Nokia 6, 5, 3 series
The Nokia 6, 5, 3 series (from left to right).International Business Times, India

HMD Global is setting the record straight that it has no intention to let the guard down as it rebuilds the Nokia brand as one of the top choices in the smartphone industry. After releasing series of compelling smartphones, HMD Global is likely to release a successor to one of its mid-range smartphones from last year, and fans couldn't be happier.

Nokia 5 (2018) is expected to be the next smartphone in the company's portfolio, but there are no clear indications regarding the exact release date. The information comes after a user posted a query on Twitter asking HMD's chief product manager, Juho Sarvikas, about Nokia 5 (2018). Instead of simply denying or even ignoring the tweet, Sarvikas replied saying "Stay Tuned."

So there's a lot of reading between the lines here. Does it mean HMD Global is indeed bringing Nokia 5 (2018)? Quite possible at this given point as the company recently launched upgraded Nokia 6 2018 edition alongside other models, including Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco.

In addition, HMD Global CMO Pekka Rantala had confirmed during MWC 2018 that the company will soon unveil refreshed Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and Nokia 2 smartphones. Sarvikas' response, as cryptic as it is, adds credibility to the information that is available regarding Nokia 5 (2018).

If and when Nokia 5 (2018) arrives, it will be met with stiff competition as the budget premium segment has witnessed some interesting additions this year. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Honor 9 Lite, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 are a few smartphones that will throw stiff competition at Nokia 5 (2018).

Nokia 5, Android, India,price,specs,launch
Nokia 5 2017 modelNokia official page (screen-shot)

To recall, the original Nokia 5 came with an all-metal unibody design, a 5.2-inch HD display, a 13MP rear-facing camera with PDAF and f/2.0 aperture and an 8MP front snapper. Under the hood, Nokia 5 packed a 3,000mAh battery, Snapdragon 430 chipset, 2GB/3GB RAM and 16GB/32GB storage configuration.

Nokia's biggest USP has been offering stock Android and a promise of swift updates. Nokia 5 is currently receiving Android 8.1 Oreo just like other Nokia smartphones. The handset's price starts Rs 12,499 for the base model and Rs 13,499 for the 3GB RAM variant.

It is natural to expect some upgrades in the new Nokia 5 handset and it still be priced in the same range to effectively compete against its rivals. Stay tuned for updates.