The return of the king? Nokia 8 and 9 series

[mrk]

Most will have seen Nokia's recent re-entry into making good phones again with the release of the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 series. They have rolled out the Android 7.1.1 update, which is quite pleasing to see, as well as what they call "Pure Android" experience.

Those phones are all aimed at the low to mid range segment though, and whilst they are built extremely well, and look extremely classy, they aren't flagship level.

The 8 and 9 series have been talked about ever since, and recently a few drawings popped up which are said to be fan created, and now, renders of those drawings show what could effectively be Galaxy S8 killers in terms of design if the actual devices are anything remotely like these images show:









Given the concept and leaked images of the Galaxy S8 long before its announcement, I think anything is now possible, so am keeping fingers crossed these flagships from Nokia resemble the concept images!

Nokia 8 and Nokia 9 are rumoured to have Octa-core and Quad-core Qualcomm processor respectively and the screen size with the 8 expected to come in at 5.7 inches while the 9 might be a tad bit smaller at 5.5 inches. Both are expected to sport a humongous 6 GB of RAM. Internal storage options are said to be 64 & 128 GB. Battery are expected to be near the 4000 mAh range.

Other rumoured specs for the Nokia 9 include a 5.5-inch QHD OLED display, Snapdragon 835 processor with an Adreno 540 GPU, and a 3800mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick-Charge 4.
Read more at http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/...okia-8-and-nokia-9-design#RqpwwoB7JVEtTxuu.99

There was also an article posted up saying how the 9 series could very well give the Galaxy S8 a run for its money. Make of that what you will, but I'm quite excited by this. It seems Samsung don't really care about their enthusiast customers any more, what with the recent removal of the Bixby button customisation on the S8, and die-hards screaming for a stock Android experience but on a device that oozes the same level of elegance like the S8.

I think the Nokia 9 may well be the device to suit fit that need. Now if the price point is just right, I think Nokia will have a slam dunk on their hands given what we know already from the 3, 5 and 6 phones and how they've been received.

Update: Further reading: https://telecomtalk.info/hmd-global...ith-its-upcoming-flagship-the-nokia-9/162743/

Price rumour is in Indian Rupees, after conversion it comes to £542....

 

[stuie]

Cant argue with the specs needs stockish android and a good price point

 

[mrk]

Good thing is the current Nokia phones run stock android as it is with Nokia's choice of icons and homescreen. But as everyone knows, these are easy to customise. So all good on that front.

 

[Orcvader]

Really hoping the rumours are true. The sketches and the render seems different though, the renders having dual front facing speakers and no Nokia logo on the front.

Hopefully their software support is good as well. Fast would be nice, but as long as it's relatively bugless.

 

[glenimp617]

Imagine if they sold more than the windows counterparts

 

[mrk]

Windows Phone is dead, so that's a given

 

[Peew971]

Maybe Microsoft should just make Android phones, the Surface and Xbox S proved they can make great hardware.

 

[glenimp617]

Maybe Microsoft should just make Android phones, the Surface and Xbox S proved they can make great hardware.

They still have their 90s ego, even two decades later. If they did ever release an android phone, they would use their own launcher and apps. Make of that what you will.

 

[mrk]

Actually Microsoft has a fleet of top quality apps on Android and iOS, they seem to be able to develop some good apps indeed, just not for their own mobile platform to the same level!

 

[PhoenixUK]

Im sorry but if this comes anywhere close to £550 its DOA. Whilst im sure the rumoured specs can be quite correct and look great now, and indeed could compete with the s8, by the time this phone comes out, which probably will be around Q4 this year, the s8 would have dropped in price and every single £350+ phone will have this same specs. It will also be only few months before s9 and other new phones.

If this came now at £499 or thereabouts then yes, it's great, otherwise it will simply be too late to the game. The s8 would have been sold in millions before this even gets officially announced.

 

[Orcvader]

Maybe Microsoft should just make Android phones, the Surface and Xbox S proved they can make great hardware.

Well, they did with their part of Nokia, the Nokia X. And it was a stripped down Android with the Modern UI launcher and theme, with their own app store (which has now been replaced with Opera's one). And it was a mess...

 

[mrk]

£550 for a flagship now is excellent pricing given the competition flagships are considerably more.

The S8 will remain high in price for a long time yet, the Nokia 8 and 9 are pegged for Q3 this year, not Q4. Look at the S7 edge, the cheapest sim free price at present is still over £500 from all reputable retailers. That's a phone which came out in 2015!

It is almost certainly going to be a big hit with the enthusiast crowd keeping in mind stock android, high end specs and camera features it is supposed to have, oh and the big battery.

 

[glenimp617]

If this is priced the same as the s8 and pixel2 then why on earth would anyone buy one?

 

[PhoenixUK]

We will see I guess. Flagship is not necessarily defined by cpu and ram nowadays, the mi6 might come at almost half that price with similar/same specs.

The extra £200-350 you're paying for is quality of build and additional features like whaterproofing, technology support etc.

If it comes in Q3 and matches everything s8, pixel2, op5 and otheres can offer for £550 or less, then and only then they can compete.

The s7edge didnt come out until March/April last year and it came out before £££ crashed hence it looks like price hasnt dropped much but in reality £500 now is basically £370-400 pre-brexit.

 

[Peew971]

Well, they did with their part of Nokia, the Nokia X. And it was a stripped down Android with the Modern UI launcher and theme, with their own app store (which has now been replaced with Opera's one). And it was a mess...

That's not a fair criticism, the Nokia X was in development before the Microsoft acquisition was final and most importantly the post Ballmer Microsoft is nothing like it used to be.

 

[mrk]

Brexit hasn't changed the price much at all, the S7 edge was £639 sim free when it launched. That is how much I paid for mine from CPW. The price currently is reflective of the depreciation of the device over the course of the year and now especially since the S8 announcement. It is still very expensive for a year old flagship, but a better value option instead of buying an S8 Plus by comparison with performance vs price in mind.

I think The direct conversion of £550 is a fair price given all of the features it is said to be having.

 

[kona786]

I like what I see.

Though I won't say anymore until we see real units.

 

[cu3ed]

Its not "nokia", it from a company that licensed to use the brand name.

 

[mrk]

So yeah, it's Nokia then...

HMD Global consists of ex Nokia (of old) people, and staff from Microsoft/Lumia. "Nokia" even has a seat at HMD's board.

Likewise, the president of HMD was the previous Senior VP at Nokia and Microsoft. The current CEO was the VP at Microsoft, the current Product chief was previously at Microsoft/Nokia.

Essentially, HMD's staff either came from HTC, Microsoft or Nokia. It is every bit "Nokia" as Nokia itself once was. They are not some company of randoms who just happened to have the cash to buy the brand name.

 

[Mobius 1]

Looks fantastic.

Love the Nokia attitude toward stock android. I believe it's pretty much as pure as you can get.

It will be interesting to see what prices these will come in at.

The Nokia 6 is a very good phone at the price point.