HMD, or Human Mobile Devices for short, is launching a Barbie-branded flip phone in July.
HMD
BARCELONA — Not yet tired of the Barbie movie?
Soon, you’ll be able to get a flip phone from the blockbuster toy franchise.
The company behind Nokia-branded smartphones, HMD, short for Human Mobile Devices, says it is launching a Barbie flip phone this summer, in partnership with toy maker Mattel.
Mattel is the company behind the Barbie fashion doll collection. It has produced and sold the popular kids’ toys and accessories since 1959.
The device, which is slated for launch this summer, “promises to embody the vintage chic of the original girl empowerment brand with a dash of pink and of course, sparkle,” according to a HMD press release.
It won’t be connected to the internet, making it a throwback to the “dumb phones” of yesteryear before smartphones became popular.
So-called dumb phones have become more popular, especially with Gen Z consumers, who are trying to limit their digital activity and move away from toxic content found on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.
HMD was spun out of Microsoft after the U.S. tech giant decided to sell the Nokia phone brand, which it first purchased in 2014, to a group of former Nokia executives.
HMD Global was established in 2016.
Riding Barbie mania
Barbie mania became a phenomenon in 2023 due to a blockbuster movie featuring the likes of Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Will Ferrell.
Lars Silberbauer, HMD’s chief marketing officer, told CNBC the company was taking the “Lego model” of partnering with other big-name brands, while providing tech knowhow and its own phone brand.
Silberbauer previously worked at 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 suggested there would be plenty other deals and partnerships down the line.
HMD previously worked with James Bond movie “No Time To Die” to promote the film in 2020.
The new device from HMD and Mattel will look like a standard flip phone with buttons rather than a touch screen, and comes in a hot pink color, resembling the iconic pink flip phone accessory that comes with many Barbie dolls.
Information on pricing and availability has not yet been shared by the company.
The company is hoping the traction of the Barbie brand will give it a boost as a more internationally recognized brand name.
HMD did not reveal the device at its press event in Barcelona, which came ahead of the Mobile World Congress technology trade show.
It is the first device being sold by HMD under its new brand name, Human Mobile Devices — or HMD for short. This is a step away from Nokia which is the brand HMD typically has used to sell its dumb phones and smartphones.
Under a revamp, HMD plans to still sell Nokia phones. But it will partner with other brands to sell phones that represent both its brand, and the partner’s.
Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of devices and analytics for Europe at research firm IDC, said he believes HMD will try to put for celebrities and influencers to promote its 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.”
HMD, which also reached profitability last year, sells millions of smartphones. But it’s not a household name like Apple or Samsung.
After four previous scrubs or delays in a row since August 7th SpaceX launches Amazon KF-02 Kuipeer Satellites after the 5th attempt August 11th 2025 at 8:35 AM SLC-40 Cape Canaveral, Brevard County, Florida USA.
Scott Schilke| SipaUSA |AP
Amazon shipped another batch of internet-beaming satellites into orbit on Monday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after four previous launch attempts were interrupted by weather issues.
Monday’s launch is the fourth Kuiper mission, and Amazon now has 102 satellites in orbit.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:35 a.m. ET. Roughly an hour after launch, SpaceX confirmed all 24 of Amazon’s Kuiper satellites were successfully deployed.
The mission was originally scheduled for last Thursday, but SpaceX was forced to scrub the launch, along with three more attempts over the past few days due to rainfall.
For the second time, Amazon turned to Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, its chief competitor in the low-earth orbit satellite market, for help building out its constellation.
Read more CNBC tech news
SpaceX’s Starlink is currently the dominant provider of low-earth orbit satellite internet, with a constellation of roughly 8,000 satellites and about 5 million customers worldwide.
Amazon is racing to get more of its Kuiper satellites into space to meet a deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission.
The FCC requires that Amazon have about 1,600 satellites in orbit by the end of July 2026, with the full 3,236-satellite constellation launched by July 2029.
Amazon has booked up to 83 launches, including three rides with SpaceX.
While the company is still in the early stages of building out its constellation, Amazon has already inked deals with governments as it hopes to begin commercial service later this year.
“Trump’s assault has no modern precedent,” Moritz wrote, calling the attack a “vindictive political sideshow.”
Moritz, who spent decades at Sequoia Capital and has known Tan for nearly four decades, highlighted the CEO’s previous turnaround of Cadence Design Systems. Moritz said there is “no one better equipped to transform Intel’s fortunes.”
“Now the Intel board must decide whether to march to the beat of so many other corporate leaders and capitulate to the president’s artless bullying or to set an example for other companies and display some backbone,” he wrote in a piece published in the Financial Times Sunday. “Early signs of defiance are encouraging.”
Tan is set to visit the White House on Monday to assuage concerns about his background and discuss ways that Intel can work with the U.S. government.
Read more CNBC tech news
Intel shares were up nearly 5% Monday. The Wall Street Journal was first to report Tan’s White House visit.
In a post to Truth Social last week, Trump called for Tan’s resignation and said the 65-year-old was “highly CONFLICTED.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. has also raised questions over Tan’s ties to Chinese companies and the potential national security risks.
Tan later addressed the “misinformation” in a letter to employees, saying that he has “always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.”
Moritz joined Sequoia Capital in 1986 and stepped down in 2023. During his tenure, he made successful early bets on the likes of Google and PayPal.
C3 AI said Friday that it expects to report revenue between $70.2 million and $70.4 million for its fiscal first quarter 2026, though those figures are unaudited, preliminary estimates. The company reported $87.2 million in revenue during the same period a year earlier.
Thomas Siebel, C3 AI’s CEO, said in a statement that sales results during the quarter were “completely unacceptable.” He attributed the performance to the “disruptive effect” of the reorganization, as well as his ongoing health issues.
The company expects to report a GAAP loss from operations for the quarter between $124.7 million and $124.9 million, a much wider loss than a year ago, when C3 AI had a loss of $72.59 million.
Read more CNBC tech news
“Unfortunately, dealing with these health issues prevented me from participating in the sales process as actively as I have in the past,” Siebel said in a statement. “With the benefit of hindsight, it is now apparent that my active participation in the sales process may have had a greater impact than I previously thought.”
Siebel announced in July that he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease earlier this year, resulting in “significant visual impairment.” C3 AI’s board and Siebel have kicked off a search for the company’s next chief executive.
C3 AI said its sales and services restructuring is complete, and Siebel said his health has “improved dramatically” except for his vision impairment. He said he is feeling strong and fully engaged, and will work to quickly identify “excellent” CEO candidates.
“I am confident the company is positioned to accelerate going forward,” Siebel said.
The company is scheduled to hold a conference call for first quarter results on Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. ET.