Even feature phones can’t escape AI — here’s HMD’s plan to bring more smartphone features to their most basic devices

HMD doesn't want anyone to miss out on the AI moment the tech world is having - even if you're still a feature phone kind of person.

At MWC 2026, the company behind Nokia, as well as a stable of its own devices, outlined its plans for the rest of the year, including making "smart feature phones" with a focus on bringing feature phone users, especially older ones, more of the smartphone powers that many of us take for granted. That including payments, video calling and AI features.

Let's start with the money. HMD promotes its digital wallet feature with its ability to quickly and securely transfer money between contacts, or cash them out, focusing on the needs of users who want to send money home to family members who don't want to use a regular smartphone. This will come to India at first, but then to more markets later in 2026.

Then there's video calls. Users of HMD devices will apparently be able to make video calls using a feature phone's front camera just like a smartphone can. This will require both callers to use an Xpress Chat app, but this app also offers text chats and images, according to HMD. It sounds potentially handy for for anyone whose relatives can't or won't set themselves up on popular third-party social apps like WhatsApp.

AI chatbots come to the "dumbphone"

It's HMD's AI assistant talk that has captured my attention - for both good and bad reasons.

Most of what HMD discusses in its announcement are benign, familiar AI features like ordering your phone to make a call or set an alarm. But then there are more chatbot-style features like accessing and changing settings with voice commands — something I imagine a lot of feature phone users will never have seen before unless a more AI-savvy individual's shown it to them.

HMD has also announced a partnership with inTouch, a provider of AI call services for seniors. Together, the two companies plan to trial the ability to quickly access an AI call on HMD devices, with the goal of providing built-in companionship.

I'll admit I'm a little wary of this idea. The basic solution to the growing social isolation of older people requires a degree of in-person connection that someone at the end of a call can't match, and I am unconvinced that an AI companion will be the remedy. But since this is only a pilot plan, it seems that these companies are at least taking an appropriate level of caution in testing.

AI's still a big deal here at the Fira conference center, and in meetings rooms and hotels all around Barcelona, even as companies continue to look for ways to improve the hardware side of mobile. You can check out everything we've seen so far on our MWC 2026 page.

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