Highlights

• HMD Global launches Crest and Crest Max smartphones in India.
• Focus on younger audience with innovative features.
• Emphasis on repairability and privacy concerns.
• Future plans include more devices across price points.

In a significant move, HMD Global has entered the Indian smartphone market with the launch of its new devices, the HMD Crest and Crest Max.

As HMD transitions from its established feature phone lineup to smartphones, the company aims to capture the attention of the younger demographic with innovative features and a strong emphasis on repairability.

In this interview, a spokesperson for HMD provides insights into the company’s strategy, differentiation from the Nokia brand, and future plans for expanding their product ecosystem.

• Could just explain HMD’s first launch into the smartphone segment. What does this mean for HMD exactly to be launching in the Indian market?

See, it’s a big market.

As Ravi mentioned, there are close to 160 million consumers buying devices every year.

We’ve started this journey about 45 days back with feature phones.

This is our attempt now in the foray into smartphones.

We’ve already guessed it, we intend to be a full-time player.

We’ve already done introductions on the feature phones, and we are now doing the introduction on the smartphones.

So that’s the attempt.

Just a couple of devices now, more to come in the future for sure.

• How does HMD differentiate, because you were obviously selling Nokia phones before? What is exactly different about an HMD branded phone as compared to a Nokia phone?

Nokia will always remain close to a lot of consumers.

We are a new brand, so that’s why we have taken an ambition to go and speak with the younger audiences.

That’s where the clear distinction is.

Nokia was cutting across all genres, and all age groups, because of the long history behind it. For us, we are just born.

So we are focusing on creating distinction with the youth segment, and that’s why the relevant features on selfies or displays.

• I saw something about repairability being a big feature on the HMD phone. Could you just explain why you focused on repairability so much?

See, the right to repair is something that is coming.

Let’s take a parallel example, GDPR.

It’s been always there in developed countries, and of late you’ve seen that India is now trying to move towards those privacy domains.

Right to repair is the same global phenomenon.

It’s kind of becoming vocal even in India now.

People are asking why they should be giving their devices to a service center and giving the entire access of their data to the service center.

So that’s a big privacy concern in a way, and that’s the genesis behind the right to repair and repair it yourself.

So that’s a journey that we’ve started, and it’s an attempt where a consumer can repair within themselves in a fraction of, let’s say, 15 minutes.

That’s what the attempt is.

• These are obviously budget phones. Both of these are kind of budget phones only under 15,000. This is a segment that is very heavily competitive. So what was HMD’s thinking that maybe we should start with a budget and not with a more premium segment where competition is slightly less?

See, every price segment is competitive.

When you say that 12-15k or 10-15k is competitive, yes it is competitive.

You go into 15-20k, it is competitive.

You go into the high end, it is even more competitive.

Today, the likes of, I’ll not name the competition, but they are established brands.

Exactly.

We have taken the first step by introducing this product.

As I mentioned, you will see that there will be more devices that will come out, obviously covering the whole spectrum of price points.

• If yu were to chart out HMD’s plan for the next, let’s say, two years, what kind of, like, this is, we have obviously entered into smartphones. Do you want to expand into more of an ecosystem like where you have tablets and earbuds and those kinds of things? Is that something HMD is looking forward to?

Difficult to share those right now.

I mean, those are areas which we’ll continue to explore and maybe decide the right moment and right time to kind of enter that.

But yes, those categories are kind of ancillary to the smartphone world.

Eventually, we’ll have to come back.

FAQs

What makes HMD’s first launch into the Indian smartphone market significant?

HMD Global’s entry into the Indian smartphone market with the Crest and Crest Max marks a significant step as it targets a large consumer base of around 160 million buyers annually, aiming to become a full-time player.

How does HMD differentiate its brand from Nokia?

While Nokia has a long history and appeals across all age groups, HMD is a new brand focusing specifically on the younger audience with features like improved selfies and displays to create a distinct identity.

Why is repairability a key feature of HMD smartphones?

HMD emphasizes repairability to address privacy concerns associated with service centers.

This aligns with the global right to repair movement, allowing consumers to repair their devices within 15 minutes, thus protecting their data.

Why did HMD choose to launch budget phones initially?

HMD started with budget phones because every price segment, including 10-15k, is competitive.

Introducing budget phones first is a strategic step, with plans to release more devices across various price points in the future.

What are HMD’s plans for expanding its product ecosystem?

While it’s challenging to share specific details now, HMD is exploring the potential for expanding into tablets, earbuds, and other ancillary products to complement their smartphone offerings.

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