The HMD Skyline is a mid-range flagship with a high-spec camera

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HMD may have only started selling brands with its own brand on the box this year, the Skyline looks to be a great example of why it's a brand not to be ignored.

Priced as a mid-range device, the Skyline is packed with premium camera specifications, a Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor and is the first Qi2-compatible Android device to launch in Australia.

Like other HMD phones, the Skyline is designed so you can repair it yourself should something go wrong. Plus, HMD is planning to release a digital detox function in September, that will allow you to easily block those social app notifications to make it easier to detach your finger from the endless scroll

The cameras sound solid

Probably the most important part of a smartphone for most people is the camera. Capturing your life, either for social media or for yourself, requires the best camera you can afford or carry with you, and smartphones fit the bill for most people.

The Skyline boasts a main 108 MP Hybrid OIS camera, backed up by a 13MP Ultrawide camera and a 50MP telephoto lens. That gives you a range of 0.5x to 4x zoom, 4K video capture and a 50mm Portrait mode.

The front camera is also a 50MP lens, which offers Autofocus with eye-tracking focus. A bit of on-board AI tech should help sharpen the details in your zoomed images as well.

Plenty of power

One of the most interesting claims is that the Skyline is capable odf 48 hour battery life from its 4,600 mAh replaceable battery.

I'm not sure how much I trust that spec, but I'm hoping to test it in a product review.

Notably, the phone does boast Qi2 wireless charging support. We've seen Qi2 accessories on shelves for a while, but so far no manufacturer has launched the technology in its phone.

Even without the Qi2 support, the phone offers 33W fast charging, plus 5W reverse wireless charging, to give your headphones a bit of juice if you need it, for example.

Digital detox

On the software front, the phone ships with Android 14, with the promise of two OS updates and three years of security updates.

HMD is also promoting its upcoming Digital Detox mode, which will arrive as a software update in September. It effectively just blocks social media and other selected apps for a period of time until you turn it off, which should help you evoid doom-scrolling.

Pricing and availability

The HMD Skyline is set to launch on August 28, and will be available from JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Officeworks (online), Amazon, and Big W (online).

It will launch in two colours: Pink and Black, and have an RRP of $899.

HMD Skyline Specs