Newsletter 
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this past February, HMD or Human Mobile Devices, announced that it was going to start doing its own branded smartphones, instead of using the “Nokia” name for everything. A big part of this is because the licensing agreement for the Nokia name expires in 2026, so HMD wants to get their name out there now. At that press conference in Barcelona, HMD announced little to nothing but did tease a Barbie Phone without showing it off.
Now, we have that Barbie Dream Phone. This dumb flip phone will be available from Vodafone and Argos in the UK for around £99, making it fairly cheap, as you’d expect for a flip phone. And it’s Barbie-themed, thanks to HMD’s partnership with Mattel. This partnership would have made more sense last year when the Barbie movie came out.
HMD says the Barbie Dream Phone brings back “the joy of simpler, sweeter days”. It also comes with digital wellbeing tips, calming sounds and alarms as well as self-care reminders. Basically making it easier to stay off of your phone. There is also a rather unique “Hi Barbie” voice that welcomes you as you turn on the phone, you’ll then see a missed call notification from Ken. But which Ken? Is it Ryan Gosling, John Cena, Simu Liu, or a different Ken?
Barbie Dream Phone specs are a throwback to a couple decades ago
Looking at the spec sheet for this Barbie Dream Phone really brings you back to the early 2000s, with 128MB of storage and 64MB of RAM. There is also a micro SD card slot available – what smartphone can say that in 2024? It also has a 2.8-inch internal screen and a 1.77-inch external screen, powered by a 1450mAh battery. Surprisingly enough, the battery is pink. HMD also includes two back covers in the box with the phone, so you can change up the style a bit.
This flip phone is running on S30+ OS, which is a dumb phone OS that HMD and Nokia have been using since 2013, first being used on the Nokia 108, and moving to HMD-branded devices in 2024.
The Barbie Dream Phone goes on sale on August 28 in the UK, from Vodafone and Argos for £99.
