Nokia, Xiaomi sign patent deal, also agree to explore AR, VR more

Nokia and Xiaomi have announced the signing of a patent agreement, which will also include “a cross license to each company’s cellular standard essential patents”.

The news also saw confirmation that Xiaomi has acquired “patent assets” from Nokia as part of the deal.

“Xiaomi is one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers and we are delighted to have reached an agreement with them,” said Rajeev Suri, President & CEO of Nokia, in a joint statement. “In addition to welcoming such a prominent global technology company to our family of patent licensees, we look forward to working together on a wide range of strategic projects.”

Xiaomi CEO and co-founder Lei Jun also added his voice to the news.

“As a company seeking to deliver more exciting technological innovations to the world, we are excited at the opportunity to work more closely with Nokia in future,” said Jun. “Xiaomi is committed to building sustainable, long-term partnerships with global technology leaders. Our collaboration with Nokia will enable us to tap on its leadership in building large, high performance networks and formidable strength in software and services, as we seek to create even more remarkable products and services that deliver the best user experience to our Mi fans worldwide.”

Nokia and Xiaomi have agreed to a wide-ranging patent deal — should we expect drastic expansion and new products as a result?

Aside from the patents, the two have also signed a business cooperation deal that will see Nokia provide network infrastructure and the two companies working together on “optical transport” solutions and more. What about consumer-focused endeavours that the two will undertake together?

“In addition, the companies have agreed to explore opportunities for further cooperation, in areas such as Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, and artificial intelligence,” read an excerpt of the statement.

Xiaomi is no stranger to IoT and the like though, having a variety of connected devices in its stable, such as the Mi Band, Mi Box streaming device and Mi TV television sets. Meanwhile, Nokia is an early adopter in the virtual reality space, having produced the professional-level OZO 360 camera.