Mattel and HMD to Launch a Hot Pink Barbie Flip Phone This Summer; Here’s What We Know

The phone will not be a smartphone, but rather a feature phone that will not connect to the internet.

PUBLISHED FEB 26, 2024

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Mattel | Gabe Ginsberg; Lars Silberbauer | Horacio Villalobos

Are you still feeling the Barbie mania from last year? The good news is that a brand new flip phone from the iconic toy company and the company behind the Nokia phones will soon be hitting the market. Mattel and Human Mobile Devices, HMD says they will soon launch a Barbie flip phone this summer. Mattel is the toy company that made the iconic doll, Barbie, in 1959. The device is all set to launch this summer and promises to "embody the vintage chic of the original girl empowerment brand with a dash of pink and of course, sparkle," as per HMD press release, via CNBC.

Mattel sign hangs | Getty Images | Gabe Ginsberg

The phone will not be a smartphone, but rather a feature phone that will not connect to the internet. These feature phones have become pretty popular in recent times, as the younger generations are trying to cut back on their digital activity and move away from toxic content found on platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. This new device will be a standard flip phone with a button and no touchscreen. The phone will come in a hot pink color, resembling the iconic pink flip phone accessory that came with many Barbie dolls back in the day.

Further details, like the price and launch date, are yet to be released. The company is hoping that the product will sell, given the hype around the toy company and the recent movie. It will be the first ever phone that will be made by HMD and also sold under its brand name, Human Mobile Devices. However, even under its revamp, HMD is still selling Nokia phones. Will they partner with other brands to sell phones that represent both their brand as well as the partners? Well, only time will tell!

Gen Z laughing with a phone | Pexels | Anna Shvets

People are looking forward to the phone as many are still very much interested in all things Barbie after the 2023 movie shook the world. The film pulled in more than $1.4 billion at the box office, which made the movie the year's highest-grossing film. According to HMD's chief marketing officer Lars Silberbauer, the company is taking the Lego model of partnering with other nig name brands while providing tech know-how and its phone brand.

Lars Silberbauer , CMO Nokia Phones & HMD Global, | Horacio Villalobos | Getty Images

Silberbauer was previously associated with Lego as a senior global director. "We’re not a white-label business. We want the HMD brand to stand for something," Silberbauer told CNBC. “There will be more collaborations. The next one is coming out in May." He also hinted at future collaborations and plenty of new products. HMD has also worked with the James Bond movie, "No Time To Die" during the promotion of the film back in 2020.

According to Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President of Devices and Analytics for Europe at research firm, IDC says that HMD will try to collaborate with celebrities as well as influencers to promote the phones. "This could help the brand get a more premium positioning," Jeronimo said in an interview. “They are very strong on feature phones their sales on smartphones are not that strong," he says.

HMD hit the break-even point and reached profitability last year and sold millions of smartphones. HMD Global says that it will continue to manufacture phones for Nokia and plans to grow together. The company also recently announced HMD Fusion which is a new smartphone-style device that runs on Android with an unlocked bootloader that will allow users to program their hardware accessories, reports Money Control.