Deals: HMD Skyline is on pre-order, Realme GT 6 and GT 6T prices reduced

HMD has struck gold with the Skyline – the phone’s design blends memories of the Nokia N9 with a bold neon pink hero colour, and the repairability (though not unique) earns some brownie points.

The phone is surprisingly capable – the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 is the most powerful chip inside an HMD phone yet. Of course, the competition is from the Snapdragon 695 and some Unisox, but we’re glad to see HMD is finally moving to better chips. The phone’s 6.55-inch display is a 144Hz OLED (FHD+) and there’s a 50MP selfie camera up front. On the back are a 108MP main (OIS), 50MP 2x tele and a 13MP ultra-wide camera.

The 4,600mAh battery is user-replaceable, though you’ll need tools to do so. It supports both 33W wired and 15W wireless charging. And note that it supports Qi2 charging (with magnets, like Apple’s MagSafe), which is unheard of in the Android world. Speaking of tools, with tools and guides from iFixit, you’ll be able to replace the screen at home in just 10 minutes. One shortcoming is software support – HMD has only committed to 2 OS updates and 3 years of security patches. That’s at least a year less than we’d want from a €550 phone.

For €50 less you can buy the Realme GT 6. It has a better, bigger display – a 6.78” 1264p+ LTPO panel that runs up to 120Hz and 6,000 nits. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 rather than GG3 like HMD. The dust and water resistance rating is also better at IP65 (vs IP54). And you get the more powerful Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, though without a microSD slot. The 5,500mAh battery is 900mAh larger and supports 120W fast charging (though not wireless).

The 50MP main camera has a large 1/1.4” sensor and the 50MP 2x portrait camera is comparable, as is the 8MP ultra wide. There’s also a 32MP selfie camera. Realme promises 3 OS updates and 4 years of security patches, but it doesn’t pay as much attention to repairs.

The Realme GT 6T is also available for €100 less than the GT 6 (and €150 less from HMD). It still has a better chipset – the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 – and a bigger, faster 5,500mAh battery with 120W charging. However, it doesn’t have a tele camera and the sensor is smaller at 50MP main. It’s also on track for 3 OS updates and 4 years of patches.

For a slightly higher price than the Skyline, you can get the Nothing Phone (2). It has a 6.7” LTPO display (120Hz), but a lower resolution than the Realme (FHD+). It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and a 4,700mAh battery with 45W wired and 15W wireless (original Qi, so no magnets).

It has a 50MP main and 50MP ultra-wide camera, as well as a 32MP selfie camera, but there is no telephoto lens. Like the Realme, Nothing also promises 3 OS updates and 4 years of patches, but keep in mind this is a 2023 model, so subtract one from those numbers.

The Nothing phone (2a) doesn’t have an LTPO panel, but the display is the same at 6.7″ FHD+ 120Hz. It has the same 50+50MP rear and 32MP front camera setup (but 4K video recording happens at 30fps instead of 60fps).

The 2a uses the Dimensity 7200 Pro chipset, which outperforms the Skyline chipset in graphics tests. The 5,000mAh battery only supports 45W wired charging, not wireless. The update schedule for the 2a is the same as the phone (2), but as a 2024 model, it started life with Android 14, so it has an edge.

For the last phone today, we’ve picked something a lot cheaper. The Realme Note 50 is a €100 phone that runs full Android 13 on a decently fast Unisoc T712 chipset. The 6.74” IPS LCD is big, but low on pixels with an HD+ resolution (it has a 90Hz refresh rate). The 5,000mAh battery is big, but very slow to charge at just 10W. We won’t mention the camera, as it’s not worth mentioning. The microSD slot and 3.5mm headphone jack are nice to see, however.