One-time industry leader, Nokia, will make a return to the smartphone market next year. Yes, you read that correctly - a new Nokia smartphone will arrive in 2017. Despite the miriad of problems the company faced leading up to its demise, the Finnish firm announced the news via the statement “Nokia brand’s [sic] return to smartphones”, on a slide from its own Capital Markets Day 2016, an event held for its investors.
How and why is Nokia making a comeback?
This is where it get's a little confusing as Nokia, which we all know as a phone manufacturer, technically doesn't exist anymore. That part of the business was sold to Microsoft back in 2013. Part of the contract in that deal stipulated Nokia couldn’t release a smartphone for up to 30 months after the deal.
But let's rewind for a moment. Microsoft acquired Nokia’s smartphone business in a deal worth €3.79 billion, with a €1.65 billion kicker to license Nokia patents for ten years. In total, the initial deal was worth over €5.4 billion. However, The Verge recently reported that the venture – which is widely regarded by everyone as a massive failure – has cost Microsoft more than $8 billion (€7.6 billion).
However, 32 months later and the company is ready to roll...straight back into the smartphone market. Although the problem Nokia faces is that Microsoft now has all of its employees and phone manufacturing know-how. Which is why Nokia is licensing its brand to its Finnish countrymen, HMD Global, which has a ten-year exclusive agreement for Nokia phones. There’s also a “€500 million minimum marketing investment by HMD (three years)”.
The following slide outlines how the company will operate in 2017:
What will the new Nokia be like?
Good question. Reports from Know Your Mobile suggest that Nokia will launch two new Android smartphones in 2017. Early rumours point towards a phone codenamed D1C. And yes, that is a number 1. Early leaks show the D1C phone running Android 7 Nougat with a 1080p display; a Snapdragon 430 processor; and 3GB of RAM. Which, to be honest, isn't all that inspiring. Nevertheless, we can at least hope it comes pre-loaded with Snake.