Nokia Android Phone release date rumors have now become a reality. It is finally announced that Nokia will launch Android smartphones next year in association with HMD and Foxconn.

Nokia mentioned the name of HMD in the slides presented by Nokia Technologies execs at the firm's capital markets day.

"Nokia brand's return to smartphones," the unit says of its 2017 plan. As it highlights elsewhere in the document, the new Nokia-branded phones are part of Nokia's brand licensing model, where Nokia plays an oversight role over brands and patents, while Foxconn handles R&D and manufacturing.

HMD is responsible for developing, marketing and selling Nokia-branded phones and accessories. It has a 10-year license to use the Nokia brand for phones. HMD has committed to spending at least €500m on marketing over three years.

A product launch is expected to happen before the end of this year. As per the rumors, HMD will be selling as many as three Android-powered Nokia smartphones.

However, the big question remains about the specification of the new smartphones. There are no official reports, but earlier rumors suggested we could see both 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch phones.

Both will apparently have QHD displays, metal shells, 22.6MP cameras and high-end Snapdragon 820 processors, water and dust resistance, and Android 7.0 Nougat, which would put them on a level as flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S7. It is logical to expect Nokia to introduce its own implementation of Android as well as exclusive programs.

A good news is that Nokia plans to control certain aspects of design, performance and feature-set of the devices, which could mean exclusive technologies and capabilities.

The company is also eyeing a stake in the virtual-reality and health markets via its respective acquisition of Withings and its OZO VR camera launch earlier this year.

Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming Nokia Android phones.