Nokia’s brand owner, HMD Global, has withdrawn from the flagship phone competition. “Making an $800 phone doesn’t make sense for us at the moment,” Adam Ferguson, HMD’s Global Head of Product Marketing, told Android Authority in an interview.
Staying competitive in the flagship segment is not easy. Ferguson stated they would rather “represent something very different.” This is almost tantamount to telling global consumers that they are no longer interested in flagship phones and corresponding consumer groups.
In 2019, Nokia released its flagship phone, the Nokia 9 PureView. However, this flagship phone was not well received, including major flaws such as message latency. Since the PureView, no new Nokia flagship products have been released.
HMD will instead concentrate on its core business, which includes entry-level and mid-range smartphones, as well as feature phones. HMD is strategically placing Nokia to be recognized for “devices that can be used for years, with long battery life and affordable prices.”
Nokia was reported to perform well in China’s feature phone sector. In 2020, the total sales volume of four feature phones released by Nokia ranked first in China’s feature phone segment, including Nokia 220, Nokia 225 and Nokia 6300. Nonetheless, when compared to the smartphone market, the feature phone market is still a minority.
