Nokia 8 is a premium Android flagship smartphone you might actually want
Nokia doesn't make smartphones anymore, but the company will sell its name to the highest bidder. Case in point, the current Android devices carrying the "Nokia" branding are actually made by a company called HMD Global. In other words, you are buying an HMD smartphone with the Nokia name slapped on it. This keeps the Nokia brand in consumers' minds, while HMD gets to sell its phones under a name people actually recognize. It's win-win for the two companies.
Today, HMD unveils its newest such device -- the Nokia 8. What does the "8" signify? seemingly nothing. It is not an 8th generation device, nor does it have an 8-inch screen. It is just sort of random -- much like Microsoft and "Windows 10" (whatever happened to Windows 9?). The Nokia 8 looks rather impressive, however, with excellent specs and a gorgeous design. Branding aside, this could be an intriguing smartphone for fans of Google's mobile operating system.
"4.6mm thin at the edge and just 7.3mm slim on average, Nokia 8’s seamless unibody is precision milled from a single block of 6000 series aluminium and its pure design has been refined through a 40-stage process of machining, anodizing and polishing. Select models feature a high-gloss mirror finish that has taken over 20 hours to complete to achieve a flawless look. The phone features Qualcomm's powerful SnapdragonTM 835 Mobile Platform and paired with the pure, secure and up to date Android experience ensures outstanding performance," says HMD.
"The Nokia 8 lives up to its power-efficient legacy thanks to the 10-nanometer Snapdragon 835 mobile platform. On average, the Snapdragon 835 uses around 25 percent less power than the previous generation platform. The platform’s transistors are packed much closer together --designed to allow for lower battery consumption, less heat, and better performance than its predecessor. The Snapdragon 835’s Qualcomm Kryo 280 CPU is tasked with identifying and differentiating between the Nokia 8’s background and priority tasks. By categorizing the two, the CPU can speed up the performance for certain critical tasks that need more attention," says Qualcomm.
The front and rear cameras should be exceptional, as they both feature ZEISS lenses. The Electronic Image Stabilization 3.0 should keep photos free of blur when your hands are a bit shaky. What's particularly cool is that you can take photos using the front and rear cameras simultaneously. In other words, it can grab an image of the person taking the photo too.
HMD shares the following extensive specifications.
| Networks | GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA5: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 TDS-CDMA: 34, 39 LTE:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 |
|---|---|
| Network speed | LTE Cat. 9, 3CA, 450Mbps DL/50Mbps UL |
| OS | Android Nougat 7.1.1 |
| Chipset | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 Mobile Platform
|
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 64GB3 internal memory with external MicroSD card slot (support up to 256 GB) |
| Form factor | Splashproof IP54 touch monoblock with capacitive system keys |
| Display | 5.3” IPS LCD QHD 2560 x 1440, 700nits screen brightness, Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, 2.5D Glass |
| Camera with ZEISS optics | Primary camera: 13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono), 1.12um, f/2.0, 76.9˚, PDAF, IR range finder, dual tone flash
Front facing camera: 13MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2.0, 78.4˚, display flash |
| Connectivity & Sensors | Type C, USB3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps), 3.5mm headphone jack, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, E-compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Sensor, Hall sensor, Barometer, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (MIMO), BT 5.0, GPS/AGPS+GLONASS+BDS, NFC, ANT+™ |
| Battery | Integrated 3090 mAh battery4 with Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ 3.0 (18W, 5V/2.5A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A) |
| Audio | MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG, WAV, AMR, AWB(AMR-WB), FLAC, MIDI(MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA) |
| Video | MP4, 3GP, 3G2, AVI, MKV, WEBM |
| Dimensions | 151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9mm (camera bump 0.4mm) |
| Weight | 160g |
The Nokia 8 can be had in four colors -- Polished Blue, Tempered Blue, Steel, and Polished Copper. HMD says pricing starts at €599 for the unlocked smartphone, but it is not clear what USD pricing will be. More should be known when it launches next month, September 2017.