Two Nokia Android-powered smartphones—Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 scheduled to hit Indian stores in early July are expected to get delayed due to Goods and Service Tax (GST), slated to come into effect from July 1, reported Business Today.
On June 26, Nokia 3, the most affordable handset among newly launched Android-powered Nokia smartphones, announced earlier this month in India, went on sale through online stores at Rs 9,499. The offline stores across the country have been selling the unit since mid-June now. While the rest of the models—Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 ready for release on July 7 for Rs 12,899 and on July 14 for Rs 14,999 respectively, may have to undergo a delay following GST roll out.
Keeping in mind the initial market fluctuation under GST in the first few weeks of July, many retailers are hesitant to stock up new products. As a result, Nokia also fears delay of their products. However, in terms of pricing, Nokia's marketing partners HMD Global has assured that they are GST-ready. In a statement to Business Today a senior Nokia executive said, “The Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 prices already take into account the GST tax rates. The GST rollout will not affect the prices of the Nokia phone that have been announced so far.”
To recall, Nokia 5 features a 5.3-inch HD display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor and Adreno 505 GPU, coupled with 2GB RAM and have 16GB storage option, 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. It will be available in four colours – Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue, and Copper. On the other hand, Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080) display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, which can further be expanded via microSD card, a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera.
