Nokia's new Android-powered smartphones might arrive at MWC 2017

An official slide from a Nokia presentation delivered at the company’s recent Capital Markets Day confirms the “Nokia brand’s return to smartphones” in 2017. With the company previously tweeting to say its CEO Rajeev Suri will deliver a keynote speech at MWC 2017, it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll see Nokia’s 2017 lineup of Android-powered smartphones in late February.

Of course, Suri’s keynote may not be centered on announcing the new devices, and indeed we may not see any new Nokia devices at the trade show, but considering the smartphone focus of MWC and Suri’s confirmed keynote, it’s hard not to assume otherwise.

Nokia’s return to smartphones has been eagerly anticipated, both by those nostalgic for the Nokia brand as well as by those anxious to see if Nokia tries to deliver on its traditional strengths – outstanding durability and phenomenal battery life – in an Android smartphone.

Nokia’s name may appear on the devices likely to arrive at MWC 2017, but they won’t actually be made by Nokia. Back in May the company announced it had reached an exclusive branding rights deal with a hastily-constructed consortium of ex-Nokia veterans.

HMD Global was put together virtually overnight in order to secure the rights to using the Nokia brand on smartphones when the licensing offer was first made public. Whatever happens at MWC in February, we’re going to be more pumped to see a Nokia phone than we have been since the late 90s.

Are you excited for a new Nokia smartphone? What do you think it’ll look like?