HMD Global, the Finnish company that owns the rights to use the Nokia brand for mobile phones, is planning to introduce its own HMD-branded devices in the near future.
The news comes as Jean-Francois Baril, HMD Global’s Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, revealed on LinkedIn the company’s plans to establish a new portfolio of mobile devices that will carry the HMD name, alongside the existing Nokia phones.
In the statement, Baril adds that they are “the fastest growing 5G smartphone manufacturer year on year”, and that they are ready to enter “the market independently as a force to create a new world for telecommunications focused on consumer needs”.
The statement does not specify when the HMD-branded devices will be launched, or what kind of features or specifications they will have. However, HMD-branded devices will likely offer a different value proposition and target different segments of the market than the Nokia phones, which have been primarily focused on the low-end and mid-range segments of the market.
HMD Global was founded in 2016 by former Nokia executives, after acquiring the rights to use the Nokia brand for mobile phones from Microsoft. Since then, the company has launched several Nokia-branded smartphones and feature phones, which have gained popularity in emerging markets such as India and Africa.
The company has also been praised for its commitment to providing regular software updates and security patches to its Nokia phones, as part of the Android One program. In addition, the company has launched some nostalgic devices such as the revamped versions of the Nokia 3310 and the Nokia 8110.
