Where are the new Nokia phones? Or better still, where are the new Nokia phones that can compete with the latest ones from Redmi and Realme? I am asking these questions because I am a little intrigued by the brand Nokia, or rather, HMD Global that is making and selling Nokia phones.

Conceptually, ideally, HMD Global has all the right ideas. It has made Nokia phones that have a good blend of everything - the design, the software, the brand trust, and, sometimes, the specifications. They have clean software in the form of Android One, simple and yet attractive metal and glass design, good camera hardware, so on and so forth. Yet, we hear of Realme and Redmi more often than we do about Nokia phones.

Take, for example, this February. This is the month when in India Nokia's competitors are making a big noise and creating some cool buzz. Realme just announced India's first 5G phone after it unveiled one budget offering as the Realme C3. There is IQOO, which is set to launch its first smartphone, which also supports 5G, in India today. Then, there is Xiaomi, which recently brought the Redmi 8A Dual to India, and is planning to stir up the market in March with its new products. And, finally, Samsung that has gone into overdrive and is launching phones after phones, including the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, Galaxy S10 Lite, Galaxy M31, Galaxy S20 series, and more.

But Nokia is missing. It had an event planned for MWC in Barcelona but that, unfortunately, got cancelled. Other companies too saw their events getting cancelled but they, somehow, adjusted their launch schedule and began teasing what is coming next from them.

HMD Global? Not so much.

Nokia was expected to roll out at least four phones at the MWC, as per reports. They were the Nokia 8.2, Nokia 5.2, Nokia 1.3, and the Nokia 400 4G. Additionally, reports were rife that Nokia could unveil a new smartphone series, called Original. None of that happened, thanks to the withdrawal of HMD Global and the cancellation of MWC thereafter. After its misfortunate announcement over pulling out of MWC was delivered, HMD Global went silent. But, unlike Nokia, its rival brands are bullish about their new products and they are excited to launch them subsequently, no matter if MWC is not happening.

It's not that HMD Global doesn't have the right ideas about Nokia phones. Nokia 6.1 Plus, Nokia 5.1, and Nokia 7.2 are some of the popular phones from the brand's kitty in India. Nokia has registered commendable growth in the market, although marginal. It is not some sorcery that has worked for HMD Global. It is its conviction for making Nokia phones the way they are expected to be - Nokia phones have impressive designs, one of the best software mixes in the industry, and decent cameras.

But Nokia needs to do more to ward off the rivals and wrest its customer base. People can look forward to Nokia phones only when there are Nokia phones. And these phones are missing, at least for some time now. We need to start seeing Nokia's next-gen phones as early as possible.

Where is Nokia 6.2? Or Nokia 5.2? Or that one Nokia phone with 'killer' cameras that we keep hearing about. Nokia of old days was known for giving the best camera available on a phone in its devices. So, why the new Nokia, helmed by HMD Global, has not yet come out with a high-end Nokia phone that can compete with the likes of Google Pixel, or the iPhone 11, or the Galaxy S20. There is the Nokia 9 PureView, the camera samples of which have done some rounds on the Internet, but no one talks about the device retrospectively.

I can understand that creating new ground-breaking products, which can shriek innovation, is difficult. I can also understand that the competing with the likes of Realme and Redmi is difficult because these companies are lean, mean, and well-oiled. But there is no shying away from the fact that to win you have to compete. And you cannot compete when people do not see new phones from you, or hear of what is coming next.