The brand behind Nokia phones for the last seven years is starting to expand into its own tech branded under itsHuman Mobile Devices banner. HMD branded phones are coming in the next few months, and today the company used MWC 2024 to tease these devices and announce a collaboration with Mattel to make a Barbie flip phone. Four new devices are coming between now and July with some likely to be Nokia-branded devices, while others will be HMD-branded phones.
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No phones were officially revealed today with the below teaser image used to share the upcoming roadmap for the company. The brand has confirmed it’ll be making its own hardware alongside partnerships with brands like Mattel. The Barbie handset is coming in July this year, but the first device will be a handset with either Nokia or HMD branding that lands in May. All we know about the Barbie phone is that it’ll come in a pink color.
Speaking of the Barbie phone, HMD said, “Promising style, nostalgia and a much-needed digital detox, this retro feature phone will flip the script on smartphone culture and will be this summer’s hottest accessory.” HMD’s work on flip phones for the Nokia brand has proven to work well over the years, so it’ll be interesting to see what differentiates it from those devices. In an interview withThe Verge, HMD confirmed the Barbie phone will be an all-new device rather than a rebadge of an existing handset.
HMD also teased future partnerships with other brands. Adam Ferguson, HMD’s global head of insight, proposition, and product marketing, told The Verge, “Are there other partnerships other than just working with Mattel? Absolutely. Are they as massive, and triple-A as Mattel? Absolutely. Can I tell you what those are at this point? Absolutely not.”
HMD confirmed that its upcoming products will continue to have a focus on sustainability with devices that are easier to repair than your average smartphone. The company hasn’t yet shared any specifics, but it promises the upcoming phones will focus on these elements that it originally started with theNokia G22 during MWC 2023.
Welcome back modular phones
The final teaser from HMD is a new project called HMD Fusion, which seems to be a modular smartphone element for at least one of its upcoming devices. The brand has atoolkit onlinenow for Fusion and it’s designed to allow anyone to design what the brand refers to as “smart outfits”. It appears these will be the rear panels of the upcoming device, but the hope is that people can tinker with this tech to add additional features to the rear of the phone.
HMD’s press release says, “HMD Fusion will feature next-generation design innovation including built-in hardware connectors that enable endless new applications to extend the functionality of HMD Fusion with what we are calling “smart outfits”. Examples given during the MWC 2024 show included a barcode scanner or a game controller on the rear of the phone. These elements felt reminiscent of Moto Mods from Motorola or the LG G5’s modular rear. We expect to learn more in the coming months when HMD gets closer to release.
