The Nokia phone makers are making a Barbie flip phone |

The Barbie fever continues. HMD Global, the company behind Nokia phones, has announced perhaps its most surprising collaboration yet – with Mattel’s Barbie brand, which is enjoying ongoing success thanks to the over $1 billion box office smash hit and award-winning Barbie movie last year. This summer, HMD will release a Barbie-themed flip phone and a set of other new phone launches, including an HMD-branded smartphone under the company’s name.
HMD is promising this “retro feature phone will flip the script on smartphone culture and will be this summer’s hottest accessory.” It could hit the right notes for those looking to ditch their smartphone addiction for a time or who want a fun accessory phone.
Promising “style, nostalgia, and a much-needed digital detox,” it will be a mid-tier feature phone rather than a high-end smartphone. Details remain thin for now – we only have a date and a single teaser image – but expect a traditional flip phone form factor in signature Barbie pink with some added sparkle and glam. Even the pricing and availability remain unconfirmed beyond the summer 2024 release, but we’re hoping it won’t cost an arm and a leg.
Who knows? We might see Ryan Reynolds don the pink flip phone in the sequel.

The Nokia brand lives on…

The Barbie phone and HMD smartphone will join new Nokia-branded devices, too. HMD said that it remains committed to the famous mobile phone brand. The revived Nokia name has served it well in recent years, and it will continue the partnership with the launch of an iconic Nokia retro feature phone this summer. It follows previous remakes of Nokia classics like the 3310.

Modular phones are making a comeback again

HMD teased another interesting new project dubbed “HMD Fusion.” Designed as an open development platform, it features hardware connectors to allow accessories and modifications dubbed ‘smart outfits.’

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It mirrors Motorola’s once-ambitious Mods accessories. An array of six pogo pins on the back allow users to attach hardware “outfits” to customise functionality, while an unlocked Android bootloader enables software customization.

Where are the phones, HMD?

That was all HMD had for us at the MWC. While it did not have anything new to show, the company did drop a teaser photo, which shows four phones – the pink one likely is the Barbie flip phone, and the yellow one looks reminiscent of the retro Nokia phone. The other two could very well be the first of HMD-branded phones due for the Summer.