At Mobile World Congress 2026, HMD Global announced plans to bring modern smartphone-style features to its feature phones throughout 2026 to improve digital access in under-connected regions.
New capabilities will include a digital wallet, an AI assistant and video calling, with India as the first launch market. The wallet, developed with Kivi3 and Polygon Labs, will allow users to securely receive and manage remittances.
HMD is also partnering with Sarvam AI to add a voice-based AI assistant for tasks like calls, alarms and simple queries, while an AI companion for elderly users – developed with InTouch – will begin trials in Europe.
Additionally, HMD’s new Xpress Chat app will bring video calls, voice messages, group chats and photo sharing to feature phones.
Source: GSMArena
