Although HMD refrained from unveiling any new devices at MWC 2024, the company provided intriguing glimpses into its plans.
One of the most interesting announcements at the keynote was a new Barbie-themed flip phone in iconic hot pink shades. However, this will not be a foldable screen smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, but a “retro feature phone”, meaning those classic button phones where you could play Snake and Bounce. This phone became possible with HMD’s new partnership with Mattel and it is going to launch in July. Finer details are yet to be revealed.
At the MWC event, HMD also shared updates regarding the Nokia brand. Despite recent reports suggesting HMD’s departure from the Nokia brand, there seems to be some ambiguity as the MWC 2024 press release states, “You’ll continue to see Nokia phones…”. This indicates that the discontinuation of Nokia devices won’t be abrupt.
Moreover, HMD teased the release of at least one more Nokia device slated for May 2024. From the pixelated image, the yellow device appears to be another iteration of a retro “candy bar”-style device. Despite the limited information, anticipation is high for this upcoming release.
The image below shows a roadmap for all Nokia/HMD devices over the next few months.
Just like the Barbie phone, details for the other phones shown in the image are also scarce, meaning we will have to wait a while before we get the bigger picture.