Rumor: Nokia will release smartphones again from next year

The Finnish Nokia would like to sell smartphones again from next year. Tech site Recode has heard this from various insiders. Nokia may again release smartphones under its own name from 2016; the agreement with Microsoft currently prohibits this.

The Nokia Technologies branch is said to be developing the new smartphones, Recode says. What kind of devices they will be and what Nokia will emphasize is still unknown. Until now, Nokia released the ZLauncher for Android and a tablet on which the launcher is standard, the Nokia N1.

Nokia sold its telephone branch to Microsoft last year and then agreed that the Finnish company may not release smartphones under its own name until December 31, 2015. Microsoft no longer carries the Nokia brand name. New Lumias bear the name Microsoft.

If Nokia makes new devices, it won’t be able to use some of the established brand names it used, such as Lumia and Pureview, both of which are now owned by Microsoft. Nokia has yet to comment on the rumor.

The last Nokia to date: the Lumia 735