Latest TCL One Touch Phone Drops Alcatel Branding

The Chinese telecommunications agency has released a new certification for the rugged TCL T551M industrial 5G phone. The intriguing aspect of this particular phone is definitely not its 3.5 inch display or looks, but the “One Touch” inscription visible on the front. You may recall that “One Touch” was a phone series introduced by Alcatel back in 1997, and it survived to this day thanks to the Chinese company TCL

Interestingly, the Alcatel brand became owned by Nokia after its acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent back in 2016. Nokia then licensed the brand to TCL, but the licensing agreement lasted only until 2024. Since the Alcatel branding is absent from the “One Touch” name, it is likely that Nokia Technologies chose not to renew the licensing deal with TCL.

It’s worth mentioning that BlackBerry also ended its licensing deal with TCL in 2020, following the release of several poorly executed BlackBerry phones. TCL likely struggled to meet the expectations of BlackBerry enthusiasts, making the end of the deal the best course of action.

I have reached out to Nokia for clarification on this matter and will update the post with their response once it arrives.