MWC 2024: HMD announces a Barbie flip phone for fans

HMD said last year that they were going to start selling their own phones in 2024, after only selling Nokia phones. Now, at MWC 2024, they’ve shown off a new flip phone that’s a bit different.

The phone maker said they’re going to release a Barbie flip phone in July 2024. It’s going to be a feature phone, not an Android phone. HMD hasn’t said what operating system the phone will use, or any other details, but they’ve used the KaiOS platform for other feature phones before.

The phone maker hasn’t shown what the Barbie phone looks like yet. But, they did put out a picture that makes it look like it’s going to be pink. The other phones in the picture are two new HMD phones and a Nokia phone that you can customize.

“Promising style, nostalgia, and a much-needed digital detox, this retro feature phone will flip the script on smartphone culture and will be this summer’s hottest accessory,” the company noted in a press release.

HMD is a bit behind the times with the Barbie phone, since it’s coming out more than six months after the movie came out. But, HMD’s last movie tie-in with the Bond film No Time To Die didn’t go so well because the movie got delayed. The European phone brand had some other news to share in Barcelona. First, they said they’re going to release a new phone called the HMD Fusion, which you can customize the hardware on.

The HMD Fusion is supposed to come out in July 2024, and HMD says you can change the back cover for different things. They showed some pictures of it, and you can see a regular back cover, one with slots for your cards, and one with what looks like camera controls. HMD is putting out a toolkit for the phone today, with design files and info on how to put the software in. They didn’t say much else about it, but it looks like it’s a bit more complicated than the magnetic system on the Moto Z phones.

HMD also said they’re going to put out a phone in July that’s easier to fix if the screen breaks. They didn’t say much about how it works, just that it’s going to be a lot easier to replace the screen. And if you’re still into Nokia phones, don’t worry. HMD said they’re going to keep selling Nokia phones, and they’re going to bring back a “classic phone” this summer.