After a couple of interesting mid-rangers, the Nokia brand, under the leadership of HMD Global, has finally unveiled the big guns for 2017 — the Nokia 8. The company made the flagship smartphone official in London earlier today. The phone will be the first product as a result of the recent collaboration between HMD Global and Carl Zeiss.
The camera is the biggest selling point of the Nokia 8. The phone comes with dual 13MP cameras at the back along with a 13MP camera on the front as well. Before we head on to the details, note that both the back as well as the front cameras are capable of capturing videos in high-res 4K resolution at 30fps. The dual camera setup is pretty straightforward, a 13MP f/2.0 RGB color sensor paired with a dedicated 13MP monochrome sensor. Other features of the setup at the back include Laser Focus and dual tone LED flash.
In the software department, the Nokia 8 is no slouch, as it comes with a number of unique features. First, the phone has integrated live streaming options for Facebook and YouTube platforms. Another big feature is the new “Bothie”. You might have already guessed where Nokia is taking us with this naming — simultaneous recording from the front as well as the back cameras, shown in a split screen display. And guess what, you can live stream in the bothie mode as well, to impress your social media fans.
The Nokia 8 is made out of 6000 series aluminum body and comes in multiple finishes including matte and steel. There are four colors available — Polished Copper, Polished Blue, Tempered Blue, and Steel. Coming down to the basic specs, the phone is powered by the mighty Snapdragon 835 chipset, which has become a standard among top-end smartphones. There’ll be just one memory variant at the moment, a 4GB + 64GB version. The display will be compact at 5.3-inches with 2560 x 1440 pixels. There’s a MicroSD card expansion slot (256GB) and you get a decent 3090mAh for battery. While the Nokia 8 isn’t waterproof, it’s IP54 certified, making it splash proof. Other features include a fingerprint sensor on the front, Android 7.1.1 Nougat (monthly security updates and Android O promised), USB Type-C 3.1, and a 3.5mm dedicated headphone jack. The software is said to be a lightweight version of Android Nougat.
HMD is also bringing some interesting technology from the present day Nokia company, into the Nokia 8 flagship. For example, the phone features high dynamic range microphones which utilize Nokia Ozo Audio algorithms to record surround sound. What’s even more interesting is that this virtual surround sound will be preserved even when you share it to your social media channels.
Nokia 8 will go on sale first in Europe and later in Latin American markets for a suggested retail price of €599, which comes close to $700. According to Gadgets360, the phone will come to India in early October. According to the CNBC, Nokia 8 won’t release in China or the US.
