Nokia reveals first smartphone under HMD Global

Finnish manufacturer HMD Global (HMD) has announced its first Nokia-branded smartphone since acquiring the licensing and branding rights for the brand’s mobile phones from Microsoft in April 2016.

The company is looking to break into the Chinese market – which it says currently has over 552 million smartphone users – with its new Nokia 6 handset. It is not yet clear whether the phone will launch in other countries.

Android operating system

The handset – which marks Nokia’s first step into Android smartphones – is made from aluminium and features a 14cm screen, a 16-megapixel rear camera and eight-megapixel front camera, as well as 64 gigabytes of storage.

HMD has also revealed plans to launch additional Nokia-branded Android smartphones by July 2017, but has not confirmed whether these will go on sale outside of China.

“Building on true Nokia phone hallmarks”

HMD’s chief product officer, Juho Sarvikas, says: “By building on true Nokia phone hallmarks of leading design and materials, an obsessive focus on the latest technology and solving real-life issues, we believe we have a unique proposition for consumers. The Nokia 6 marks the first step on our journey, with more to come in 2017.”

Nokia 6 will launch exclusively through Chinese retailer JD.com in early 2017, and will retail at ¥1699 (£200).