Nokia to release 6 to 7 new Android phones in 2017; Feature phones to continue

A woman poses with a Nokia Lumia smartphone in this photo illustration. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Nokia is set to launch six to seven Android smartphones before 2017 ends, Malaysian distributor Avaxx revealed during a presentation. The world’s former number one phone maker is also expected to continue its line of feature phones in select markets as evidenced by the recent launch of the Nokia 150.

Previous reports initially suggested that Nokia was set on releasing five Android handsets this year, with two launching in the second quarter. Avaxx is an authorised distributor of Nokia products in Malaysia per Nokiapoweruser and during a recent company presentation, one of its slides revealed that HMD Global plans to release six to seven Nokia Android devices before the year ends. The projected line-up includes entry level, mid-range and premium smartphones.

HMD Global recently acquired Nokia’s commercial licences for the next 10 years following the Finnish phone maker’s fallout with Microsoft. HMD Global was co-founded by former Nokia executives Florian Seiche and Arto Nummela. The company is reportedly set on spending a minimum of €500 million (AU$721 million) on the promotion and marketing of new Nokia phones in the next three years.

Nokia is expected to reveal the details of its upcoming releases at Mobile World Congress (MWC 2017). HMD Global is likewise set to appear at the four-day event, which will be held at Barcelona from February 27 to March 2. The most recent smartphone released by Nokia was the Lumia 638, which was launched a couple of years ago.

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