If you were left feeling a little underwhelmed by HMD Global’s first own-brand smartphone announcements after the company’s separation from the legendary but clearly moribund Nokia name, we have some news for you today that you’re likely to find intriguing (at the very least).
While this is far from an established source of such leaks, with an X account that has barely garnered 115 followers since its October 2023 creation, the images and promo videos accompanying the specs and price tags revealed in the last few days certainly look trustworthy… enough for us to treat all the intel with the utmost seriousness (and a moderate degree of caution).
Flashy colors, respectable specs, reasonable prices
With the most advanced member of the recently unveiled Pulse family available for as little as €180 in Europe, it’s pretty obvious that HMD’s main goal in a post-Nokia death era is to bid for the title of best budget phone in the world instead of competing against the likes of Apple and Samsung in the market’s ultra-high-end segment.
But HMD does apparently plan to rival mid-range Android soldiers like Google’s Pixel 8a and Samsung’s Galaxy A35 5G with a “Tomcat” device reportedly priced at €400 with 8GB RAM and €440 in a 12 gig memory-packing configuration. Both variants should offer a generous 256GB of internal storage space, as well as a 120Hz refresh rate-supporting “PureDisplay” with premium AMOLED technology, FHD+ resolution, and an unknown size.
Powered by the same Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor as the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion or Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro, the HMD Tomcat (which, remember, is not an actual, final marketing name) will also purportedly use a 4,900mAh battery to try to keep the lights on for as long as possible before charging at up to 33W speeds.
The 108 + 8 + 2MP triple rear-facing camera setup and the single 32MP selfie snapper don’t sound half bad for the Tomcat’s expected price point either, and the handset’s boxy design positively shines in an eye-catching blue hue in a couple of renders that bring back (mostly happy) Nokia memories for folks old enough to remember the brand’s good times.
The HMD Nighthawk (again, not a final name, as cool as it may sound) is also reminiscent of Nokia-branded phones from a different time in an even swankier red colorway while allegedly packing a humbler Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 processor and targeting a fittingly lower €250 price tag in Europe with 128GB storage and €290 in a 256GB variant.
In a way, we’re actually more excited about this thing’s value proposition than that of the costlier “Tomcat”, and something tells us you’ll agree when you consider the Nighthawk’s more than decent rumored specs: 8GB RAM, 5,000mAh battery, FHD+ AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate capabilities, 108 + 2MP rear-facing camera system, 32MP front-facing imaging sensor, Android 14, microSD card slot, and beloved headphone jack.
Did anyone ask for a modular phone in 2024?
If you did, you might want to remember how miserably Motorola’s modular Moto Z-series devices failed to connect with mainstream audiences between 2016 and 2019. Whether or not HMD remembers that, as well as other experiments in that same vein like Google’s Project Ara or the LG G5, it appears that the Finnish outfit will try its hand at a modular smartphone too… at some point with “Project Fusion.”
If this is not a finalized product, of course, all of those specs could still change before the “HMD Fusion” commercially materializes, but the pogo pins on the back of the device are unlikely to go away for fairly obvious reasons connected to the handset’s key selling point and raison d’être. This doesn’t have a price point attached to its (code)name yet, and while the HMD Tomcat and Nighthawk are expected to go on sale on the old continent sometime in the next couple of months, that’s probably not going to happen for HMD’s first modular phone.
