Nokia 6: The First Nokia-Branded Android Smartphone to Be Released Exclusively in China

Nokia has announced its first Android smartphone is to be released exclusively in China.

The Nokia 6 will be marketed in partnership with the local internet retail giant JD.com.

The announcement coincided with the final day of the CES tech show in Las Vegas, where other new mobile phones and gadgets have been launched.

Nokia no longer manufactures phones that carry its name but has instead licensed its brand to another Finnish company, HMD Global.

Until now, the only phones that had been released under the deal had been more basic “feature phone” models.

The Nokia 6 had been highly anticipated and marked the company’s return to the smartphone market after a series of Windows Phone models. Microsoft briefly used the brand for about a year after buying Nokia’s mobile devices unit in 2014.

Nokia once dominated the mobile phone market but struggled after the launch of the iPhone a decade ago, and the subsequent release of Google’s Android operating system.

HMD Global had previously indicated it would release several Nokia-branded Android phones in 2017.

It is expected to provide details of at least some of the other launches at another trade show – Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress – in February.

Nokia said in a statement: “The decision by HMD to launch its first Android smartphone into China is a reflection of the desire to meet the real world needs of consumers in different markets around the world.

“With over 552 million smartphone users in China in 2016, a figure that is predicted to grow to more than 593 million users by 2017, it is a strategically important market where premium design and quality is highly valued by consumers.”

The Nokia 6 phone runs Android 7.0 – the latest version, also known as Nougat – and has a 5.5in 1080p “full high definition” screen, a 16 megapixel rear camera, 4GB of RAM memory and 64GB of storage, two amplifiers supported by Dolby Atmos audio processing, which HMD says creates audio that “seems to flow all around users”.

The specifications are mid-range, and so is the price: 1,699 yuan ($245).

That makes Nokia 6 slightly more expensive than Huawei’s Honor 6X but cheaper than Xiaomi’s Mi 5s.