Skyline 5G | Android 14 | Unlocked Smartphone | Dual SIM | US Version | 8/256GB | 6.55" 144Hz pOLED Screen | 108MP Triple Camera | 50MP Selfie Camera | Blue Topaz

When my s23 ultra dies, I'm now an HMD customer. You should all be SERIOUSLY considering the HMD skyline. It doesn't put a foot wrong and does all the premium phone things perfectly at a third or less the price, all while being completely user-serviceable with parts and guides cheaply available on the reliable ifixit site. You can literally open the phone and replace the screen with ONE SINGLE SCREW. FOR UNDER A HUNDRED BUCKS.I got this because my little sister in law's samsung s20 was finally dying. Saw the jerryrigeverything video and thought "wow, I like the design philosophy, the price, the fact that you can repair it, parts are on ifixit for insanely reasonable prices, and that it has real quality components." Ordered it, and while setting it up, compared it to my S23 ultra.The screens, even with HDR content, are both phenomenal. I would say the HMD is just as good. You'd never tell without them side by side. High refresh rate, smooth, bright as heck, perfect OLED blacks, identical color accuracy.The cameras? Again, wow. Totally fine. I'd say it's easily as good as the more budget samsung, google and apple phones. I wouldn't get it if your goal is to be a photographer, but if it's an iphone 15 pro max whatever or this and putting $800 into a nice used DSLR, the latter option DEMOLISHES any phone.Speakers? great. They're phone speakers, so you really shouldn't be using them a ton, and I do wish it had a headphone jack. That is literally the only change I'd make to it hardware wise (there's one other change I'd make that HMD can do, and I hope they do)Performance? Also great. I challenged it by putting some playstation 2 emulation on it, downloading genshin and zenless zone zero and pushing them to the max and no problems at all. It's a second tier snapdragon 7 vs the 8gen2 in my s23 ultra, but with even the most taxing jobs you can reasonably ask of a phone right now, it doesn't blink twice. Maybe if you're trying to switch emulate, sure, but as a phone? You won't ever find a struggle. And since it's a snapdragon chip and not a Mali, it's just natively going to work with every app.Software? Standard android, zero issues. With a few months of use, my sister-in-law says that every once in a while it'll glitch for a few seconds and the buttons will stop working for just a moment or the screen will hang once in a while for just a second, but compared to my completely babied S23 ultra, which just due to a bug with samsung's android version and youtube, it will just arbitrarily get SCREAMING hot for no reason whatsoever within about 90 seconds, about 70% of the time I watch youtube, and stay screaming hot no matter what I do until I turn off the phone and literally let it cool down for a few minutes, I'd take the latter. And even iOS is getting buggy now (honestly moreso than this), so I'd say it's a complete non-issue.Battery life is great. Nothing insane, but not at all deficient. And the biggest, HUGEST deal for me is that when your battery does start to degrade with time and use... YOU CAN REPLACE IT YOURSELF. CHEAPLY. Your iphone will literally try to brick itself if you don't spend the entire cost of the phone to do anything to it at the apple store.It is slightly lower IPX rated. Not full submersion I believe. So you aren't gonna be doing underwater camera work, but I honestly just have never been tempted to risk any phone in that way. Not worth it. But the flipside is that if this phone does take a dunk in the toilet or bath, YOU CAN FIX IT YOURSELF. CHEAPLY.A screen replacement alone on my s23 ultra is more than this whole phone.You can open the phone with no heat. JUST ONE SCREW. The cam design is genius. And every part being on ifixit? for ridiculously fair prices? You should be losing your mind at that.Even the fit and finish just feel fantastic. Very premium. And the coolest part is because you can fix anything on it yourself, WITHOUT VOIDING YOUR WARRANTY (HMD says that user performed repairs are considered authorized repairs) you don't need a big ugly case or screen protector, because dropping your phone and cracking the glass isn't a $600 mistake!The only other thing I'd like to see other than a return of the headphone jack with a decent DAC/AMP in it, is for HMD to support at least four full android version updates. Fairphone does that (but it's not even a contest I'd take this over fairphone any day) but HMD only promises two. The means you may need to upgrade in 2-4 years (depending on android's schedule), even if your phone is still working fine, because it's no longer secure. I still wouldn't call it anywhere near a dealbreaker seeing as most phones only last 2 years tops now anyways because something breaks and it's too expensive to repair.I've been a top tier samsung phone user since the note 2. But I'm so fed up with the typical phone experience of unserviceable phones. And the HMD shows you can have just as premium a feel in the hand, just as good a screen, speakers, great camera, and performance and battery life that doesn't leave you wanting for anything, for a third the price and also be completely and cheaply user repaired. I'm switching too.

