HMD Fusion X1: The first smartphone for your teen (only £229)

I've been following HMD for the longest time – and I do mean, longest time (I started Mobile Industry Review back in January 2006).

So it's with no small amount of approval that I note that they've launched the HMD Fusion X1 smartphone intended for a very specific, and highly demanding set of consumers: Teens.

The X1 is billed as your first smartphone.

I think that's really, really smart product design.

It's also a real challenge. I say this as a father of two teens.

There's a strong demand from this segment for the very best. But there's also a rather unique tension. This target segment isn't paying for the phone themselves. It's perhaps one of the only key segments in the mobile industry that doesn't (necessarily) put their hand in their pocket to make the actual purchase (hence the HMD marketing message: Their phone. Your Rules.)

That's usually the Bank of Mum and Dad. (I say usually because I do know quite a few who have been made to save up – but I think the majority have the device purchased for them.)

But let's address the key point – 'their phone, your rules'.

Really?

Yes. The team at HMD obviously also have teens and they've made a smartphone that is particularly relevant for both the end users and the 'parental units'.

The smartphone industry has been next to useless when it comes to helping children create good habits with their smartphones. There's lots of fake smiling going on from many of the handset manufacturers, even today but the controls are particularly woeful. HMD have done a lot of research with parents from 80+ countries to inform their Better Phone Project which underpins the X1.

So, enter the HMD Fusion X1: A great smartphone, with really useful tools to help teenagers and their parents manage their smartphone experience.

The device itself has a 50 megapixel camera and it runs Android. That's about all you need to know. Today's smartphones do everything. You really don't need to bother with processors, memory and battery specifications any more.

The key point with the X1 is that if you want all the really good parental control capabilities and features, you should subscribe to the £4.99 Xplora option. This compares (feature-wise) with the likes of Life360.

Here are just some of those features:

And there are some smart options for accessories too:

That Fusion Flashy Outfit camera light ring is a really, really good idea.

From the press release announcing the X1, I picked out this paragraph which I think is particularly helpful:

The reality is that no single device can fully protect children from the challenges of growing up in a digital world. That’s why HMD is going further with its plan of integrating real-time protection against harmful content with SafeToNet. Planned to launch later this year on HMD phones, HMD will be the first mobile phone provider to use this technology, developed in partnership with SafeToNet, which provides on-device AI-powered protection—automatically detecting and blocking harmful content before it reaches the user, without relying on external apps that can be bypassed. HMD believes that empowering kids with the right tech at the right time is crucial.

This is absolutely the right way ahead. It does need a bit of work, obviously, to integrate it. But I think your children will thank you. I will look out for HMD's SafeToNet offering when it becomes available. This is good leadership from HMD.

So the device itself is £229. This compares rather well to some of the other smartphone options out there. And it's new.

Do you want a hand-me-down, or do you want new? That's a key question to ask your teen.

The next one is: What happens when it breaks? Or, worse, what happens when you lose it? The X1 (like other HMDs) is fixable!

Plus, that £229 is spreadable. Roughly £19 a month if you pay it up over a year, or £76 x 3 if you're using Klarna. Don't forget that you really probably want the monthly subscription too.

I should highlight that I haven't had hands-on with one as yet, but from what I can see, it's looking good.

You can buy direct from HMD.com right now, or you can pick it up from Amazon from 21st of June.