Nokia Mobile comments on Q1 shipment of Nokia phones
At the very beginning of May, we wrote about the smartphone shipments of Nokia Mobile according to data published by Counterpoint Research. The global market of smartphones saw a decline in shipments and so did Nokia Mobile by shipping an estimate of just 1.7 million of smartphones and some 8.6 million of Nokia feature phones. Anyway, the data weren’t so good, but Nokia Mobile reached us and provided a comment to the original article that we are bringing you below. They didn’t provide the exact number pf shipped Nokia phones, but they did share some interesting bits which many Nokia fans could find interesting.
Q1 2020 volume statement
In 2019 we made the strategic decision to focus on key geographies where we would concentrate our investments to take full advantage of the opportunities within those markets. As a young company focus is key to our success, and combined with our new ODM strategy, we have been able to strengthen our proposition and growth in those key territories. With this approach we were able to turn operating margin (EBIT) positive for the fourth quarter of 2019.
We are committed to continuously driving meaningful innovation across our portfolio of smartphones and featurephones to maintain industry leadership. In smartphones, the focus remains on offering signature experiences that consumers have come to expect from a trusted Nokia phone – data security, durability, quality, design and long battery life.
Furthermore in 2019 we were named a global leader for smartphone and security updates[1] and in 2020 the number one Android TM for holding value2 thanks to our unique Android proposition. All of our Android One, Android Go and earlier full Android devices are guaranteed to receive at least two years of security updates and two years of OS updates. What’s more, we remain at the forefront of the latest Android 10 deployment, consolidating our commitment to Nokia phones getting better over time. In more recent news in 2020, our phones have been identified as leading the charge for Android OEM patch rates.3
Like many businesses the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted parts of our supply chain. Yet we are no more impacted than any other similar business and our strategy and vision remain unwavering. Already in the last two quarters, we have made new C-suite hires, set up a new software security centre in Tampere, and expanded our business to Brazil – we now have operations in 91 markets with over 250,000 retail units.
We are seeing great success in the Enterprise business, we and have more than doubled our share in this category thanks to our comprehensive portfolio of Android Enterprise Recommended smartphones, delivering an elevated enterprise-grade smartphone experience across all price points. With a total of 17 Android Enterprise Recommended smartphones we are fast becoming the smartphone of choice for many large companies. In fact, since the start of 2019 we have secured an average two new enterprise customers per week. And in the last year alone, over 100 new companies from the FTSE100, the Fortune 500, and Dax30 have chosen Nokia phones as their preferred employee handsets.
So, from their statement, you can clearly see that Nokia Mobile, or the Finnish startup HMD Global, is going to yet another transformation of their business model. After their reorientation to European, and Nordic roots, Nokia Mobile is focusing on markets like Brasil where their investments can give some profit back. I would love to see some other markets being invested in like Turkey and Iran where Nokia is still a respected brand.
It is nice to hear that Nokia Mobile is also turning more and more to B2B sales, but they should maybe also be investing a bit more to R&D and develop some of their own or ex-Nokia software like Z Launcher or some specific apps, and not to mention their hardware. Well, the main reason for those kinds of investments lies in the fact that pure secure and always updated version of Android isn’t the only fact that sells devices.
I love the latest design of the phones, and devotion to the European roots, but a true and complete smartphone with well-rounded hardware and price is still missing. Something like Nokia 8.1 was but with more powerful chipset, or a 4G Nokia 8.3 but with 8XX SD, wireless charging, bezel-less display with pop-up camera, decent battery capacity, nice camera, and finally faster charging.
While Nokia Mobile is changing and reshaping, so will the numbers for Q2 when Counterpoint announces the results, and we’ll be there to check the progress.
Thanks to Nokia Mobile for reaching us and sharing the statement!
