HMD Global Confirms Attendance At MWC 2017; Will Announce New Android-Running Nokia Smartphones

Back in October, it was reported that Nokia’s CEO Rajeev Suri will deliver a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017. Now, the current owner of the Nokia license, HMD Global, will also be attending the event, confirming the announcement of new Nokia smartphones running Android.

HMD Global’s attendance at MWC 2017 was first spotted by PhoneArena. Last Friday during the Capital Markets Day event, Nokia showed off an investor-focused presentation. One of the slides shown focused on the company’s future plans for 2017 and 2018. The most eye-catching part of the slide is “Nokia brand’s return to smartphones” which is listed under 2017.

HMD Global acquired the rights to the Nokia brand from Microsoft earlier this year and is expected to announce two new Android devices before the end of 2016. It was also revealed last month that HMD Global will be launching “at least two” more smartphones during the second quarter of 2017, according to Microsoft Asia-Pacific CEO of mobile devices James Rutherford, as per Nokia Power User.

The Nokia-branded Android devices from HMD Global that are expected to be released before the end of 2016 are the Nokia P1 and the Nokia D1C. Leaks have indicated that the P1 will come with a 2K AMOLED display and 5.2 and 5.5-inch models, a Snapdragon 820/821 chip and an IP68 waterproof rating.

The D1C, on the other hand, is a mid-range tablet with a 13.8-inch 1080p full HD display, powered by a Snapdragon 430 chip with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Both the Nokia P1 and the Nokia D1C will run Android 7.0 Nougat straight out of the box.

As for the new Android-powered Nokia smartphones in 2017, there’s been no leaks about them just yet. HMD Global will most likely showcase the new smartphones during its presentation at MWC 2017 which takes place between Feb. 17 and March 2 in Barcelona, Spain.