Nokia fans are likely in for a treat soon enough, as new smartphones are expected to hit the scene at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 in late February to early March.
MWC 2017 will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from Feb. 27 to March 2, and Nokia's new parent company, HMD Global, has already confirmed its presence at the show.
Nokia Comeback
Nokia was once a true force on the mobile market, gaining worldwide recognition for its durable phones. Once at the top of the food chain, however, the smartphone era caught Nokia a bit unprepared. Android and iOS smartphones got a strong foothold, while Nokia started to struggle for relevance after deciding to compete on the smartphone market by focusing exclusively on Windows Phones.
Microsoft eventually swallowed Nokia whole back in 2014, with a clause that prevented Nokia from releasing any mobile devices under the Nokia brand until the fourth quarter of 2016. Unable to pull the phone maker out of its rut, Microsoft decided to sell the feature phone business back in May of this year, marking the first sign that the Nokia brand would return to market.
Nokia's new parent company, HMD Global, is under Foxconn's umbrella and aims to revive the Nokia brand, this time in Android flavor rather than Windows Phone. HMD will design the new devices, while Foxconn will handle the hardware manufacturing.
New Nokia Smartphones Coming Soon
Just a few days ago, leaked slides of a company presentation revealed that Nokia has big plans for 2017: revive its smartphone brand, dive deeper into virtual reality and establish itself as a digital health brand as well.
Even though HMD Global now owns the phone maker, Nokia will reportedly oversee smartphone production and act as patent owner, not just an asset with no say in the matter.
MWC 2017
HMD Global confirmed its presence at MWC 2017, which could only mean that new Nokia smartphones are on track to star at the trade show. HMD would have no reason to participate unless it planned to showcase new smartphones, but it remains to be seen how many devices will debut and when they will hit the market, but the mere prospect is exciting nonetheless.
The rumored Nokia D1C could be the first one to break cover, sporting midrange specifications and Android Nougat out of the box. Leaked specs indicate the D1C will not be a Nokia flagship, so a more powerful smartphone could also be in store.
On the other hand, the only thing certain for now is that HMD Global will be at the MWC 2017, so take all else with a grain of salt until an official announcement.
