Nokia's new retro-styled feature phones have AI buttons for some reason

HMD has four new Nokia-branded phones

They follow on from previous Nokia feature phones

There's also an AI button on these handsets

Nokia parent company HMD has four new phones for your consideration — but they seem to be striking an awkward balance between eschewing and embracing the trappings that come along with the best modern day handsets.

The smartphones (via Notebookcheck) are labeled as feature phones, so you wouldn't expect the traditional slew of apps here. They are, specifically, the Nokia 210 4G, the Nokia 215 4G 2nd Edition, the Nokia 235 4G 2nd Edition, and the Nokia 200 4G.

These seem to be a step up from the similar Nokia-branded phones launched across the last couple of years, but they still offer legacy features from smartphone eras past: a 3.5 mm headphone jack, microSD card support, and (on all but the Nokia 200 4G) an FM radio.

So far so Nokia of yesteryear, but there's an interesting feature you'll notice right in the middle of the front of the device: an AI button. Apparently this is powered by an app called Sikey AI, and lets you do basic tasks on the phone — like placing calls or turning on the flashlight — rather than tapping into advanced generative AI models.

Free to try

Details of how the on-board AI actually works are pretty thin on the ground, but as per Nokia, you can use it to set alarms, open up the camera, and add reminders. It can also answer basic questions: the examples Nokia gives are producing simple recipes or providing sample phrases in a foreign language.

That suggests access to a limited AI model at least perhaps through the cloud connectivity that Nokia is also adding with these phones. However, it seems the AI assistant is only free for 180 days — it's not clear how much it'll cost you after that.

Video calls and voice messages are possible through the Xpress Chat platform, so as feature phones go, it's pretty advanced. What we don't yet know is how much these handsets will cost, or where they're going to be available.

Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.

The combination of phone basics plus a little AI hasn't exactly gone down well on Reddit: posters are describing the addition of an AI button as "dumb", "out of touch", and "useless" for users who are going to be interested in feature phones.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.