Nokia, after years of experimenting with platforms like Windows 10 Mobile, finally made a true comeback with a brand new series, signaling the start of a new era. The Nokia 8, Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3 all made their debut in early 2017 and tasted quite some success, with a lot having to do with the brand value and their build quality, but mainly due to their software. Stock Android was the craze back then and the phones not only delivered on that perfectly but also promised great update support.
However, things took a turn for the worse massively with Android 11, rolling out which seemed to be a pain for the company. Delays and buggy releases were spread across 2021 even as new offerings continued to be stuffed into the already-busy Nokia lineup.
And now, in an interview with Android Authority, HMD CMO Stephan Taylor has given an insight into the matter and exactly what went wrong.
The main reason was said to be Nokia not participating in the Android 11 beta program. Partaking in the process helps OEMs roll out Android version upgrades sooner after stable is released and the company seems to have missed out on it big time. On top of that, the company’s extensive lineup further acted as a hurdle.
When asked if the company had spread itself too thinly for the number of phones it had to update, the HMD executive replied, “I think your observation is fair, to be honest. We did have not as much success with the Android 11 rollout (sic), and I think we’ve learned from that.”
“But I think as we move forward, certainly on the global perspective, we’ve got a more focused level of device (sic), and we’re already in the beta program with Android 12,” he added.
Things do seem to be getting better though, as Taylor pointed out, with a good example being the Nokia X20’s speedy stable Android 12 reception. Hopefully, this is a sign for further improvements down the line with the update process.
“So yeah, bit humbled by how we did with Android 11, but I think we’ll get onto the front foot again.”
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