One of the world’s iconic mobile brands, Nokia, is making a comeback with three to four devices that will reportedly reach the market by the end of 2016.
Mike Wang, Head of Nokia Networks China and ASB joint management team, divulged to media that at least four Nokia-branded Android devices will soon hit shelves.
The news Android-based devices may be announced by the end of this year
The comeback effort would include both phones and tablets.
Nokia finally broke free from Microsoft this year, after it changed hands again, and this time Finnish company HMD Global took the reins. If HMD Global doesn’t ring a bell, its parent company might – the company is under Foxconn’s umbrella.
HMD will be designing the new Nokia devices, while its parent company, Foxconn, will be manufacturing the hardware.
“HMD has been founded to provide a focused, independent home for a full range of Nokia-branded feature phones, smartphones and tablets. HMD’s new smartphone and tablet portfolio will be based on Android, uniting one of the world’s iconic mobile brands with the leading mobile operating system and app development community,” the company had earlier said in a statement.
Earlier this week, HMD hired Rovio’s ex-CEO Pekka Rantala, who worked with Nokia for over a decade and a half from 1994 to 2011. Rantala has been hired as the new chief marketing officer to resuscitate and drive the brand’s overall growth.
In an interview with CNET, Rantala said, “I love Nokia, I love what it stands for and I’d love to see it rise again.”
No details are currently available regarding the specifications of the upcoming Nokia smartphones and tablets, but they will all run Google’s popular Android operating system, marking a first for Nokia.
If a leak that surfaced last month turns out to be true, Nokia has two premium Android smartphones in the pipeline. The two handsets will reportedly rock 5.2- and 5.5-inch OLED displays, respectively, with 2K or QHD resolutions, Snapdragon 820 processors, IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, premium metal designs and Android 7.0 Nougat right off the bat. The 5.5-inch model will reportedly boast a 22.6-megapixel camera.
There is a chance, however, that the timeline could get pushed back depending upon how things progress. It wouldn’t be a terrible shocker considering we’re talking about a new company, HMD. It is composed of former employees from Microsoft, the old Nokia, and others who are banding together to resurrect the once-iconic brand.
According to a report from Phandroid, the new devices may be announced by the end of this year, however the real launch may take place in 2017.