Recently an update on the Nokia website brought a section not seen for a long time. The company itself confirmed that its first smartphone running Android will be released in early 2017.

Nokia Officially Confirms Return Of New Android Smartphones In 2017

An essential update on the Nokia website brought a section not seen for a long time. The company itself confirmed that its first smartphone running Android will be released in early 2017. The news marks the return of the Finnish company into the smartphone market, after the sale of the mobile devices division to Microsoft, in 2013.

The smartphones of Nokia will be manufactured by HMD global, a Finnish company that bought the rights to the iconic brand of mobile phones, as explained earlier. Nokia had done something similar in the tablet market with the N1, which looked a lot like the iPad mini and was produced by Foxconn, but the product was restricted to a few markets such as China and Russia.

The company said in a press note “Under the agreement, Nokia will receive royalty payments from HMD for sales of every Nokia branded mobile phone and tablet, covering both brand and intellectual property rights. Moreover, Nokia is not an investor or shareholder in HMD and HMD has developed a unique strategic partnership model that will see it working with some of the world’s leading technology companies including Nokia, FIH Mobile Limited (FIH) and Google. Future Nokia smartphones will utilize Google’s Android operating system”.

The HMD global will take care of sales, marketing and distribution of devices, and plans to invest more than $500 million over three years in the Nokia brand around the world. The licensing of the brand should last at least 10 years, according to The Verge.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown around the world for the return of the Nokia brand to smartphones. The HMD Global team has the ambition, talent, and resources to bring a new generation of Nokia branded phones to market, and we wish them every success. I’m sure our millions of Nokia fans will be excited to see their new products” said, Brad Rodrigues, Interim President of Nokia Technologies.

Nokia, of course, it is still a mystery about the new smartphones. Anyway, both Nokia and the HMD Global will have booths at the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona at the end of February 2017, so the further official information should appear soon.

However, the Finnish company Nokia has already given the hints of what we can expect next year. Yes, the site itself states that “Nokia is busy working on the smartphones running Android,” and now we have left only one option, simply to wait for next MWC.