HMD Crest Review: HMD earlier used to manufacture Nokia brand smartphones, now the company has launched its handsets under HMD Brand, named HMD Crest and Crest Max. Both of these are affordable smartphones. The starting price here is Rs 14,499. Here we got HMD Crest for review. Let’s know about it in detail.
HMD Crest specifications
- Display : 6.67-inch OLED, 90Hz refresh rates
- Chipset: Octa-core UNISOC T760 (6nm), Mali-G57 MC4 GPU
- RAM : 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X
- Storage: 128GB/256GB
- Software : android 14
- Battery: 5000 mAh and 33W wire charging
- Rear camera: 50 MP (main) + 2 MP depth sensor
- Front Camera: 50 MP
Design of HMD Crest
This handset comes in three color variants, which are Midnight Blue, Royal Pink and Lush Lilac. We have reviewed the Midnight Blue color. This color comes with white crystal. It has a glass panel on the back panel. We used the base variant of this handset for about 10 days. During this time we checked the performance, camera and other details of the handset. Let’s know about it.
Let’s start with the looks of HMD Crest. Its design is quite average, you may have seen this type of design*** in other affordable smartphones as well. This handset comes with 8.4mm thickness and 210 grams weight, which may seem heavy to many people.
HMD Crest display
HMD Crest has a 6.7 inch display with a punch hole. It has a selfie camera. The bezels of this handset are a bit thick, which cannot be ignored. There is also an additional black layer around the punch hole camera, which looks quite big even after turning on the screen.
Now let’s talk about the sides. It has buttons on the side just like other handsets. Plastic has been used on the sides here. It has dual SIM support, but if you use a memory card, you will be able to insert only a single SIM card. It also has a side mounted fingerprint scanner. This handset comes with IP52 Water Resistance and 5G support.
HMD Crest display
HMD Crest has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, which is quite attractive. The colors seem dull in some places, but the overall experience has been good in this price segment.
If you watch videos on YouTube on HMD Crest, then many times the problem of color tone shift is seen. White balance is also a problem in this. If you read something on the phone i.e. see it in text format, then it looks correct, but when you watch the video, you understand that some things should be shown in white color, but it does not look like that. Blurriness was also seen while watching the video.
The display of this handset comes with Widevine L1 support and HDR support. This phone supports HD content on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. This handset has AMOLED display, which is the biggest feature of this smartphone, but the display color tone is a big problem.
Performance of HMD Crest
HMD Crest has used UNISOC T760 processor, which gives this handset decent speed. Many people may like this speed. Compared to other phones in this price segment, good speed is available.
We played Free Fire Max game on this handset, even after playing continuously for about 30 minutes, this handset did not heat up, which is a good thing. No lag was seen during gaming. In many places, it took a lot of time while switching apps in this handset. But if you are an average user, then this is a good handset.
HMD Crest Camera Setup
HMD Crest has a dual rear camera setup. It also has an LED flash light. Chrome finish has been used on all three cameras and flash, which looks attractive. It has a primary camera of 50MP and a secondary camera of 2MP depth sensor. It has a 50MP selfie camera.
This handset clicks good photos in daylight, which makes it better than other handsets. Details are visible in the photo. Portrait mode sometimes fails to generate a blur effect. The stock camera app takes some time in processing after clicking the picture.
HMD Crest software
HMD Crest comes with clean Android. In this, users see only a few pre-loaded apps, which can be very useful for you. This experience is not available in any handset priced less than Rs 15 thousand.
Self Repairing Kit
The biggest advantage of this smartphone is that it supports self-repairing kit. However, this self-repairing kit will have to be purchased separately. With its help, you can change the panel, display, battery and charging port of the smartphone etc.
Bottom Line
HMD Crest Overall, this is an average phone in the price of Rs 15,000. It has many good features and some flaws too. While it has an AMOLED display, color balancing is a problem. The phone offers good speed in app opening. However, it does not use app opening animation, which some people may like and some people may not like. It depends on your choice. It has a 5000mAh battery, which easily lasts a whole day on a single charge. It also has a good camera setup, which clicks good photos in daylight.
Rating: 7/10
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)