While the Nokia 8 continues to pick up critical acclaim, the next handset to arrive with the revitalised Finnish brand is set to push the limits of software and design. Not only does the Nokia 9 look the part of a 2017 flagship, but it also pushes the envelope with its Android choices.
The specifications come from the oft-used source of GFXBench. The yet to be announced (and presumptively named) Nokia 9 has show up in the online benchmarking tool. The handset is listed as using the SnapDragon 835 system on chip backed up with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The reported screen is a QHD resolution screen measuring 5.3 inches on the diagonal. The dual lens camera technology of the Nokia 8 is also listed.
But the headline spec is not the hardware, but the software. The Nokia 9 is listed as running Android 8.0 Oreo. The Nokia 8 comes with Android 7.1.1 out of the box, but HMD Global has put a lot of effort into signalling its intentions to keep Android up to date in terms of security patches and software updates. Launching with Android Oreo out of the box would not only magnify that statement to the public but act as an almost unique calling card to the geekerati on the strengths of the new Nokia package.
(Almost unique? Well, Google’s Pixel 2 is launching on October 4th and will naturally be the first handset available to the public with Oreo).
As well as these specifications, alleged images of the Nokia 9 have also show up over the weekend on SlashLeaks. These leaked image shows the Android-mandated fingerprint sensor on the rear of the machine. If that is the case it suggests to me that the Nokia 9 is not going to have a physical home button on the handset. Android is already set up to accommodate handsets making this design choice by providing software-based ‘virtual’ buttons for the three key navigation controls.
It also suggests that HMD Global’s design team will be bringing the fashionable ‘bezel-less’ cues that are prevalent in other high-end handsets such as the Galaxy Note 8 and the iPhone X - even though each handset has some bezel on show, be it the bottom and top ‘chins’ or an island cutout for facial recognition sensors.
HMD Global is operating at a fast pace to catch up with the established manufacturers. The Finnish start-up was launched in the public space in December 2016, and has been iterating its mobile phone design every quarter. From the CES reveal of the boxy Nokia 6, through the comforting visual look of the Nokia 3, to the subtle curves and sculpted sides of the Nokia 8 launched last month, the look of the ‘new’ Nokia handsets has been evolving alongside the specifications and capabilities.
HMD Global is now reaching parity with the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG and Huawei. From everything we currently know about the Nokia 9, that process is continuing.
