HMD Global exec admits that purely numeric Nokia model names have confused everyone

HMD Global has been making Nokia branded smartphones for a little while now, having started with a clear product portfolio back in 2017. It captured the hearts and minds of many, with devices that bore a name from a mobile era gone by.

However, since 2017, while things have gone well, the naming of HMD Global’s smartphones has not. With ‘Plus’ models, .1’s and .2’s, six monthly product refreshes and discounting old models to clear shelves, HMD Global has made a bit of a mess of its Nokia lineup.

It seems this is something that HMD Global is well aware of.

Pranav Shroff, Global Portfolio GM, at HMD Global told  Gadgets360 the company had a clear product strategy in 2017 when it rolled out the likes of the Nokia 5, 6, 7, and 8, but that changed in 2018 when it switched to a different strategy which it referred to as  ‘A Nokia smartphone for everyone’.

That strategy resulted in the launch of the entry-level Nokia 1  to the high-end Nokia 8 Sirroco, and the Plus series in the second half of 2018. HMD’s Shroff believes that was where the confusion began to set in.

While he admitted the firm did a good job of covering every price segment, like churning out 12 products in a market like India, he agreed that HMD failed to make the product naming clear for consumers.

“We owe it to our consumers — and generally everybody — to make sure its [the product portfolio] clear. If we have not made that clear, and I agree that we haven’t, then that is something we need to work on better”, he added.

Where to from here? Shroff was less clear. It’s possible HMD Global may look at ditching the confusion of numeric model names, and may re-brand to something cleaner and easier to understand and differentiate. It’s possible that HMD Global will also look to reduce the number of models its actively developing, as well as ditching the ‘Plus’ moniker which started the confusion.