Nokia announces 6 budget smartphones from 75 Euros

Finnish phone maker Nokia – now owned by HMD Global – has announced six new budget Android smartphones across three lines, including the Nokia X10, Nokia X20, Nokia G10, Nokia G20, Nokia C10 and Nokia C20.

The highest spec comes on the Nokia X20, while the cheapest phone is the Nokia C10. The cheap and cheerful C Series phones (C10 and C20) will feature 6.5” HD displays and run on Android GO, Google’s ‘lite’ version of its popular operating system, designed for handsets with less processing power.

Nokia’s new mid-rangers, the G10 and G20, are lower spec than other manufacturers’ handsets in the same class, but will cost just €139 and €159, respectively. The G10 houses 3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage while the G20 has 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. Both have a slot for a micro SD card expandable by up to 512GB. Neither phone’s 6.5” screen will output in full HD.

The X Series phones, coming in June, have the highest spec of the three new lines, but don’t expect them to match up to the flagships from manufacturers such as Samsung and Google, either in feature-set or pricing.

• Nokia X20, 6/128GB [RAM and storage] and 8/128GB configurations, global average RRP €349.
• Nokia X10, 6/64GB, 6/128 GB and 4/128GB configurations, global average RRP €309.
• Nokia G20, 4/64GB and 4/128GB configurations, global average RRP €159.
• Nokia G10, 3/32GB and 4/64GB configurations, global average RRP €139.
• Nokia C20, 1/16GB, 2/32GB configurations, global average RRP €89.
• Nokia C10, 1/16GB, 1/32GB and 2/16GB configurations, global Average RRP €75.

“Today is more momentous than a regular product launch,” says HMD Global’s CEO Florian Seiche. “The past 12 months have no doubt been challenging, yet they also gave us a moment to pause, think and prepare for the next big step in our start-up journey. As a Finnish company, our approach to technology and business is human-first and that is reflected in this new smartphone range. We want people to love their phones.”

Adds CCS Insight Chief Analyst Ben Wood:

“It feels as though HMD Global has recognised that it is futile trying to compete in the premium $1000+ smartphone market against Apple, Samsung and the growing number of Chinese smartphone makers. It appears to have made a conscious decision to focus on mid-and low-tier smartphones where the Nokia brand remains strongest, and the six new devices announced today reflect this.”

“HMD Global’s new naming architecture with three tiers of products feels a lot easier to understand compared to its previous approach of giving products names such as 8.3 and 3.4. Consumers and channels will find it easier to understand the differences between C-series, G-series and X-series.”