Nokia isn’t a brand you’d likely think of when it comes to laptops, but that could be about to change. French company Off Global has announced an exclusive agreement that will see it make and release Nokia-branded laptops in 22 countries around the world.
The first of these, known as the PureBook Pro, will be unveiled at MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona ahead of release later in 2022.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen laptops use the Nokia branding, but availability has always been extremely limited. Chinese company Tongfang Ltd acquired a similar licence in 2020, but its devices remain exclusive to Indian retailer Flipkart. Off Global’s agreement marks Nokia laptops’ debut in global markets, aside from the short-lived Booklet 3G in 2009.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see the PureBook Pro keep things relatively simple. It adopts a traditional clamshell design, with a minimalistic aesthetic that’s supposedly “inspired by the Nokia brand’s Nordic heritage”.
You also get a choice of four distinctive colours – silver, red, blue or grey – something you don’t always see on modern laptops.
Those finishes are available on 15.6in and 17.3in screen sizes, both of which are 1920×1080 IPS panels. They’re flanked by some relatively slim bezels, although there’s still room for a 2Mp webcam that’s capable of 1080p video.
Power comes from Intel’s latest 12th-gen CPUs, although you’ll be limited to the Core i3-1220P at launch. Off Global says it plans to add a Core i5 option to some markets if the demand is there, but that’s by no means guaranteed.
Until then, the PureBook Pro won’t be suitable for more demanding tasks, even with 8GB of RAM on board. You do at least get a generous 512GB SSD, which can be expanded further via the microSD card slot.
That’s one of several ports you’ll find on the PureBook Pro. Either of the two USB-C ports can be used for charging, while there’s also one USB-A port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Talking of charging, Off Global says the 15.6in model’s 57Wh battery can go from 0-60% in just 30 minutes. No such claims are made for the 17.3in model, which has a larger 63Wh cell. On both sizes, you’re looking at up to 10 hours of battery life.
Other features of note include a backlit keyboard (with number pad on the larger model), quad speakers and a fingerprint sensor built into the power button.
The Nokia PureBook Pro will be released towards the end of Q2 of 2022. This will initially be limited to the UK, Italy, France and Germany, before expanding to 18 more countries around the world soon after. That doesn’t include the US, but Off Global does plan to sell its devices in North America if the initial rollout is successful.
For now, we only have confirmed European pricing. The 15.6in model will cost €699 (approx. £583/US$793), while you’ll pay €799 (approx. £666/US$906) for a 17.3in display. They will come pre-loaded with Windows 11.
The PureBook Pro will be the first of many Nokia-branded laptops released by Off Global. More are expected before 2022 is out, but it’s not clear if any of the existing Flipkart-exclusive PureBook devices will be continued.
Nokia-branded QLED TVs are also on the way in a similar licensing situation with Steamview.
