HMD Global and Zeiss announced in 2017Establish long-term cooperative relationships, and after exclusively applying Zeiss lens technology to Nokia-branded mobile phones, it has now been confirmed that this exclusive partnership has terminated at the end of last year.
In its response statement, Zeiss stated that it has terminated its exclusive technical cooperation relationship with HMD Global, so its lens technology will not be limited to cooperation with Nokia-branded mobile phone products.
Prior to this, Zeiss had actually already collaborated with vivo and Sony Mobile to apply Zeiss lens technology to their mobile phone products. As for the cooperation with HMD Global, it was obviously only used in the previously launched Nokia 8.3 and the subsequent Nokia 9 PureView, but it obviously did not generate significant traction in the market.
Since HMD Global is currently focusing on entry-level and mid-range mobile phone products, the original partnership with Zeiss is no longer as attractive as it was during the early days of Nokia's N series phones. As a result, it is difficult for both parties to benefit from the partnership. This may be the main reason why the two companies no longer maintain an exclusive partnership.
However, Zeiss, after collaborating with HMD Global, has accumulated more experience in working with mobile phone manufacturers. Therefore, its subsequent collaborations with vivo and Sony Mobile are all aimed at enhancing mobile phone photography, thereby benefiting both brands. Similarly, the past cooperation model between Huawei and Leica is now being replicated in mobile phone products from Sharp and Xiaomi, which also allows Leica to profit from the partnership.
