Nokia phone licensor HMD to launch own smartphone brand

HMD, the licensor of Nokia phones, will bring out its own brand of smartphones by the middle of the year.

Source: X Photo

Three types of smartphones, including two focused on sustainability and repairability, and one Barbie flip phone in partnership with Mattel, will be introduced globally by July.

Source: X Photo

Nokia brand, for which HMD has the license till the end of 2026, will be limited to feature phones, a model of which will also be introduced by May.

Source: X Photo

The smartphone brand has a small share, about 1% as per Counterpoint Research, of the Indian market but considers the South Asian nation its most critical one.

Source: X Photo

Senior executives said that products will be made available in the market soon after or possibly alongside the global launch.

Source: X Photo

The company has also announced HMD Fusion, which is a new smartphone-style device, running on Android which will allow users to programme their own hardware accessories to suit their needs.

Source: X Photo

The HMD Fusion will have a built-in screen and battery, and six pogo pins on the back of the device to attach hardware accessories. Pogo pins enable modular attachments on the back of a device.

Source: X Photo

In India, Nokia was among the first mobile phone makers to localize production and it had its largest manufacturing facility here, before it closed down.

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For the past three years, HMD Global has made almost all its smartphone models in India, through contract manufacturing partnerships with Foxconn, Dixon Technologies and Lava International.

Source: X Photo

The company made India its export hub after starting exports of the Nokia 105 featurephone, the first one to cost below Rs 1,000, to a few African countries since August.

Source: X Photo