitable for the budget segment.
Video recording is supported at 1080p/60fps. This is the basic level.
Although the front camera has 50 megapixels, it also shoots at a basic level.
The HMD Fusion is powered by a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chip — an octa-core CPU (2 cores at 2.2 GHz and six cores at 2 GHz) with an Adreno 613 graphics card. The memory comes in 4/128 GB, 6/128 GB, and 8/256 GB (the variant under review). The permanent memory is of an unknown format. Interfaces and modules are represented by Wi-Fi 6 (partial support; ax-ready), Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO navigation services. There is support for MicroSD memory cards up to and including 1 TB.
The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor is a budget solution for smartphones. And you need to understand this. It meets the needs of basic mobile gaming and allows you to support 90 Hz in the operating system almost without any problems. Why almost? Because I can still see minor flaws in animations with my eyes, but you can’t.
According to benchmarks, the processor hardly throttles. But seeing 5 fps in the simplest 3DMark test (others are not supported due to insufficient CPU/GPU technology) — will be too much for some.
HMD Fusion runs on a clean Android 14 OS. Except that the main screen doesn’t look like it should. The system looks and works on this «hardware» fast enough. There are no ads on the system, only a few programs are loaded, which you will immediately see in a separate folder on the desktop.
However, Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 should be enough for Genshin Impact. It plays fine, except that the compilation of shaders after the first download of all files took more than 30 minutes! I recorded gameplay in Real Racing 3 and Genshin Impact.
HMD Fusion is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery. It supports 33W fast charging. With a 20 W power supply, the smartphone charges 50% in 30 minutes. A full charge takes approximately 1.5 hours.
Unfortunately, I was not able to fully pass the PCMark test. However, after 14 hours of testing (75% brightness), about 9-10% of the battery charge remained before the test was turned off. This is a pretty good result. That is, the phone works quietly all day without needing to be charged.
In addition to the phone, we also reviewed several smartphone accessories. For example, the HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit is a sturdy case with additional lighting for both cameras: the rear and the front. This effect is achieved thanks to a special movable mechanism. By the way, it allows you to try to put your smartphone in a comfortable position to watch movies.
The case itself is solid and makes a rather large smartphone look even more massive. The bezels around the display increase by a few more millimeters. I would even say that the HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit will be an excellent protection for your smartphone against all kinds of falls on various hard surfaces.
To turn on the backlight, you need to go to the Camera app, where you will find two additional icons. The first one turns on the light itself, and the second one allows you to adjust the brightness level and choose the desired color. Unfortunately, if you turn on the Flashlight in the top control panel, the «ring» does not work.
The version in Pink color is presented for review. The Indigo version is also available in blue. Both colors look bright and restrained at the same time.
The price for HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit is 1499 UAH. It’s a pretty good price for a branded case with additional protection and new features.
The HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit allows you to turn your HMD Fusion smartphone into a full-fledged mobile gaming console. Gamepad body materials: ABS + TPU. In general, the quality of the materials is reminiscent of an Xbox gamepad, which is quite noisy and branded.
Due to the location of the right stick above the «crossbar», the gamepad resembles a solution for Windows/Xbox platforms. The top keys and triggers on both sides are labeled 1 and 2, so you’ll have to memorize LB, RB, RB, and RT. The bottom has a USB Type-C connector and a 3.5 mm jack.
According to the manufacturer, the smartphone will not charge during the game. And it’s true, the gamepad stops recognizing any key presses/sticks/triggers.
Another disadvantage of the gamepad is that only the HMD Fusion model is supported. It would be nice if HMD releases another smartphone to support it in the future. I’d also like to use the gamepad with the included case, but there are no cutouts for magnetic connectors.
I played Shadow Fight 4 and Genshin Impact with it. SF4 immediately detected that a gamepad was connected without any additional settings. For Genshin Impact, I had to choose the controller I needed and change the key settings a bit. If you are used to playing on a touchscreen display, it will take some time to adapt. For example, for SF4, I didn’t have to spend time getting used to the controls because I already had a similar experience playing fighting games on the PSP and Xbox gamepad. But with Genshin Impact, I had some problems because of the quick change of characters to apply different buffs. However, getting used to any type of control is purely individual.
Playing on the HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit is interesting, fun, and necessary to reveal the specific features of your characters. It will definitely help if you need to anicancel, or cancel animation, to play the game, pressing two or three keys quickly with minimal delay. This is a regular gamepad with a display in the middle.
The price of HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit is 1999 hryvnias. It seems to me that the price is quite high considering that only HMD Fusion with not the most powerful «hardware» can support it.
In the few weeks I’ve been using HMD Fusion, I haven’t noticed any major bugs or problems, and I’m very surprised by this fact. Previously, if you bought a budget smartphone, you would potentially get a lot of problems: OS lags, weak speakers, a bad battery, or all of the above. With HMD, I saw that this stage in smartphone development is over.
Yes, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 looks a bit weak in 2025, to put it mildly. But what does the user need? They want the device to not think for a long time and not lag. Most games will run on HMD Fusion, but you need to understand right away that it is far from the maximum graphics settings for mobile AAA projects. And here you may need the HMD Fusion Gaming Outfit gamepad from HMD itself. The HMD Fusion Flashy Outfit case makes much more sense to me because of the even greater additional protection. However, the bundled case is not much inferior and should protect the smartphone well from drops.
I’d also like to say a few words about the smartphone’s customization options. It’s really cool that the manufacturer can provide the necessary CAD files for further creating an individual design of the HMD Fusion. Although you will have to register and wait a bit for confirmation from HMD itself. Perhaps you will create something so incredible that your version will be seen.
What about the idea of the service and collaboration with iFIXIT? This is a very good solution that HMD needs to develop. Perhaps this is how the modular revolution in smartphone development will take place. So that the user does not have to buy the entire smartphone in two or three years, but, for example, only a part with a CPU or a camera. Ecologists and animals in the forests will be happy because of the reduction in waste. However, there is still the issue of relevance for a wide range of users who find it easier and more desirable to buy a new device.
The price of HMD Fusion is 10499 UAH. For the main feature of this smartphone, namely good repairability in case of possible drops, you will have to sacrifice technical characteristics. And they are lower than those of competitors.
There are plenty of competitors for HMD Fusion with a price of up to 11000 UAH. These include the Motorola G75 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 and an additional camera (9999 UAH), Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 4G Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 and two more cameras (7999 UAH), Motorola G85 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 (10999 UAH). The list goes on and on.
