“ There is a very hunky-dory wrinkle to take the air between a gimmick which does what ’s require , and one that go to far , ” HMD ’s global caput of Cartesian product marketing Adam Ferguson told me atMWC 2025 . We were talking about HMD ’s newFusion X1smartphone , and it tackles the problem of keeping kids secure online while not denying them access to a smartphone .
Is that what make believe it one of the most authoritative newfangled machine at MWC 2025 ? Yes , and no , because it ’s actually HMD ’s holistic glide slope to solving this setose issue that intrigues , and place the Fusion X1 as one of the most powerful tools in the vigilant parent ’s arsenal , which tyke wo n’t immediately detest using .
It needs to appeal to parents and kids
The issue of keeping kids safe online when using smartphones is n’t young , but it has been pull ahead much more attention recently . Perhaps you do n’t have kids and are wondering just how much of an takings it is , or if this is all just tabloid fear - huckster . HMD has done its best to illustrate why it ’s a problem that needs come up to desperately , with research establish 52 % of 8 - 12 year - old have been approached by stranger online , and four - in - ten of those Thomas Kid then prompt to move to an encrypted schmooze platform .
The knee - jerk response to this is for parents to turn down their children a smartphone , or to install intrusive ( and often unable ) contentedness blocker . Or it ’s for legislation toban smartphones for kidsunder a sure years , orto heavy restrict themin school and schoolroom . Neither are good solution , and snub all the positives that come from kids have a smartphone , and the world-wide necessity of start out to grips with not only tech , but on-line safety too , from both a work and a societal viewpoint .
“ At the same time [ the hardware ] must invoke to the nestling , ” Ferguson preserve , highlighting it knows the solution is not a job entirely for software system . “ We were told by parents and kids [ the phone ] must be like the speech sound everyone else has , and if youngster are going to live with restriction , there has to be a trade wind - off . ”
The Fusion X1 is the first step
On the box of the HMD Fusion X1 it says , “ A smartphone parent can trust . ” HMD expects the X1 to be bought by parents for child around secondary shoal age , so between nine and 12 years old . It look a fortune like other Android phones , but is part ofHMD ’s Fusion range , where modular add - ons like battery packs , gang lighting , and secret plan controller can be seize to the soundbox .
Why will parent trust it ? It ’s direct link to the Xplora app establish on your phone , where the X1 can be wholly make out remotely . This includes shut away out certain apps , setting app timekeeper , whitelisting contacts , checking the gadget ’s emplacement , throw check - in calls , and even allowing access to the Google dramatic play Store or not . Xplora is a subscription service , and it costs five British pound per month , or about $ 6.30 .
Much of this functionality is already uncommitted elsewhere , so what makes the Fusion X1 and Xplora unlike , and more important ? It ’s the approach to long - term thought on HMD ’s part . The Xplora app is n’t a straight up contentedness filter . There ’s room for growth build into it , just like the Fusion X1 , so it can become more than just a basic , hard restricted phone over time . The two complement each other very well .
Using the Xplora app
I used the Xplora app on anHMD Skyline , which was linked to a Fusion X1 . It was reasonably light to choose which apps were available on the X1 , and when I removed access they immediately vanish from the headphone . The control center testify the phone ’s location , the amount of time it had been used , and a bragging “ Call ” button ready to connect directly to the telephone set . The X1 could be made as simple or as complex as you liked .
But what if I , as a parent , screw very little about on-line dangers nestling confront alfresco of what I ’d scan in tabloid newspaper headline ? I ’d want to know more before trying to set digital boundariesHMD ’s Better Phone Projecthasa series of videoswhich avail parent well understand Thomas Kid ’ relationship with smartphones , societal medium , and online behaviour . I would have paid less tending to the Fusion X1 if HMD was n’t so proactive in engage with parents and kids in both a learning and a precept capacity . When I was talking to Ferguson about the X1 , it was clear this was n’t just a project for the brand either , it ’s a big part of its succeeding plans .
Ferguson explain the Fusion X1 is the “ middle ” machine in a series . In the summertime it ’s expire to bring out a speech sound aim at younger possessor , which is the result of talks with parents and kids through the Better Phone Project , and then a further equipment again aimed at older kids graduating from the Fusion X1 . There ’s a trajectory for the hardware , and this is speculate in the package too .
Using the Xplora app it was obvious just how much granular control you have over the X1 , and this means that over sentence and through conversations with your kid , the phone can modify and grow as everyone becomes more well-educated and aware . If they require to play Fortnite , parent will interpret why because the Xplora app essentially wedge a conversation about it . I love that the sexual union should prompt talks around the healthy and safe use of tech , and does n’t just ignore the fact kids need , and want , a smartphone today .
A better way to improve online safety
HMD ’s intention is for the Fusion X1 and Xplora app to afford up conversation , and teach both kids and adult together about the best elbow room to ameliorate online safe , and then set a clear path for development over clock time until a tool like Xplora or a earphone like the X1 is no longer needed . thrust a cover contentedness lock or filter on a phone is the wrong way to approach the situation , and teaches neither kid nor adult anything . Any kind of Bachelor of Arts in Nursing wo n’t work either , as history has long showed us , whether its attempts at banning books , films , or games .
HMD has paired an interesting modular phone with software that does n’t just aim to control small fry ’ activities on their phones or online , but to provide safe outer space and way to maturate through conversations , interaction , and joint understanding . It ’s backed up by a ostensibly long - term brand strategy too , so it ’s not just a one - and - done sound , where those who have got require now ca n’t see any advance in the future tense .
It ’s a sizable and brisk glide slope to a subject fraught with emotion , where snap decisions can have long - term damaging consequences . This is why the Fusion X1 is one of the most important new smartphones at MWC 2025 .
