Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
TL;DR
- HMD has revealed that it will launch a Barbie-branded flip phone later this year.
- This will be a feature phone rather than a full-fledged Android device.
- The manufacturer also outlined plans for a more customizable smartphone with interchangeable rear covers.
HMD announced late last year that it would launch its own branded phones in 2024 after solely offering Nokia phones. Now, the company has used MWC 2024 to reveal plans for a rather different flip phone.
The smartphone manufacturer confirmed plans to launch a Barbie-branded flip phone in July 2024. This will be a feature phone rather than an Android phone. HMD hasn’t revealed the phone’s operating system (or other specs), but the company has previously used the KaiOS platform for several feature phones.
The smartphone manufacturer hasn’t revealed the Barbie phone’s design, either. It did, however, release an image (seen below) suggesting a pink color scheme.
“Promising style, nostalgia, and a much-needed digital detox, this retro feature phone will flip the script on smartphone culture and will be this summer’s hottest accessory,” the company noted in a press release.
HMD is a little late to the Barbie madness, though, as the phone will be released more than six months after the film first came out. Then again, HMD’s previous movie tie-up with Bond film No Time To Die was marred by the film’s delays.
A customizable phone, and more repairable phones
The European mobile brand also had a few other announcements to share in Barcelona. For starters, the company stated that it’ll launch a new phone — dubbed the HMD Fusion — that promises hardware customization.
The HMD Fusion is slated to launch in July 2024, and the company says you can swap out the shell for various needs. Images shown by the company, and seen below, show a standard rear cover, a cover with slots for your cards, and a cover with what appears to be camera controls.
HMD is releasing a toolkit for the phone today, containing design files and software integration information. There wasn’t much else in the way of details, though. But this seems like a slightly more involved swap-out process than the magnetic system seen on the Moto Z phones.
HMD also confirmed that it’ll launch a phone in July that will offer easier screen repairs. The company didn’t delve into this repair process bar saying that it’ll “substantially” reduce the number of steps needed to replace the screen.
Still want Nokia-branded phones? Well, the manufacturer stated that it will continue to offer Nokia phones and that it will bring back an “iconic phone” this summer.
