Ever since Nokia officially left the smartphone market, its comeback has been one of the most anticipated things in the industry. Now that HMD have partnered up with Nokia in order to produce smartphones under their name, though, the comeback is getting closer by the day and, according to a new rumor, it appears HMD has big plans.
It’s been known for some time that HMD would be announcing their first Nokia-branded smartphone in February at MWC 2017 in Barcelona. Now, though, a new rumor claims the company has up to four other smartphones in the pipeline, all of which are expected to be released sometime in Q2 and Q3 2017. Size-wise, though, rumors point towards somewhere between 5 and 5.7-inches for each device. It’s currently unknown if they are four completely different models, or if they are two main devices with two configurations each. Considering HMD is still a relatively new company and demand for Nokia-branded devices is yet to be tested, the latter option seems like the most likely, allowing them to cater to the markets that they are sure will be interested in their devices, while also offering consumers some options. If the devices do turn out to be four different smartphones, though, it would mean HMD have the possibility of covering all ends of the market, from low-end budget smartphones to flagship-priced ones, something that could pay off in the long run by establishing the Nokia name as a market leader once again.
Although HMD have plans for four separate releases, it’s inevitable that their first Nokia-branded smartphone will make the biggest impact. According to rumors, the company is planning two variants of the device, one with 2GB of RAM and a 5-inch display, while the other is expected to feature 3GB of RAM and a larger 5.5-inch display. Regarding pricing, rumors point towards $150 and $200 respectively. Either way, with MWC only a couple of months away, it won’t be too long before the company will see if its efforts have paid off. With tough competition, especially in the mid-range market, the company is definitely going to have to bring something unique to the table in order to differentiate themselves. If they rely on Nokia branding alone, it may not be the comeback that consumers were hoping for.