Confirmed: We won't be seeing Nokia flagships for a foreseeable future

HMD Global just announced that it has given up on making Nokia flagship devices.

File photo: Nokia 9 PureView

Focusing on launching entry-level and mid-range devices

The previous had been filled with several smartphone releases at the MWC 2022. However, it seems Nokia tried to keep a low profile by launching a few devices far from being flagships.

The home of Nokia devices HMD Global has not launched a new flagship device since 2019. The Nokia 9 PureView unveiled in 2019 was an attempt to return the brand to the premium camera phone market that it once ruled. 

Sad to say, the PureView was not received well and rumors of a sequel were always followed up with new rumors of delays.

HMD Global says it is no longer interested in competing with rivals in the flagship smartphone segment. The company plans to stay focused on making entry-level and mid-range devices that offer great value for money. HMD’s Global Head of Product Marketing Adam Ferguson said in an interview,

Making an USD 800 phone doesn't make sense for us at the moment.

Ferguson added that HMD Global does not "want to get involved in a massive spec war with other players" and would rather "stand for something very different".

This means HMD will focus on its core business for now. Allegedly, it wants Nokia phones to be known as devices that last several years of use, have multi-day battery life, and come with an affordable price tag.

Apparently, the new strategy is effective as the company just celebrated its first full year of operational profit. According to Strategy Analytics (via NokiaMob),  Q4 2021 was HMD’s most profitable quarter to date).

HMD Global shipped more smartphones (3.2M units) than in Q4 2019 (2.8 M units). Smartphone revenue grew 41 percent year-to-year, from 2020 to 2021. The company's entire shipment numbers, including feature phones, are slowly recovering from its massive drop in 2020.

Aside from that, one of the sources said that HMD has plans to be the market leader for prepaid smartphones in the US by the end of 2022. Another strategy is dividing services into a separate division to focus on business users (e.g. IoT data roaming and SIM management).

What do you think?

Source: Android Authority