After months and even years of rumours, speculations and anticipation, Nokia is back. With the Microsoft era behind it, HMD Global takes the reigns of a brand that’s run many a race and come out shining. Today’s launch completes Nokia’s return to market, strapping on an Android avataar on phones that looks dangerously similar to the Windows Phones of yore. Like it or not, this is what Nokia is going with, and they’ve chosen price tags for Rs. 9,499, Rs. 12,899 and Rs. 14,999 for the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6, respectively.
At those prices, the company makes an interesting proposition, if not one that’s outright value for money. Let’s break down what Nokia is offering.
The pricing strategy
HMD’s pricing strategy is interesting, if not particularly impressive. The Nokia 3, 5 and 6 are cheaper than phones by Samsung or Sony, while they’re more expensive compared to brands like Xiaomi and Lenovo. So, HMD is essentially banking on Nokia’s brand value, hoping consumers will choose Nokia over the sea of Chinese OEMs, while offering cheaper price tags to overcome a Samsung.
Take the Nokia 3 or 5 for example, at their prices you can’t write them off, but having seen and used the phone on multiple occasions, they’re certainly behind phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (review), Honor 6X (review) and others in most key areas, barring design. But they’re also decidedly superior to phones like the Galaxy J5 and J7, Xperia XA or Micromax’s devices.
The Oppo/Vivo conundrum
While Nokia’s phones are competitive against Samsung and Sony, the Indian offline market has recently been taken over by two companies: Oppo and Vivo. The sister concerns have run rampant with their selfie-driven marketing campaigns. So, they’ll possible be Nokia’s only real concerns in the offline market.
Fortunately for HMD Global, it seems the Nokia phones have dodged a bullet there, at least for now. Both the Nokia 3 and 5 battle in the budget ranges, and are far removed from Oppo and Vivo’s most popular devices: the Oppo F1 series and Vivo V5 series. While the return of the Nokia brand must be noteworthy for the industry at large, Oppo and Vivo should be breathing easy at least for now.
Oppo and Vivo have been running rampant offline
The online market
From what we’ve seen so far, the Nokia 6 is the phone that will truly struggle against its competition. While the Nokia six is indeed an impressive example of premium smartphone design, it’s tough to imagine that overcoming other elements. As far as processing power and camera quality are concerned, my short time with the Nokia 6 hasn’t been particularly encouraging. Of course, there’s a lot of testing to be done before I can pass a judgement, with the offline market is a difficult one to handle.
Considering how many once unknown brands have made a name for themselves in the online market, I do not see Nokia’s return making a big difference here. The Nokia 6 will surely draw clicks, but converting these clicks to sales should be more difficult than it seems.
What is Nokia’s real difference-maker?
Design, brand and really everything else aside, what really makes Nokia different from its competitors is the vanilla Android OS its phones offer. The company has made it a point to advertise its close association with Google. Nokia has not only promised speedy Android updates, but also monthly security patches. Barring Motorola, there’s literally no smartphone brand today that can promise this, and even Motorola only promises Android updates, and not monthly security patches.
HMD and Nokia’s promise to the consumer here is hugely important, since the Indian smartphone market is lacking in this particular respect. If HMD can use Nokia’s brand perception to its benefit here, it will not only be useful for the company itself, but also for the future smartphone market. Of course, that is assuming that Nokia sticks to its promises.
(L-R) Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3
Nokia is back
Personally, I do think HMD is overplaying its hand banking on Nokia’s brand value. The truth is that in the company’s absence, Samsung and others have built pretty strong portfolios for themselves, and it’ll be difficult to outdo those brand right off the bat. However, if Nokia can become synonymous with fast updates and phones that provide everything a smartphone should, it could bring about what the Indian market truly needs today, consumer awareness.
I believe that should be HMD’s goal in the long run, rather than simply competing in an already crowded space. Nokia used to mean trust and that trust had a lot to do with providing consumers exactly what they need, rather than doing just what they want. I've said before that Nokia is bound by the same industry barriers that others are, which means that while it can't pull a rabbit out of its hat, it can create a whole new market that no OEM right now seems to be willing to cater to.