HMD Crest: A Versatile Mid-Range Smartphone for 2024

Design and Display

The HMD Crest brings a sleek and modern design with a focus on durability and functionality. Sporting a well-constructed body, the device features dimensions of 163.9 x 76.4 x 8.4 mm and a solid weight of 205g, making it comfortable to hold while still feeling premium. The standout feature of the Crest is its large 6.67-inch OLED display, offering a crisp 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution with a 20:9 aspect ratio. The vibrant OLED panel provides deep blacks, excellent contrast, and sharp details, while the high screen-to-body ratio ensures an immersive viewing experience. With the added benefit of a 395 ppi density, the Crest excels at media consumption, making it a great option for those who enjoy watching videos or playing games on their device.

Performance

Powering the HMD Crest is the Unisoc T760 chipset, built on a 6nm process, and paired with an octa-core CPU configuration (1x Cortex-A76 at 2.2GHz, 3x Cortex-A76, and 4x Cortex-A55). This setup delivers smooth performance across most day-to-day tasks, such as browsing, social media, and gaming. The device is equipped with 6GB of RAM, making multitasking seamless and efficient. For internal storage, users get 128GB, which can be expanded via the microSD slot (using a shared SIM slot), offering flexibility for those who need extra space for apps and media.

Running on Android 14, the device provides a clean and responsive user interface, optimized for performance and ease of use. The Mali-G57 GPU ensures decent graphics rendering, making the device capable of handling casual gaming and media playback with ease.

Camera

The HMD Crest is equipped with a dual-camera setup, featuring a 50MP wide-angle primary sensor that delivers clear, detailed photos in most lighting conditions, supported by a 2MP depth sensor for bokeh effects in portrait shots. The camera system includes features like LED flash and HDR, enhancing the photo quality in diverse environments. The rear camera setup is capable of recording 1080p videos at 30fps, providing solid video quality for daily use. On the front, a 50MP selfie camera ensures sharp and vibrant self-portraits, supported by video capabilities, making it perfect for video calls or content creation.

Battery, Charging, and Connectivity

The HMD Crest houses a 5000mAh battery that promises all-day usage on a single charge. For those who need a quick power top-up, it supports 33W wired fast charging, ensuring that the device can be charged up quickly when necessary. The device’s connectivity suite includes 5G support, allowing for high-speed data transfer where available, as well as 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, and USB Type-C for fast data transfer and charging. The Crest also includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is becoming rare in many modern devices, making it a plus for users who prefer wired audio.

In terms of positioning, the HMD Crest includes GPS and GALILEO for accurate location tracking, although it lacks NFC support, which may be a dealbreaker for some users who rely on contactless payments.

Durability and Repairability

A key feature of the HMD Crest is its focus on durability and repairability. It is dust and splash resistant, ensuring it can handle minor exposure to water and dust. The device is also repair-it-yourself capable, allowing users to easily replace key components like the display, back cover, battery, and charging port. This adds a layer of longevity to the device, allowing users to maintain and fix the phone without needing to go to a service center.