The onslaught of 5G-enabled hardware during the start of the 2020s was certainly something to remember. At the time there was a bit of uncertainty as to how 5G technology will progress (remember the memes?), although at this point in time, it's clear that it's become a staple of modern consumer electronics, smart homes, and more.

With that in mind though, Finnish telecommunication giant Nokia believes it's time to start investing in the next generation of internet connectivity. For those unaware, the company invests a considerable amount of funding and R&D into its networking hardware, and it recently announced that it was working towards the development of 6G technology.

In a lengthy post, Nokia states that it's been busy with its Bell Labs research division in collaborating with various partner institutions for 6G testing, including companies such as NTT, Docomo, and SKT. Part of its official post from Chief Strategy and Technology Officer (CSTO) Nishant Batra reads:

"We are partnering with industry powerhouses and enterprise-solutions makers to examine how new wireless technologies will redefine the workplace. With Bosch, Nokia Bell Labs is evaluating industrial use cases for 6G joint communication and sensing. And with Hololight, we are investigating how new wireless technologies will allow networks to support multiple simultaneous XR sessions without sacrificing quality of experience."

"Nokia aims to create a broad 6G ecosystem. To that end, we are working closely with Qualcomm to explore the potential interoperability challenges between 6G networks and devices - then innovating ways to overcome those challenges. And just last week, Nokia and Nvidia announced we are investigating how the power of a digital twin could be used to simulate the entirety of a 6G network without ever venturing outside of a lab."

It's clear that 6G technology still has a long way to go before becoming readily available for both manufacturers and consumers, but given how fast the modern consumer electronics industry adapts and evolves, it shouldn't be too long now before we see 6G sail into view.

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.