HMD Global will 'scale back' its operations in the US
HMD Global, the Finnish smartphone manufacturer and current owner of the Nokia brand, has announced it will "scale back" its US operations, citing "a challenging geopolitical and economic enviornment."
In a statement shared on Threads by Wired's Julian Chokkattu, the company said its priority was to ensure "a seamless transition" for customers and partners. HMD will honor all warranty coverage and service obligations for the products currently existing in the market.
It said that it was committed to supporting its colleagues affected by the transition. Last year, HMD discontinued its Nokia-branded devices in Europe, removing its inventory from the website in countries such as the UK and Germany.
Products under the HMD brand, such as the repairable HMD Fusion, which scored 72% in our review, the HMD Skyline, which got a score of 76%, the HMD XR21, a rebranded version the Nokia XR21, and the HMD Vibe appear to be the only HMD branded smartphones that made it to the US. Other phones were mostly feature phones like the flip Barbie phone, and the Heineken co-branded Boring phone.
Currently, the HMD Fusion, HMD Skyline, HMD XR 21, HMD Vibe, the Barbie flip phone, and the Nokia-branded feature phones still appear to be on the site, but the store is already offline. The "Where to buy" button also doesn't work.
The company is reportedly planning a new budget phone for India, which is rumored to have a 6.74-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate and will likely use a UnisocT7200 12mm chip.
