Recent rumors have suggested that Nokia was looking into re-entering the smartphone business, but the Finnish company has now refuted such claims.
The Nokia brand is known worldwide for its strong, durable handsets, and has garnered plenty of fans over the years. At one point, the company decided to dedicate itself exclusively to Microsoft's platform and, with the exception of the Nokia X series, it launched only Windows Phone devices.
Microsoft eventually purchased Nokia's device unit, rebranding Nokia Lumia devices as Microsoft Lumia from then on. Some recent whispers starting to indicate that Nokia was looking to get back into the smartphone business, planning to launch handsets independently from Microsoft.
The Finnish company has now issued a statement refuting such claims, revealing that it has no plans to make any consumer handsets for now.
"Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China. These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive," the company explained in a statement on Sunday, April 26. "Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets."
Truth be told, rumors of Nokia re-entering the smartphone business now or anytime soon were a bit farfetched. Many Nokia engineers and designers are now working for Microsoft or other companies, not to mention that the Finnish company does not have a platform of its own. The old Symbian saw its demise a good while ago, and Nokia would have to rely on a competitor's OS again to make new smartphones.
Moreover, Nokia cannot legally license its brand to third parties until the second half of next year, as it's still bound by the deal it made when Microsoft acquired it. On the other hand, Nokia could be planning a comeback on the smartphone market later in the future.
The company's new statement refutes claims that it is currently working on re-entering the smartphone business, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of launching other handsets in the years to come.
It remains to be seen whether Nokia will launch any smartphone once its limitations with Microsoft wear off, but for now the company doesn't have such plans.
