There was a time when checking your phone didn’t mean losing an hour without realizing it.
HMD decided to bring back the Nokia 3210, one of the most memorable phones of the late ’90s, but adapted for 2024. It keeps that retro feel, brings back the classic Snake, and adds 4G, a 2 MP camera, and a battery designed to last for several days.
The appeal lies precisely in what it doesn’t have. It isn’t made for spending hours jumping between TikTok, Instagram, videos, and notifications. The idea is to go back to using the phone for much simpler things: calling, sending messages, listening to music, and little else.
The original model came out in 1999 and went on to become one of Nokia’s most popular phones. Twenty-five years later, it’s making a comeback at a time when many people are looking for exactly the opposite of a smartphone that’s increasingly hard to put down.
It may sound ironic, but one of the most nostalgic phones of the past has ended up returning as a pretty timely way to take a little break from the screen.