HMD's budget rugged feature phone might be getting a sibling

HMD has launched several feature phones this year, with most of them carrying the manufacturer's brand name. The exception is the Nokia 123 Shield, a feature phone with a rugged build, designed to survive the elements. Now, a leak has revealed a near identical phone, but in a different color.

The Nokia 123 Shield has been available to buy in two colors — Green and Purple — since its launch in July. However, X user, smashx_60, who is known for HMD-related leaks, said in a post that the phone will be getting a third color, and has shared a first look.

This new color option has a gray shell, as well as a copper-colored frame and ring around the rear camera. While the gray is a more subtle shade, compared to the Green and Purple variants, its bright-colored frame gives it a striking look. However, upon closer inspection, this device isn't identical to the Nokia 123 Shield, but might be a different device, despite what the source said.

This new HMD feature phone might look like the HMD 123 Shield, but unlike the Nokia feature phone, it has a camera and LED flash on the front, flanking the speaker. Save for these, it could pass for the Nokia 123 Shield. It even has the shield logo with a water droplet on the back.

There's a chance it is a follow-up to the Nokia 123 Shield, hopefully one with 3G or 4G LTE, considering the former supports only 2G networks, thus making it useless in regions where 2G networks have been wound down. Nevertheless, we will have to wait for an official announcement from HMD to know which device it is.