Two new Nokia devices bearing the model numbers TA-1043 and TA-1046 have been certified in Russia earlier this month, suggesting the smartphones are close to being released in the transcontinental country. The approval process took just over a week, with HMD Global applying to have the Android handsets certified in late January. It’s currently unclear what kind of devices the TA-1043 and TA-1046 are as the Finnish smartphone company has recently been rumored to be working on a broad range of handset offerings ranging from the low-end to ultra-premium segment of the market.
While the TA-1046 may be related to the TA-1047 that previous reports claimed could be a device with a physical QWERTY keyboard, HMD’s product naming scheme doesn’t guarantee that as it’s heavily randomized, likely in order to prevent telegraphing information about the firm’s upcoming offerings ahead of their official unveilings. The TA-1047 has also been certified in Russia last month, with all three of the newly spotted handsets being likely to be commercialized by spring and debut in a number of European markets. The company that started selling Nokia-branded Android smartphones in early 2017 has a relatively successful year behind it, having managed to capture one-percent of the global handset market despite limiting the availability of many of its products, according to recent estimates. The firm is said to have shipped more than four million devices in the final quarter of 2017 alone and is likely to maintain that momentum over the current quarter with multiple international releases.
The majority of HMD’s smartphones meant to be commercialized in the first half of the year are expected to be announced late this month at the new iteration of the Mobile World Congress, with HMD Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas recently announcing consumers can expect some “awesome” announcements at the Barcelona, Spain-based event. The three devices that have recently been certified in China are hence also likely to be showcased at MWC 2018, though it remains to be seen what monikers HMD ends up attaching to them. Besides the Nokia 6 (2018) that has already been released in China, the company is rumored to be planning for a Western launch of the Nokia 1, Nokia 8 (2018), and the Nokia 9, as well as the 4G model of the new Nokia 3310.