HMD Vibe 2 Pro First Impressions

HMD has had to carve out an identity of its own since moving beyond the Nokia name. The company is attempting to do so with a mix of smartphones and feature phones released over the past year, aimed at different sections of the market. The new HMD Vibe 2 Pro is another attempt at building that identity. This time, the brand is playing with a more distinctive design, a 120Hz display, and a large battery.

The HMD Vibe 2 Pro is available in Silver Mist, Aqua Green, and Cosmic Purple. All three variants get what HMD calls a refined dual-finish design, with the lower portion of the rear panel sporting a shimmering finish. I had a chance to experience both the Cosmic Purple and Silver Mist variants of the handset, and noticed that the effect is fairly subtle indoors. However, it becomes much more noticeable when light hits the surface at an angle.

While it does add a bit of character, it may not appeal to those who prefer their phones to appear understated.

Apart from the shimmering finish, the camera module is another unusual part of the design. HMD has gone with a rectangular camera island, but instead of arranging the lenses vertically, the two large camera cutouts sit diagonally from each other. The LED flash occupies the third position, while the 64-megapixel camera branding sits towards the upper-right.

It is quite different from most phones in this price segment, and the arrangement will take some getting used to.

The rear panel itself has rounded corners, while the frame is relatively flat. Despite the large display, the Vibe 2 Pro feels quite comfortable in hand. The side-mounted fingerprint sensor is integrated into the power button, with the volume controls placed above it. Overall, the ergonomics are decent.

On the front, the HMD Vibe 2 Pro has a 6.78-inch Full-HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. In a market where brands are increasingly opting for HD+ panels to keep costs low, I appreciate HMD providing a full-resolution panel, even if it is an LCD one. The phone has fairly slim bezels, although the thick chin at the bottom sticks out.

At first glance, I think the display looks sufficiently sharp, and the higher resolution should make content consumption a pleasing experience. I will reserve judgement on the overall display experience until I've spent more time with the phone.

The Vibe 2 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It runs Android 16 out of the box, with HMD promising two years of security updates. The phone also comes with Indus by Sarvam AI, which offers smart assistance in more than 22 Indian languages. There is also a pre-installed Sanchar Saathi app. We have already seen this SoC power several smartphones even in the Rs. 30,000 price range recently, so it should be sufficient for everyday use.

On the optics front, HMD has gone for a 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 primary rear camera and a 2-megapixel micro camera. There is a 13-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls. The Sony sensor looks interesting on paper, but I will need more time with the phone to comment on image quality.

The HMD Vibe 2 Pro packs a 6,000mAh battery and supports 33W charging. It also features dual speakers and dual microphones, along with dual-SIM support, Bluetooth 5.2, and Wi-Fi for connectivity.

Starting at Rs. 15,999 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, the HMD Vibe 2 Pro is definitely visually distinct, particularly due to its unusual camera arrangement and shimmering rear panel.

The bigger questions, however, are performance, cameras, battery life, and, perhaps most importantly, how much value the HMD Vibe 2 Pro offers in a market where devices are losing their value-for-money factor with each passing month. These are the questions we will answer in our full review of the HMD Vibe 2 Pro, which drops soon. So, stay tuned.