HMD makes an Android phone that teens might actually want to use

Nokia was the height of cool when I was a teen; the Finnish brand was at its zenith in the 2000s, and devices like the Nokia N95 and N73 delivered features you couldn’t get anywhere else. While Nokia is no longer a thing, Human Mobile Devices (HMD) is trying to recreate some of that magic with its latest phone, the Fusion X1.

The Fusion X1 is the start of a new initiative at HMD dubbed the Better Phone Project, and it uses the Fusion — which debuted last year — as the foundation. The phone has a similar design and comes with magnetic pins at the back, allowing you to connect accessories with ease — HMD showcased a mobile gaming controller and ring light at the device’s MWC 2025 launch.

It has a 108MP camera, and the overall design is intriguing, if not particularly distinctive. Where the Fusion X1 really stands out isn’t the internals, but the software; HMD has teamed up with Xplora to build much-needed safeguards into the device. It allows parents to set up app approvals and controlled contacts, set screen time limits with better granularity than what’s available today, and get live location updates.

All of it sounds sensible, and I’m glad that HMD is integrating these utilities out of the box. Social media addiction is a real problem for teens, and while most brands include token measures to restrict device usage, it isn’t effective. HMD wants to change that dynamic.

What’s in it for the teens? The device includes a 108MP camera at the back, and it has secure messaging and a rugged build quality. There’s no mention of internals or the battery just yet, but seeing as how the Fusion X1 will be positioned in the budget segment, it should have decent enough hardware and at least a 5000mAh battery.
HMD plans to launch the Fusion X1 later this year, and I’ll get my hands on the device closer to its debut to see if it does enough to convince teens to switch to Android.

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