Android is often found almost anywhere, especially in unofficial ports and sometimes strange places. It’s still primarily an operating designed for smartphones, particularly those with a minimum set of hardware capabilities to be considered “smart.” However, there was a time when it seemed that Google was performing on bringing Android further down the mobile organic phenomenon, running on something that’s considered a “feature phone” by today’s standards. That never came to pass, but a replacement video shows what could are had the Nokia 400 launched with Android for Feature Phones running inside.
This Nokia-branded Android feature phone first surfaced in 2019 and was finally given an unofficial name months after. It’ll probably remain a mystery why HMD Global canceled the so-called Nokia 400, especially considering how it appeared to be production-ready. However, a video has suddenly popped up out of the blue a year later, showcasing how “Google Android for Feature Phones” or GAFP was alleged to work.
Unlike even the most cost-effective smartphones, feature phones are often identified by their lack of a tiny screen. As such, GAFP was designed around D-Pad navigation and interaction with Google Assistant. The latter, seen on the bootup screen, is that the first telltale sign that the chunky Nokia 400 is Android.
Of course, the Settings app provides the more definite confirmation, showing that the phone is running GAFP supported Android 8.1 Oreo. It also reveals that the device only has 512MB of RAM, meeting Android Oreo Go editions wanted back in 2019. Considering Android Go already supported Lite versions of Google’s mainstream apps, the very fact that GAFP could also do so shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Here's something you have never seen pic.twitter.com/Vf3carfl8t
— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) August 1, 2021
Calyx Hikari, who provided the video, also shared the out-of-the-box experience for the Nokia 400, revealing that the phone’s primary target market was India. It’s still unknown why HMD Global suddenly pulled the plug. Still, with many entry-level Android phones and Nokia-branded feature phones already within the market, its presence probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
