HMD confirms Nokia 8 will not be coming to the U.S., says it's not “properly banded”

by Cosmin Vasile / Oct 11, 2017, 11:59 PM

Sad news for Nokia fans in the United States, as HMD has just confirmed that its flagship won't be launched in this region. Although previous reports from various sources suggested Nokia 8 might eventually be launched in the US, it appears that the smartphone hasn't been designed for this particular market.

However, not all is lost for US customers, as HMD plans to develop another portfolio of devices specifically built for this market. Some of these devices might be announced as early as Q1 2018 if we are to believe the latest rumors.

The HMD official who confirmed the information also said his company is already working on bringing a new set of devices to the US market, so don't fret just yet.

To a disappointment, we will not be launching the Nokia 8 in the USA. The Nokia 8 is not properly banded for the US to ensure our pledge of 110% consumer satisfaction. I apologize for the disappointing information, but please stay tuned for future US based devices, as we are developing the portfolio.

In the meantime, Nokia 8 is slowly making its way to more markets in Europe. HMD's flagship is priced decent enough (€550-€600) to compete with other major brands in the smartphone industry.

source: NPU

Options

10 Comments

1. meanestgenius

Posts: 22817; Member since: May 28, 2014

Well, this just flat out sucks. If I have to wait until next year for a Nokia flagship to come to the states, I’ll spend my money elsewhere. Huawei, for example, has been really wowing me with their smartphones as of late. I’ll look to pick up a Nokia flagship sometime in the middle of next year.

posted on Oct 12, 2017, 12:10 AM 1

10. BobbyDigital

Posts: 2125; Member since: May 29, 2014

It does carry certain T-Mobile LTE band's though. And certain At&t ones too. It just won't work for all carriers which I assume is why HMD won't release it here.

posted on Oct 13, 2017, 2:21 AM 1

2. arameshbar

Posts: 1; Member since: Oct 12, 2017

My god - why not

posted on Oct 12, 2017, 12:13 AM 0

3. hemedans

Posts: 762; Member since: Jun 01, 2013

my guess is Qualcomm, Nokia and Qualcomm have agreement for 15 years to use each other patents but i think that agreement dont apply to HMD, HMD should pay royalities first to Qualcomm, Ericson and other players so that they can official anounce phone in US.

posted on Oct 12, 2017, 12:52 AM 0

4. surethom1

Posts: 31; Member since: May 01, 2009

America has to be different with there mobile network bands.

posted on Oct 12, 2017, 5:37 AM 0

5. bpcooper14

Posts: 32; Member since: May 14, 2014

Can someone explain simply why LTE banding is such a problem with phones? As a layman, it seems that the majority of hardware is relatively similar. Does it come down to issues with licensing the proper banding? Software? I see some phones that have 20+ LTE bands and others that only offer 4 or 5 bands. I would think that with all things being equal, more brands would want to enable more bands to decrease the number of models (and confusion offered) while possibly increasing a customer base by expanded opportunities.

posted on Oct 12, 2017, 7:33 AM 0

9. EC112987

Posts: 1216; Member since: Nov 10, 2014

It sucks, I remember going on Vacation and my At&t S4 didn't work on any of the carriers in that country. I was on edge the whole time. Worst thing ever.