HMD Pulse Pro – unboxing and hands on
Look what the cat dragged in. After several attempts, the HMD Pulse Pro is finally here. As you already know, this is the first device HMD has launched, and the Pulse series will be their most affordable phone on the market—well, in most markets.
The Pulse comes in regular, Plus, and Pro versions. The Pro version has a 50 MP main and selfie camera, which is the main difference between the models. The Pulse Pro is powered by the well-known and not-so-adored Unisoc T606, built on a 12 nm process, which HMD has used in several devices, with the Nokia G21 and Nokia G22 being the most notable ones.
Here are the official specs of the HMD Pulse Pro:
- Dimensions: 163.19* 75.02 * 8.55 mm
- Weight:196g
- Network:2G: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 | 3G: 1, 5, 8 | 4G: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40
- OS: Android™ 14 | 2 years of OS upgrades | 3 years of quarterly security updates.
- CPU: Unisoc T606
- Memory: 4/128GB5, 6/128GB5, 8/256GB5 | Up to 4-8GB virtual RAM1 | MicroSD card support up to 256GB | Google Drive
- Display: 6.56’’ HD+ HID display 90Hz 480 nits(typical), Boost 600 nits, NTSC 70%(typ.) min 65%(min)
- Camera: Main: 50 MP AF Main + Depth, F1.8 (mm) 1/2.8″ | LED flash | Front: 50MP FF | Super Night + Tripod Mode | FlashShot | AI HDR | Skin tone optimization | Selfie Gestures | Night Selfie + AI Super portrait | Selfie slo-mo.
- Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth® 5.0, GPS/AGPS/Galileo, Accelerometer (G-sensor), P&L sensor, Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted) E-Compass, NFC
- Battery: 5000mAh6 | >80% after 800 charging cycles7 | Up to 59 hours battery life2 | 20W charging
- I/O: Type-C USB (USB 2.0) | OTG | 3.5mm audio jack | SIM: 3-in-2 Hybrid SIM tray | Nano SIM + Nano SIM/MicroSD card
- Other: IP52 | Biometric face unlock | Side fingerprint sensor | OZO
The box is nicely and simply designed, but it does not show the color of the device inside. Also, the box doesn’t contain much—just the device, a SIM door tool, and a USB-C to USB-C cable.
The device itself looks nice, but its glossy finish is a fingerprint magnet. Another thing I don’t like is that the 6.65-inch IPS LCD display isn’t protected with hard glass, and it scratches easily. This might be a problem for some.
The device is not that heavy for its size, and it feels nice in the hand. The fingerprint reader and face unlock work rather well, better than I remember on the G21, which wasn’t the best affordable device I tested.
It took a while to set the device up, mostly getting stuck on copying data from my Nokia X30. I don’t know what the problem was, but the third time I repeated the setup process, everything worked well.
The camera is mediocre at best, but it will provide nice shots during daylight or in well-lit spaces. The front camera could be tuned better, as the images turn out a bit grainy. I don’t want to show my face for safety reasons, but you can see the results below. These are just quick shots, need to do a bit more of them, but don’t expect much in low light conditions.
The sound coming from all speakers is actually good, but the loudspeakers owe their sound reproduction quality to Nokia OZO, which also offers the Volume Boost option.
The software doesn’t come with much bloatware (just several apps) and customizations (just the HMD icon pack). Basically, you are getting a bare Android 14 experience, and so far it is working nicely and fluidly.
All in all, this is yet another entry-level device that might not be accessible to most because the Pro version costs around €180. However, if you are not a heavy user (although it works well after installing around 100 apps and using social network apps), this could be a nice entry phone. In case you break the screen or the battery goes bad, you can easily fix it yourself, thanks to the HMD Pulse being a fixable device just like the G22 or G42.
If you own a Nokia G22, I wouldn’t suggest upgrading to the Pulse Pro unless you need that 50 MP selfie camera.
Cheers to HMD for sending the HMD Pulse Pro!
Official page: HMD Pulse Pro
