Sanmeet Singh Kochhar, the Vice President for India and MENA at HMD Global, speaks about innovation in the smartphones market and the outlook for the months ahead

You just announced the company’s first 5G smartphone on the market. What sort of outlook does the company have in terms of the technology and will we see more 5G models hitting the market?
We’re extremely excited to announce our first global and future-proofed 5G smartphone – the Nokia 8.3 5G. Indeed 5G will revolutionize the telecommunications sector and other industries with faster speed, reliability and more enhanced network capacity.

Aligned with this, we believe we’ve created a truly unique device that doesn’t only bring true connectivity to fans, but also premiers ZEISS Cinema effects, letting you take full advantage of the creative potential that 5G content sharing can bring. While we can’t comment on future launches, we do encourage you to stay tuned.

The latest phones launched by Nokia were in the mid-range arena. Will we see a new flagship from the company, like the rumoured Preview 9.2?
While we don’t comment on rumours, we can tell you that we don’t aim to be a company defined by a specific segment. At HMD Global, we focus on technology that helps individuals thrive through what it does, and through how people use it. As a brand, we are constantly looking at ways to expand the human possibilities of the connected world.

Tell us about HMD Connect. How does the service work? Have you partnered with any telecom carriers or service providers for this service?
HMD Connect is a hassle-free, secure and affordable data roaming service that keeps users connected in an easier way to the things that matter to them the most. Using HMD Connect is very simple; users just have to plug in their HMD Connect SIM card, purchase their data plan with their credit card and keep tabs on their data consumption right from the HMD Connect app or web portal.

We are currently working together with the local operators to bring even better pricing options and further expand the coverage to more networks and countries.

HMD Global has always promised modern design and guaranteed updates. How has that strategy helped Nokia elevate its brand awareness on the market?
We believe in purposeful innovation and not innovation for the sake of innovating. Additionally, we pride ourselves on how intertwined our designs are. They deliver on what the phone is expected to deliver at the point of purchase and when receiving the software, while our fans are using the phones. Moreover, we’ve made it a point to be one of the fastest adopters of the latest Android operating systems, which we’ve achieved with Android Pie updates and that make our phones get better with time.

In a nutshell, our phones offer best in class materials and craftsmanship across the portfolio, delivering the reliability and durability expected of Nokia phones through purposeful design and engineering. Thus, we are proud that our four brand-new devices – including the Nokia 8.3 5G; the Nokia 5310, the next generation of the Nokia 1; and the new Nokia 5, continue to be fully aligned with our approach.

What sort of market outlook does HMD Global have for the rest of the year?
The mobile device market in the region is driven by technological innovation and increasing smartphone and internet penetration. Indeed, technology is a great enabler – and Nokia phones make technology accessible to all, by providing everyday solutions that help people thrive in what they are doing. There is always a demand for quality phones with security updates – so we foresee the Nokia smartphones playing an important role for our fans in the year ahead.

When it comes to smartphones, many vendors still focus a lot on the megapixels. How does HMD Global see this megapixel war? What makes a perfect camera?
There is still a large focus on megapixels, as people believe that higher the megapixels, better the quality of the image. But this is only a part of what makes a good image. The overall specs of a device are what count. For instance, most of our phones feature PureDisplay screen technology, which takes the viewing experience.

On Nokia 8.3 5G, PureDisplay technology is powered by the Pixelworks visual processor, complemented by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G modular platform’s breakthrough AI-enhanced entertainment capabilities. This technology provides immersive HDR quality and amazing colour reproduction for all of the streaming media, photos, videos or games, even when the content is only available in standard dynamic range (SDR).

This is done by dynamically upscaling the colour depth and detail by a factor of 64, transforming all your entertainment into unforgettable, cinematic experiences.