Nokia is going to release smartphones with Android next year

A CEO is said to have confirmed that Nokia will start manufacturing smartphones again from the beginning of next year. The electronics company is reportedly not equipping the devices with Windows Phone, as happened before, but with Android.

Nokia China President Mike Wang confirms recent rumors that Nokia plans to re-enter the smartphone market. The company sold its telephone branch to Microsoft last year and then agreed that it would not be allowed to release telephones under its own name until December 31. This is allowed again from January 2016.

According to the Chinese site SCDaily, Wang is said to have said that Nokia will re-enter the smartphone market in 2016. The devices will then run on Android. This means that Nokia seems to be saying goodbye to Windows Phone, an operating system that until recently it installed for years on its Lumia devices, such as the Lumia 930.

Nokia would build its devices in the Chinese region of Sichuan. The research center will also move there, Wang claims. The CEO did not provide further details, according to SCDaily. It may be Android devices specifically for the Asian market. Nokia is not unfamiliar with Android: it previously released the ZLauncher and a tablet with the launcher on it, the Nokia N1.