The HMD Fusion adds custom outfits to a repairable body

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Say what you will about HMD, the company is doing its best to innovate in the relatively stale smartphone market.

Overnight the company announced its latest smartphone, the HMD Fusion. Set to launch in October for $499, this mid-range smartphone has a pretty interesting approach to accessories.

Rather than just buying any old third party case, HMD is introducing the concept of "outfits" which use a six pin connector on the back of the phone to introduce a range of functionality to the phone.

That can be a change to the hardware and/or the software, unlocking new functionality and enhanced performance.

Let's look at the outfits

As a concept it sounds pretty interesting, but you have to really look at the different outfits HMD has announced to get a full understanding of what it's hoping to achieve.

To start with, there's the Gaming Outfit. Looking a bit like the BackBone One or Razer Kishi, the gaming outfit adds a set of gaming controls to your phone so you can play games with physical buttons and analogue sticks. It draws power through the six pin connector, so there are no extra cables required.

Then there's the Flashy outfit, which comes with a built-in ring light that can be used for either the front or rear camera to improve the lighting quality of your photos and videos.

Through the six pin connector, the outfit pulls all the power it needs from the phone. It also adds custom on-device controls to create mood lighting and camera effects through the camera app.

There's a rugged outfit, which brings an IP68 rating to the phone (when installed properly), and adds wireless charging to the phone through the six-pin connector.

There's a bunch of other outfits too, but you get the idea.

Other specs and features

HMD has packed in a powerful camera system here by default, with a 108MP rear camera and a 50MP selfie cam.

There's 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage on board, and because it's an HMD phone, it comes with the same Gen 2 repairability found in the HMD Skyline.

The display is a 6.56-inch HD+ display (720 x 1612) with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 600 nit peak brightness.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor, which coupled with the screen explains why the price is under $500.

The phone will ship with Android 14, and you'll get two years of OS updates included.

Pricing and availability

The HMD Fusion is set to launch on 10 October, with a $499 RRP. You'll be able to pick it up from Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks (online), Big W (online) and HMD's online store.