HMD Global was founded in 2016 where the company started to make Nokia smartphones. It looks like after about 8 years, that journey is coming to an end. The company has announced on its website that they will be moving on from Nokia phones and creating their own brand of smartphones.
This does not mean that HMD will be abandoning Nokia completely. Based on the post on their website, they claim to still be "makers of Nokia smartphones and Nokia dumbphones". This means that they could still technically produce Nokia phones, but maybe their focus will be on their own brand instead.
HMD says that they will still sell Nokia phones and that existing Nokia handsets will continue to receive support and are covered by their warranties.
This announcement doesn't come as a huge surprise. Just last month, a leaked image revealed an upcoming HMD phone without the Nokia branding. It was also reported that the company has about six new smartphone models in the works.
We are excited to see what kind of devices HMD will be able to put out in the market. At the same time, we're cautiously optimistic. The smartphone market has some stiff competition. The Nokia branding definitely played a role in the company's success. Whether or not that success can continue sans Nokia branding remains to be seen.
It's no longer a surprise that Finnish company HMD will start releasing its own-branded phones this year. Although no release date has leaked yet, we expect the first HMD smartphones to appear as early as next month when MWC 2024 is scheduled to kick off.
The first picture of an HMD-branded phone with model number N159V leaked last week, and according to Evan Blass, at least one US carrier will offer the phone, Verizon.
Recently, Evan returned with even more details about HMD's smartphone plans. Apparently, the Finnish handset make is working to bring at least six different HMD-branded smartphones to the market in the not-so-distant future.
Nothing is known about the phone yet, except that they are known under these codenames: Pulse, Legend, Pulse+, Legend Plus, Pulse Pro, and Legend Pro. It's unclear whether all or just some of these phones will be launched in the US, so February can't come soon enough.
HMD Global has been considering dropping the Nokia brand in order to diversify its offering for a few years now. It looks like 2024 will the year that the Finnish company will bring its own-branded products to the market.
Hopefully, these will be just as reliable and affordable as the Nokia-branded phones we know and love. HMD surely isn't lacking the experience to turn this into a successful story considering that it's been making Nokia phones for nearly seven years.
A while back, we got word that HMD Global - which currently licenses the brand Nokia for mobile device sales and marketing - has moved forward with establishing its own line of Android phones, which will be separate from Nokia's own device range. There was even a leaked diagram that pointed to the existence of the "M-Kopa X1," which is speculated to be a rebranded variant of the Nokia C32.
More recently however, it looks like HMD Global has continued working on its debut handset, which might be unveiled in the coming months. Spotted by the folks over at 91Mobiles, the device comes with the model number N159V, and features a design that strongly indicates a budget-friendly price.
Based on the image, the phone is entirely devoid of any Nokia branding, instead bearing an HMD logo on the rear panel. Other design details include a dual-camera array on the rear panel, in addition to a hole-punch selfie camera. Aside from its design and branding though, no other details have been mentioned so far.
Other information such as pricing is currently unknown, although the leak speculates that the handset might be launched in India sometime in April - with that being said, it should be interesting to see how HMD Global will market its new smartphone, and what lies in store for Nokia's mobile device business.
A while back, we got word that HMD Global was planning to launch its own line of Android smartphones, a surprising move given that the company is heavily tied to Nokia's mobile business. With that in mind, it looks like the company is getting closer and closer to launching its debut smartphone.
More specifically, diagrams and key details regarding the device - with model numbers TA-1585 and N159V - were spotted via the GSMA IMEI database.
Based on a manual included in the listing, it's also expected that the phone might be designed by HMD Global for M-Kopa, a company based in Africa. Furthermore, the manual shows some branding on the rear panel with the M-Kopa logo, alongside the words "Designed by HMD". Referred to as the "M-Kopa X1" in the manual, it's speculated that the device might be a rebranded variant of the Nokia C32.
With that being said, there's no word on pricing or availability at the moment, although it is interesting to see this move from HMD Global. The company did state that its smartphones will co-exist with Nokia's own devices for the time being.
While Nokia is usually known for its mobile devices, the company also makes a ton of profit from providing networking solutions such as Wifi routers and 5G equipment. However, it looks like things haven't been so peachy lately for the Finnish telecommunications giant.
In what is essentially the latest entry in a series of massive tech layoffs, Nokia recently announced that it will terminate 14,000 jobs in a bid to cut costs, following a considerable 20% drop due to weakening demand for 5G equipment. The latter is attributed to a slowdown of demand from the North American market, although the company has also attempted to establish growth in other markets like India.
In an interview with Reuters, Nokia Chief Executive Pekka Lundmark explained the circumstances influencing this decision:
The market situation is really challenging and it is witnessed by the fact that in our most important market, which is the North American market, our net sales are down 40% in Q3.
Following this massive layoff, Nokia is hoping to save up to 800 million euros ($842 million) and 1.2 billion euros by 2026. This reduction in personnel is expected to bring down the company's employee base from 86,000 down to between 72,000 and 77,000.
Recently, chip manufacturer Qualcomm also announced that it will be terminating around 1,200 employees, due to "continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment," according to the company.
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