Nokia Technologies has come out to quickly squash rumors it’s planning an imminent return to the smartphone business.

The Finnish company, which was at one time the world’s biggest and best known mobile phone maker, exited the handset business last year when it sold its core business to Microsoft Corp. for $7.2 billion in 2013. Some might have assumed that would be the last they’d hear of Nokia, but the company didn’t sell everything off – it retained its maps business, its network hardware business and Nokia Technologies, and just last week it was reported to be considering a return to the mobile space.

The rumors began with Re/code, which cited anonymous sources claiming that Nokia Technologies, which develops the N1 tablet and the predictive Nokia Z Launcher interface, was planning to release a new smartphone by 2016. According to Re/code, Nokia Technologies would simply handle the design of the phone, letting partners take care of manufacturing, sales and distribution. But the story neglected to mention an important caveat, which is that Nokia is unable to sell phones until the end of 2015, nor can it license anything like that until Q3 of 2016.

Those details might explain why Nokia saw fit to dismiss the rumors. In an official statement published today, Nokia pointed out that “recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China” are “false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive. Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.”

Of course, Nokia’s use of the word “currently” doesn’t mean it won’t re-enter the smartphone race at some stage, just perhaps not quite as soon the brand’s hardcore fans had hoped (if there is such thing).

In the meantime, it’s more likely that Nokia will turn its attention to newer technologies like the Internet of Things and virtual reality. The company recently announced a plan buy Alcatel-Lucent for $16.5 billion, and said the aim was to focus on “developing future technologies including 5G, IP and software-defined networking, cloud, analytics as well as sensors and imaging.”

Microsoft has shifted away from branding its Windows Phone handsets with the Nokia label. Now, those devices are only marketed under the Lumia brand, with a Microsoft logo plastered on the back.

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