Skip to main content

Nokia job postings hint at return to Android phones

nokia job posts android smartphone plans
Nokia may have solid its devices and services division to Microsoft, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that its gadget making days are over. The company still has control over a number of important patents for making mobile devices and it’s demonstrated an interest in manufacturing non-Windows Phone devices in the past. Now, several new job postings found on LinkedIn seem to hint that Nokia may return to Android smartphones in the future.

Related: Nokia’s Basterdized Android Could Be Brilliant … If It Would Just Commit

Microsoft recently announced that the Nokia X Android smartphone line will cease to exist forever, the low-end Asha smartphone project will be scaled back, and that laid off many former Nokia employees. Microsoft’s exit from the Android and low-end smartphone markets opens up a door for other manufacturers. Many tech pundits believe Nokia may take this part of the business back over, now that it is completely separate from Microsoft.

If Nokia decides to make Android smartphones, the devices will most likely be pure Android devices with Google’s full app suite and the Play Store included.

A series of intriguing Nokia job postings seen on LinkedIn over the past week have added fuel to speculation about the company’s future hardware plans. The job postings include position such as patent coordinator, principal engineer, application engineer, and mobile photography engineer. The Mobile photography engineer post is of particular interest because the listing specifies that the candidate must have a background with drivers for Android.

The job posts are vague, but a few of them do specifically mention hardware.

One posting says that Nokia is looking for someone to “Lead the product management activities for a new category of device products, including defining the product proposition and business opportunity,” adding that “Your strong leadership and contribution is instrumental in making our products competitive leading to the commercial and business success we expect from them.”

While a few job postings are hardly conclusive evidence that Nokia wants to re-enter the Android smartphone game, Senior Vice President of Strategy at Nokia, Sebastian Nyström, confirmed on Twitter that the company is hiring for a new “products business.”

He does not say exactly what kinds of products Nokia will create in the near future, but speculation is rife that the company is gearing up to make more Android phones. However, this time around, if Nokia goes with Android, it will most likely create pure Android devices with Google’s full app suite and the Play Store included. Nokia’s X Android line did not offer either or these features and instead relied heavily on Microsoft’s services.

Even if Nokia doesn’t return to the Android smartphone business, it will most likely continue creating Android apps like the Z Launcher, which is still in beta testing. After all, it is looking for designers and application engineers, too. Either way, it looks as though Nokia is looking to make a comeback.

Editors' Recommendations

Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
How to find your phone number on iPhone or Android
Rebtel Calling

Gone are the days when phone numbers were as commonly memorized as street addresses. While you once had your own phone number, your best friend's, your crush's, and the one for the local pizza shop all at the top of mind, the advent of smartphones has rendered this memory exercise moot. Like most people, you probably don’t call your own phone number very often -- and if you do, it's likely listed in your Favorites -- so you may not know it off the top of your head.

With that reality comes the familiar grip of panic when a new acquaintance asks for your mobile phone number and you have no clue. Or maybe you're so used to sharing your second phone number that you forgot the first! 

Read more
Bing’s AI chatbot is now on your Android phone’s keyboard — here’s how to get it
Screenshots of Bing Chat running through the SwiftKey keyboard on Android.

Chatbots have become extraordinarily popular for those looking for help with their writing — or simply mess around with them and have fun. Now, Android users have access to one such chatbot straight from their keyboard. Bing Chat is Microsoft's chatbot that rivals the likes of ChatGPT and Google Bard, and it has been added as a feature to the SwiftKey keyboard, a predictive keyboard that helps with texting.

While Bing Chat can help users compose the body of a message, it can also analyze prewritten text for your tone to suggest changes if the user wants to avoid coming across a certain way. Bing Chat has already been providing those services via the Bing app and through web browsers; however, the new integration with the SwiftKey keyboard allows users to easily access the chatbot for help whenever their keyboard is enabled.
How to use Bing Chat with the SwiftKey keyboard

Read more
How to stop spam calls on iPhone and Android phones
google phone app call spam nexus android one feat

While regulators are doing everything they can to stop robocalls in their tracks , it's an uphill battle, and some calls will inevitably slip through and make it to your phone.

Fortunately, both Apple and Google have provided features in their respective mobile operating systems to help you manage unwanted calls. From letting you manually block specific numbers outright to intelligently filtering out calls that are more likely to be spam, there's actually quite a bit that your iPhone or Android handset can do to keep your day from being interrupted by unwanted calls.

Read more