Nokia phones get a price cut before the new phones arrive in India

Nokia Mobile has reduced the prices of two of its most recent smartphones in India by ₹1000. Both the smartphones, Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 3.4, were launched about three months ago in the country. Nokia 5.4 now starts for ₹12,999 (€147, $180) with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of ROM, while the 6 GB/64 GB variant costs ₹14,499 (€164, $200). Nokia 3.4’s only memory configuration of 4 GB RAM and 64 GB ROM is available for ₹10,999 (€125, $152).

The price changes are visible on Flipkart and Amazon. In case you were thinking about Nokia Mobile’s official store, then you cannot really take advantage of the price cuts since none of the phones are in stock over there. One good thing that these price cuts hint at is the soon arrival of the new phones in India.

However, as per BIS, the devices that the country will get are the Nokia G20, Nokia G10, and Nokia 110 4G. There’s also another smartphone with the model number TA-1366 that might make the cut with these devices, but in the end, all of these seem to be at a level below the Nokia 5.4. So that will continue the absence of Nokia smartphones above the price range of ₹15,499 in India.

Since last year, India has been pretty unfortunate with the availability or the release timelines of Nokia phones. The condition is similar to, but not as bad as in China. Nokia Mobile’s strategy continues to remain questionable in both world’s largest and second-largest smartphone markets. However, everything makes sense when you consider HMD Global’s profitability statements. Over the years, the company has not been able to stand the cutthroat competition in both countries. That is why it is bringing select devices to avoid any uncalled loss, but then the devices are not coming when the company is in dire need.

To start with, the pandemic can be blamed for the availability delays in the first half of 2020, but the situation did not seem to get back on track in the second half. For example, the Nokia 3.4 came to the country in February 2021, which is five months after the global launch in September 2020. Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 2.4 arrived two months after their global launch. It resulted in an absolute absence of the products during India’s festive seasons. The market usually blooms during the months of October and November. However, the company was offering Nokia 5.3 and Nokia C3 at its best.

Did you know that your Nokia smartphone is designed in Finland and made in India? Premium in design and quality, it offers 2 years of Android upgrades and 3 years of regular security patches. pic.twitter.com/wkakb373iJ

— HMD India (@HMDdevicesIN) June 24, 2020

Earlier, when there was a rise in the anti-China sentiments in India around June 2020, the company did not offer any new product to cater to the demand. As far as I can remember, the company was still selling the Nokia 7.2 and Nokia 2.3, and it was Samsung that took real advantage of the overall situation. So, a lot of missed opportunities right there.

On top of that, the company has transitioned “to digital-first offerings” (online market) “as part of a new post-COVID reality,” where the competition in India is already fiercer than in other countries. Except for a few digital advertisements and weekly social media posts, there is not much marketing going on for the Nokia smartphones. You do not come across Nokia smartphones until you search them. Okay, maybe I exaggerated there a bit. However, Nokia products rarely show up on the websites or mobile applications of Flipkart and Amazon, the largest e-commerce companies in the country.

No wonder, Counterpoint reported a few days back that India turned out to be the market where Nokia Mobile observed the most striking change in terms of shipments during the previous quarter. The shipments reduced by 38.5% compared to Q4 of 2020 and 17% compared to Q1 of 2020 with smartphones like Nokia 5.4, Nokia 3.4, Nokia 2.4, and Nokia C3. Based on the number of ratings on various online shops (except for Nokia Mobile’s official store), Nokia 3.4 seems to be the weakest among the lot in terms of sales.

At the moment, the company is making minimal efforts to stay afloat in the country, and the upcoming Nokia G20 and Nokia G10 may not do any better than Nokia 5.4 and Nokia 3.4.

Anyways, do share your thoughts on this in the comments section below.

Source: Nokia Mobile