The first Nokia flagship in the brand’s post-Microsoft era that’s likely to be marketed as the Nokia 8 is scheduled to be officially unveiled in just a few weeks, and while HMD Global has yet to start teasing its upcoming smartphone, the device has already been the subject of numerous rumors, leaks, and reports from industry insiders in recent months. Most sources are in agreement regarding the vast majority of the Nokia 8’s characteristics and as its launch draws closer, now would be a good time to take a look at everything that the handset is said to be offering.
Name
According to a number of reports that emerged online in the last month, HMD Global’s first Nokia flagship will be called the Nokia 8. All older rumors pertaining to the next high-end device from the Finnish company refer to it as the Nokia 9 and it’s still unclear whether the two are one and the same or if the Nokia 9 is meant to be released at a later date with comparable high-end specs but a more unconventional design, which has been a popular theory in some online communities. Still, as the latest reliable reports on the matter make no mention of the Nokia 9, the upcoming smartphone is now widely expected to bear the Nokia 8 moniker.
Design
By most accounts, the Nokia 8 will look like a traditional candy bar phone with regularly sized bezels and an aluminum unibody design. The corners of the device look slightly rounded in recent leaks, whereas its dual camera setup slightly protrudes from the case. One recent rumor suggested that the handset will be 151.55 x 73.7mm in size, i.e. be slightly smaller than the Nokia 6, which is in line with other reports that claim the handset will feature a smaller display panel than the previously released mid-ranger.
The Nokia 8 is expected to be available in Black, Copper, Copper-Gold, Silver, and Blue, though it remains to be seen whether all variants will be sold globally. Nokia’s branding is seen on both sides of the smartphone in recently leaked renders, with some insiders claiming that the upcoming flagship will be IP68-certified.
Update 8/8: HMD Global sneaked what’s widely believed to be the Nokia 8 into a new video celebrating the International Cat Day, with the device looking in accordance with previous reports.
Specs & Models
According to virtually all previous benchmark listings, the Nokia 8 will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip (SoC) and feature 64GB of internal flash memory expandable via a microSD card slot. Three variants of the device have been sighted so far — the TA-1004, TA-1012, and TA-1052 — with each one of them boasting different amounts of RAM. The model with 4GB of RAM was previously rumored to be have been scrapped, though that doesn’t seem like a probable scenario as it started resurfacing once again in various benchmark listings in recent weeks. The other two versions with 6GB and 8GB of RAM may only be targeted at select markets, with all of them featuring a 3,800mAh battery with support for some quick charging technology, according to previous rumors. It’s still unclear whether the most premium variant of the handset will sport 128GB of storage space as its supposed benchmark sightings have been giving conflicting information so far.
The Nokia 8 is expected to ship with a 5.3-inch display panel with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,440 pixels (QHD) protected by 2.5D glass. The screen itself is likely of the LCD variety and leaves little room for side bezels. The international model of the device is rumored to feature a hybrid SIM setup and all versions should have a fingerprint reader embedded into their physical Home button. There have been rumors of an iris scanner as well, though no reliable information on the matter emerged so far. The Nokia 8 should run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box that’s expected to be close to the stock version of Google’s operating system, much like the software running on other HMD Global-made Nokia phones is.
Update 8/8: A new leak showing what’s thought to be the Nokia 8 suggests that its QHD screen boasts 559 pixels per inch, which would mean that its display panel actually has a 5.25-inch and not a 5.3-inch diagonal.
Camera
The dual camera setup of the Nokia 8 consists of two vertically arranged sensors and a dual-LED (dual tone) flash. The two 13-megapixel sensors have been produced and calibrated by Carl Zeiss and support 4K video capture and optical image stabilization (OIS), though it’s currently unclear whether the German optics company also handled the 13-megapixel secondary camera housed by the top bezel of the Nokia 8. Phase detection autofocus is also said to be part of the main imaging system of the device, and there’s still a possibility that previous benchmark listings of the handset aren’t perfectly accurate and the Nokia 8 ends up shipping with three 12-megapixel instead of 13-megapixel camera modules.
Pricing & Availability
A week ago, HMD Global started sending out press invites for a new product launch event that’s scheduled to take place on August 16. The Finnish company didn’t specifically state that the happening will see the release of the Nokia 8, though its invitation promises the reveal of “the next milestone for Nokia phones.” Given the relatively dramatic wording of that statement, it’s highly unlikely that the Finnish firm will reveal yet another mid-ranger or the entry-level Nokia 2 at the event. An August 16 launch also corresponds to a number of previous rumors pertaining to the high-end handset that claimed the Nokia 8 will be released in late summer, i.e. in September. Assuming that HMD Global wants to offer a pre-order period for the device that’s at least a few weeks long, the company can hardly afford to unveil the Nokia 8 much later than mid-August if it’s hoping to make that rumored release window.
Several European sources previously stated that the Nokia 8 will be available in the region with a €589 ($696) price tag, though Vodafone Romania recently listed the device as being priced at €517.42 ($611). Provided that the latter figure is legitimate, the Nokia 8 will be even cheaper in Germany and Luxembourg due to the EU’s internal economic policy and the fact that those two countries have a lower value-added tax rate than Romania. All other European markets will likely pay a little bit more than that, also depending on the VAT rates in particular jurisdictions. If the Nokia devices released by HMD Global earlier this year are any indication, the U.S. price tag of the upcoming flagship will be identical to the European figure, i.e. the handset may only set you back $599, thus being one of the more affordable premium Android devices on the market.
Wrap-Up
There’s still a number of details about the Nokia 8 that are still unclear, with most of them pertaining to the availability of particular models of the device. Regardless, most reports suggest that HMD Global is preparing a fully fledged Android flagship at an affordable price that’s running near-stock Android which should ensure the smartphone gets fast and regular software updates and could hence appeal to the same demographic that once swore by Google’s discontinues Nexus lineup. More information about the Nokia 8 is likely to surface in the coming days before its official launch and this article will be updated accordingly.