Could this customizable smartphone deliver the ultimate media detox?

A break from TikTok

Digital Detox Mode is something I’ve seen on display because even though I’m using the phone, it won’t arrive until the end of September. I can appreciate that HMD says this feature was informed by research into how people develop habits around their phones, and the idea that this is a step above embracing a dumb phone and forgetting about social media.

But it doesn’t look too different from what’s on most phones already.

Skyline by default has app icons that are rendered in monochrome to make them less appealing, which is an option in most Android and iOS versions. Detox Mode goes further and cleans up your profile and removes some of the apps you choose from the settings, so they won’t be there to tempt you into using them.

These app notifications are stored until the Detox feature is turned off, and you can also remove message notifications from some (or all) of your contacts.

You can set this on a schedule or timer, and choose a soft download (you can turn it off manually) or a hard download (you can’t turn it off). However, I think that HMD’s desire would be against the reality of Android here because a hard detox can be avoided by restarting the phone repeatedly.

I’m sure many parents have heard of Detox Mode and wondered if the Skyline would be a good phone to detox their kids from, but I’m not sure it works that way. The controls available on the desktop on Android and iOS are better, and this seems to be a helpful feature.

If you want to try to be present for family time, or find yourself stumbling a lot, this may be the option for you. But you can do the same with Downtime on iOS or Digital Wellbeing on Android.

Nuts and bolts

Another interesting feature of Skyline is that it allows users to customize the phone. The Skyline looks good, with mid-level approvals, so being able to do a cheap DIY repair when the screen is cracked is a very attractive proposition. HMD has partnered with iFixit to sell cheap parts, as well as host easy-to-follow guides. If you do as instructed, you won’t even lose your warranty.

Getting into the phone is easy. It only requires two things: a Torx 3 screwdriver and a pry tool or guitar. Turning the screw on the bottom of the device opens up a section of the glass back panel, where you place your pick and move it around to take out a few. The trick is to try not to accidentally open the phone by holding the power button.

Opening

I followed the steps to change the battery, and it’s not as simple as just turning the phone over and leaving it, like it was with the early 2000s phone. But the phone of the early 2000s was very difficult.

You need a soft touch to hold the battery cover and the ribbon cables, and as with modern devices, the battery itself is glued. The controller asks you to take the panel out, remove the glue with a spudger, clean the area with isopropyl alcohol, and then use the new adhesive that comes with the battery replacement kit.

My biggest problem with a comprehensive redesign is that I’m not sure it’s going to keep people holding the phone for long.

HMD promises only two years of Android and security updates, meaning that after those two years there is no guarantee that your phone will be compatible and secure. If you drop your Skyline and break the screen, you can pay a small fee to have it repaired with another phone. But with Samsung and Google offering seven or eight year warranty updates, the price calculation becomes difficult.

To be clear, it’s very impressive to have a device with this and this amount of refinement at this price, although most products come with a caveat for mid-range phones.

Wireless charging and water resistance only on devices you can take apart are amazing, but unless the Detox Mode is more advanced than I can see right now, the Skyline is the cheapest of the bunch. a phone that focuses on digital convenience and affordable maintenance.

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