HMD announces Barbie Flip Phone at MWC 2024 alongside rebranding plans; Know what’s coming

Finnish smartphone manufacturer HMD announced its rebranding plans at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 Barcelona. The company’s name now stands for ‘Human Mobile Devices’. For the last few years, HMD (formerly HMD Global) has been Nokia smartphones. As part of its new multi-brand vision, it aims to create ‘HMD original devices’ while it continues to sell Nokia phones. More importantly, the company also announced plans for a Barbie flip phone!

HMD announces Barbie flip phone

At the MWC 2024, HMD announced a collaboration with Mattel and with Barbie. The first project of this partnership is a Barbie Flip Phone that is set to launch in Summer 2024. However, it will not be a smartphone. HMD says this retro smartphone will provide a ‘much-needed digital detox’ with feature-phone capabilities.

The company says the Barbie Flip Phone will be the ‘hottest accessory’ this summer. Announcing this product, Ruth Henriquez, Head of Consumer Products, Publishing, and LBE, Mattel EMEA said, “At the heart of Mattel is design and innovation, and this latest collaboration is another step forward in that direction. The Barbie x HMD launch promises to be an exciting moment for Barbie fans of all ages, we're excited to flip the switch and unveil it to the world at Mobile World Congress. ”

HMD will also bring out an iconic Nokia phone, similar to how it relaunched the Nokia 8110 and the Nokia 3310.

Fix-it-yourself movement

Alongside the Barbie Flip Phone, HMD also announced a fix-it-yourself movement, bolstering the repairability movement that it started at MWC 2023. As part of this initiative, it aims to make smartphones easily repairable, so much so that users can do the repairs themselves instead of having to take them to a repair centre.

James Robinson, HMD VP Europe, Americas and Enterprise said, “As more and more people seek out easy-to-repair devices so they can keep their phone longer - and save hassle or delays when fixes are needed - we’re excited to make that process as easy as possible, starting this summer.”

Also, read other top stories today:

AI carbon footprint time bomb! Tech giants are racing to ward off a carbon time bomb caused by the massive data centers they're building around the world. Some interesting details in this article. Check it out here.

Xiaomi 14 Ultra launched! Xiaomi 14 Ultra has a high-strength aluminium frame, Xiaomi nano-tech vegan leather, and Xiaomi Shield Glass. It is crafted from a single aluminium block. Xiaomi nano-tech vegan leather features a newly developed formula, resulting in a thinner and lighter finish. Read all about it here.

Ukraine War as seen from space! An active open-source intelligence community has formed to keep track of troop activity, destruction and other aspects of the war. Check it all out here.

One more thing! We are now on WhatsApp Channels! Follow us there so you never miss any updates from the world of technology. ‎To follow the HT Tech channel on WhatsApp, click here to join now!