The Nokia brand is undergoing a formal transition in its smartphone business, a shift that has been unfolding across corporate communications and product strategy. As of early 2024, a notable change is visible on the official Nokia site: the section dedicated to smartphones, including devices developed by HMD Global, is slated for removal. This marks a significant step in how the brand positions its mobile devices, signaling a move away from direct consumer sales within Nokia’s own digital storefronts in the near term.
Industry reporting has clarified that HMD Global will cease selling smartphones on behalf of Nokia by 2026, reinforcing a broader reorganization within the brand ecosystem. The timeline indicates a staged transition rather than an abrupt shutdown, with direct references indicating that the smartphone category will be phased out from the Nokia site and redirected through alternative channels. In this context, ITHome has documented these developments and provides one of the clearest summaries of how the brand transformation plan is unfolding across markets.
In practical terms, many users have already noticed that the Nokia smartphones page on the company’s website has been closed. Yet, a direct pathway still exists for those seeking Nokia-branded mobile devices via nokia.com/phones, a link that will be retired as planned on February 1. The ongoing adjustments appear to be part of a broader brand transformation move initiated by HMD Global, a Finnish company with a distinctive history tied to the Nokia mobile legacy. The backstory is simple: HMD Global acquired the mobile phone business rights from Nokia in 2016 and has since continued to develop and market devices under the iconic Nokia name. This evolving arrangement places emphasis on brand identity and strategic partnerships rather than a broad direct retail footprint on Nokia’s own site.
Public discourse around the shift also notes that HMD Global has launched new web resources such as hmd.com, a move that intriguingly arrived without a high-profile press announcement. The company has signaled that pages for Nokia smartphones, as well as devices from HMD Global partners under the Nokia banner, will appear in other digital spaces or through partner channels. The practical implication for consumers is that the brand will still offer Nokia-branded mobile devices through alternative storefronts or distribution channels, but the direct consumer sales channel on Nokia’s own site will be retired as part of the branding realignment. The broader assertion remains that the vendor intends to discontinue the production and direct sale of new devices under the Nokia name after 2025, further underscoring a shift toward partnerships and licensing rather than a traditional end-to-end, in-house mobile device strategy.
HMD Global has come a long way since its founding in 2015 as a distinct entity. The Finnish company took control of Nokia’s mobile phone business in 2016 and has continued to design, develop, and market devices that bear the Nokia label. This lineage explains why many observers view the current changes as more than a simple retail adjustment; they are part of a larger reimagination of how the Nokia mobile brand operates in a rapidly evolving market where consumer expectations, channel dynamics, and partner ecosystems are shifting rapidly.
Beyond the Nokia-specific narrative, the broader competitive landscape among major smartphone manufacturers has produced notable industry milestones. It is sometimes mentioned in market analysis that some brands have surpassed others in terms of supply leadership, reflecting rapid changes in manufacturing capacity, supply chain resilience, and consumer demand. In this dynamic environment, corporate decisions about branding, product lifecycle management, and channel strategy can have ripple effects across regional markets in North America and beyond. As these transformations unfold, readers are reminded that brand heritage and modern go-to-market approaches can chart different paths to reaching customers, with licensing arrangements and partner networks playing a larger role than a single, centralized storefront in today’s digital economy.