Nokia Officially Denies Any Plans of Launching an Android Smartphone in 2016

Nokia made a lot of waves last week after a few reports surfaced saying that the Finnish company was looking to make a comeback in 2016 with a new Android smartphone.

The initial report cited sources familiar with the matter claiming that Nokia was plotting to make a comeback to the smartphone market next year. Then a few days later, a Chinese newspaper quoted Mike Wang, the President of Nokia China, who apparently revealed that the company was planning to set up a R&D facility in China. Well, not long after these news made rounds online, Nokia posted an official statement on its website refuting all these claims.

Nokia says it has no plans of manufacturing smartphones, yet

According to the Finnish company, we shouldn't be expecting it to come out with any consumer handset in 2016, nor any R&D facilities being set up under the company’s banner in China. Nokia’s statement might disappoint the company’s fans who were hoping to see the phone maker jump back into the smartphone pond. However, we should point out that the company doesn't specifically mention that it has no plans of “designing” smartphones. The statement only refers to the absence of plans related to manufacturing handsets. But that’s the thing, after the acquisition of its mobile division by Microsoft, Nokia is prohibited from licensing its brand on smartphones until the end of 2016 (the third quarter to be more specific).

However, the company can take a slightly different route. It can license its own smartphone designs to third-party manufacturers, a scenario that happened with the N1 tablet. Nokia was in charge of designing the product, but all manufacturing operations went to Foxconn.

All hope is not lost

At this point, it’s very hard to believe we won’t see a Nokia phone arrive in 2016 at all. The company is probably trying to keep things under wraps, as well as build hype around its upcoming product while trying to preserve the veil of mystery as much as it can. It’s not unheard of for companies to deny existing rumors and then, a few months later, to play out the exact scenario prophesized by the rumor mill. It’s a marketing strategy after all.

Nokia's current Android smartphone
Image credits to BGR

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