Modular smartphones have been an idea in the tech industry for over a decade. Early concepts, such as Google’s Project Ara, aimed to create fully customizable phones with swappable components like cameras, processors, and batteries. While these projects never reached mainstream success, brands like Fairphone and Motorola experimented with modular designs, focusing on sustainability and repairability but these were significantly more expensive. 

However, HMD Global introduced the HMD Skyline, a smartphone with user-repairable parts, launched in Malaysia in July 2024 at RM2399. Unlike fully modular devices, it does not allow hardware upgrades, but it offers self-repair options to extend its lifespan. Could this be the modular phone we've been waiting for?

Today, Nokia's partner, HMD has entered the Malaysian market with not one, not two, but more than three new phones. Introducing the HMD Pulse Pro, HMD Pulse+, and HMD Pulse, not only are these budget-friendly devices but they are designed to be easily repairable by consumers themselves. There's also the new HMD Skyline phone but we will get to that later.

Remember the days when Nokia was king? If so, you're probably part of the older generation that wonders where Nokia would be if it made the right decisions. But for old Lumia fans, HMD might have something for you on the horizon - a new Lumia-like device.