HMD Global had a quite eventful year in 2018 as it introduced a new wave of Nokia-branded smartphones, which helped strengthen its position in the Indian smartphone market.
In the year 2018, HMD Global has introduced 14 smartphones ranging from entry-level Nokia 1 Android Go Edition that was launched for Rs 5499 to its most expensive device, the Nokia 8 Sirocco which was introduced at a price point of Rs 49,999. During this tenure, the average selling price of the Nokia-branded smartphones was Rs 16,900.
| 6 4GB | 1 Android Oreo (GO Edition) | 8 Sirocco | 7 Plus | 6 (2018) 3GB | 5.1 | 3.1 3GB | |
| Price (Rs) | 16999 | 5499 | 49999 | 25999 | 16999/ 18999 | 14999 | 11999/ 10499 |
| Launch Date | 2/15/2018 | 3/26/2018 | 4/4/2018 | 4/4/2018 | 4/4/2018 | 8/9/2018 | 8/9/2018 |
| Display | 5.5 inches | 4.5 inches | 5.5 inches | 6 inches | 5.5 inches | 5.5 inches | 5.5 inches |
| Disp. Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels | 854 x 480 pixels | 2560 x 1440 pixels | 2160 x 1080 pixels | 1080 x 1920 pixels | 2160 x 1080 pixels | 2160 x 1080 pixels |
| Operating System | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 | Android 8.0 |
| Battery | 3000 mAh | 2150 mAh | 3260 mAh | 3800 mAh | 3000 mAh | 3000 mAh | 2900 mAh |
| Camera | 16 MP | 5 MP | 12 MP | 12 MP | 16 MP | 16 MP | 16 MP |
| Front Camera | 8 MP | 2 MP | 5 MP | 16 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Processor | Octa Core 1.4 GHz | Quad Core 1.1 GHz | Octa Core 2.5 GHz | Octa Core 2.2 GHz | Octa Core 2.2 GHz | Octa Core 2 GHz | Octa Core 2 GHz |
| RAM | 4 GB | 1 GB | 6 GB | 4 GB | 3 GB / 4GB | 3 GB | 3 GB / 2GB |
| Internal Memory | 64 GB | 8 GB | 128 GB | 64 GB | 32 GB / 64 GB | 32 GB | 16 GB |
| Expandable Memory | 128 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB | 256 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 256 GB |
As per The Mobile Indian survey, the Nokia 6 and Nokia 6.1 Plus were two popular models from HMD’s camp and both of them also recorded high search volume (the data was compiled using 2 million visitors on the website).
| 2.1 | 6.1 Plus | 5.1 Plus | 3.1 Plus | 8110 4G | 7.1 | 8.1 | |
| Price (Rs) | 6999 | 15999 | 10999 | 11499 | 5999 | 19999 | 26999 |
| Launch Date | 8/9/2018 | 8/21/2018 | 9/24/2018 | 10/10/2018 | 10/11/2018 | 11/30/2018 | 12/10/2018 |
| Display | 5.5 inches | 5.8 inches | 5.86 inches | 6.0 inches | 2.45 inches | 5.84 inches | 6.18 inches |
| Disp. Resolution | 720 x 1280 pixels | 2280 x 1080 pixels | 720 x 1520 pixels | 1440 x 720 pixels | 240 x 320 pixels | 2280 x 1080 pixels | 2246 x 1080 pixels |
| Operating System | Android 8.1 | Android 8.1 | Android 8.1 | Android 8.1 | KaiOS | Android 9.0 Pie | Android 9.0 Pie |
| Battery | 4000 mAh | 3060 mAh | 3060 mAh | 3500 mAh | 1500 mAh | 3060mAh | 3400 mAh |
| Camera | 8 MP | 16MP + 5MP | 13MP + 5MP | 13MP + 5MP | 2 MP | 12MP+5MP | 12MP + 13MP |
| Front Camera | 5 MP | 16 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP | No | 8MP | 20 MP |
| Processor | Quad Core 1.4 GHz | Octa Core 1.8 GHz | Octa Core 2 GHz | Octa Core 2 GHz | Dual Core 1.1 GHz | Octa Core | Octa Core 2.2 GHz |
| RAM | 1 GB | 4 GB | 3 GB | 3 GB | 512 MB | 4GB | 4 GB |
| Internal Memory | 8 GB | 64 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 4 GB | 64GB | 64 GB |
| Expandable Memory | 128 GB | 400GB | 256 GB | 400GB | 64 GB | 400GB | 400GB |
The major highlight of the Nokia 6 was its sturdy design and aggressive price point, which helped the company gain some momentum in the first half of 2018, while the Nokia 6.1 Plus proved its worth with some premium glass body design and on-point price-for-specs equation.
The Highs
There were many high points for HMD Global in 2018. To start with, launching smartphones at different price points helped the company to cater to a wider set of audience. Pushing updates at the regular interval was another area where it did a good job.
The Lows
Coming to the lows, HMD Global seems to be on the back front when it came to market its products in the Indian smartphone market. On one hand, brands like Xiaomi and more were quite aggressive with their marketing campaigns, but HMD lacked the needed enthusiasm to push its product more aggressively. Another area where the HMD Global faced the problem was pricing their smartphones a bit on the higher side as compared to the competition.
To know more about the full Report Card 2018 for HMD Global aka Nokia, watch this video:
[[VIDEOID=1399]]