the very day I received this item, the seller offered the international version on Amazon with 12gb ram instead of 8gb, and for a sale price that was not much more money. I phoned HMD directly, to ask if functionality and warranty would be different on the international vs US model. I was assured that there was no difference, that the international would offer same functionality (only better, with 12GB ram). I initiated a return of this one (taking advantage of the posted free returns policy), and sent it back... tracking indicated it was received in Las Vegas (location of Amazon return center) 10 DAYS AGO, but I am still waiting for a refund!!! Meanwhile, I received the HMD Skyline 12GB RAM international model, and discovered it would not pair with Android Auto on my VW. I called HMD tech support, they patiently walked me through multiple trouble shoots/reboots, and so forth, before giving up. Nine days after that one was received in Las Vegas, I am waiting for a refund. I have now bought a Samsung S25 with 12GB and 256GB memory; it works flawlessly. Amazon is ussualy solid, but they continue to let me down on these two returns. If you live near a Best Buy, just go there to buy your phone.

Switched from a Motorola, just wanted a smart phone without a lot of bloatware. This has a better signal than anything else I have had in my corner of nowhere, I still have two of the other phones I ran and their signal is bad compared to it. If I don't watch videos, even if I have it playing music to my head set the battery lasts a solid 12 hours. Charges fast and has a mode that keeps it from over charging. Took less time to set up than any phone I've had before. It's solid I drop things all the time and besides some scratches I am surprised this still works perfectly. Cost less than comparable phones I was looking for, does everything I want it to, and doesn't download junk I don't. I'm also a fan of the night mode where it automatically stops making any noise after I've set a bed time.

After a little over a month with this device it has proven to be very indicative of anything someone may want out of a phone of this price tier. Superb display, more than modest chipset and ram (extension is nice as well of course), and it's repair-focused design adds the most for me anyway.However, it has some annoyances, some more general, others possibly from my own pedantic/idealistic wants. The most glaring of which is (as many others have noted) the short support period, which is not that far departed from others on its class, but becomes more of a primary issue when the device is heavily marketed as being user repairable for longevity.Second is a tie between a bit of a glitchy UI when the screen is forced into 60 Hz mode and the power/fingerprint button's paint chipping so early in its life.Third is likely more of a personal preference and/or niche electronics ideology, but the screen is much too big, it is quite unwieldy when used with one hand, both from being a bit slippery and its sheer size yeilding it to be difficult even for those with larger hands (I am a large in most gloves, and still cannot easily reach alot of the screen with one hand without some manoeuvering). For context, my previous device was a Pixel 3a, which has about a 5.5 inch screen. I did try to find a repair-focused, sub 6-inch phone with a modest chipset and screen, but save for maybe the iPhone SE (minus repair-focus for this one) they no longer exist.Overall, superb build quality, very good for content creators as advertised with its 50 MP selfie cam and large, detailed, high refresh rate display.

Really like the phone so far. Has an attractive design, materials feel premium (have it in a clear case now as it's not grippy), performance is a noticeable improvement on my previous phone (TCL 20 SE - showing its age, but bearable), price was right, and the repairability sold me. Gaining 5G and NFC is nice to have now too.