HMD Global, the parent company of Nokia phones, overstretched itself by attempting to launch phones in every price bracket and thus made the difficult decision to withdraw from the flagship race.
The Nokia 9 PureView was launched in 2019 in an attempt to reintroduce the brand to the once-dominant premium camera phone market. Unfortunately, the new PureView was not well received, and rumors of a sequel were constantly followed by new delays. No Nokia flagship has been released since the PureView, and none is expected in the near future.
For the time being, HMD will focus exclusively on its core business – entry-level and mid-range smartphones, as well as feature phones. It wants Nokia phones to be renowned as gadgets that can be used for several years, have a multi-day battery life, and are reasonably priced.
The new strategy has proven to be successful; the company recently achieved its first full year of operational profit. Indeed, it has been profitable since Q3 2021, and Q4 2021 was the company’s most profitable quarter to date.
HMD has ambitious growth goals — by the end of this year, it hopes to be the market leader for prepaid smartphones in the United States. Another option is to segregate services into a distinct division that would focus exclusively on corporate users (e.g. IoT data roaming and SIM management).
From there, it will gradually expand its business in logical ways that support the main business. Perhaps one day, this will include a prestigious flagship, but it is possible that it will not.
