Nokia Smartphones To Run on Google Android OS; Will Be Built By iPhone Makers?

It has been confirmed that one of the leading cellphone makers is back with a new flagship device. In December, news broke that the handsets were in development. The phones will run on Android OS. And this is a major change since Nokia units used to run on Windows OS.

#Nokia #smartphones to make a comeback in 2017 - The Economic Times on Mobile https://t.co/9nKQUtJKOU

— STPI (@stpiindia) December 1, 2016

Trusted Reviews reported that "in the first half of 2017," the first Nokia smartphones will be released. However, other specific details were not disclosed. Also noteworthy is that the Nokia smartphones will not be built by Nokia. The actual Nokia handsets will be built by FIH Mobile Limited, a subsidiary of Foxconn, which is one of the companies that builds iPhone units.

HMD Global Oy, a Finland-based company, secured rights to Nokia after Microsoft's Nokia brand licensed expired. This means that MHD exclusively has rights to Nokia for the next 10 years. The Verge further reported that HMD has an investment of more than $500 million to market Nokia smartphones for the next 3 years.

In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Finnish company hired 20 engineers in Salo, Finland, in only less than a week. In less than six months, they finished developing a fully functional display prototype.

In terms of software, HMD partnered with Google in order for the new Nokia smartphones to run on Android OS. This is the only confirmed detail regarding the soon-to-be-released Nokia smartphones.

Nokia does intend to ensure that the smartphones will be of the highest standard and engineering. This is because three key leaders within HMD Global were former executives and employees of Nokia.

Fans of the former largest cellphone company in the world will have to wait until the smartphones do make it to shelves next year. But the question remains: Do we need another cellphone brand?