Nokia Sold 35 Million Feature Phones in 2016: Strategy Analytics

Nokia, whose mobile brand is now controlled by HMD Global, reportedly managed to sell 35 million feature phones in 2016. The company was only second to Samsung, who managed to sell 52.6 million feature phones last year.

In all, 396 million feature phones were shipped in 2016, refuting all myths that the market for feature phone is extinct. And now, with the potential Nokia 3310 reboot, the feature phone segment may see a shift in dominance from Samsung to Nokia. Nokia took 8.9 percent of the market share worldwide, while Samsung managed to rake in 13.2 percent of the market share, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

HMD Global took rights of the Nokia brand in 2016, and soon after released the Nokia 150 feature phone as well. This means that Microsoft and HMD Global together managed to sell 35.3 million feature phones last year. Samsung boasts of an even larger number - 52.3 million - strongly indicating that there is still an audience for feature phones. In the number three spot was TCL-Alcatel, with 27.9 million units shipped. Other manufacturers accounted for the remaining 280.5 million units.

"Global feature phone shipments reached 396 million units in full-year 2016, accounting for 21 percent of all 1.88 billion mobile phones shipped last year. Feature phones today still account for 1 in 5 of all mobile phones bought worldwide and the category is surprisingly larger than many think," the report further states.

As mentioned, Nokia is hosting its pre-MWC event today scheduled to begin in a few hours. It is expected to launch the Nokia 3310 reboot at the event with a larger colour display, and run on Series 30+ user interface. At the event, the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 8 are also expected to be revealed.