HMD Global’s Chief Product Officer, Juho Sarvikas, has just revealed that the company will host its MWC 2019 event on February 24. Mr. Sarvikas revealed that in a rather interesting post on Twitter, in which he used the word “really” a hundred times (I’m exaggerating, but you get the point), as he wanted you all to know much much he wants you to visit HMD Global at the tradeshow.
Now, judging by the way he laid out his tweet, it’s safe to assume that HMD Global is planning to announce something major at MWC 2019, and by pretty much every HMD Global and Nokia Mobile-related report that surfaced in the last couple of weeks, that product will be the Nokia 9 PureView, the company’s long-anticipated flagship handset.
Delays, Delays… Delays
The rumored Nokia 9 PureView was supposed to launch back in October, a year after the Nokia 8, and it was supposed to be called the Nokia 9, but things changed in recent months. HMD Global managed to get permission to use Microsoft’s “PureView” branding and technology, which the company allegedly wanted to implement in the Nokia 9 before it becomes official, and the “PureView” naming will be attached to the device as well it seems.
The phone was actually rumored to arrive back in December with the PureView tech, then rumors said it was postponed to January… but we’re coming to the end of January, and the phone is still not here, nor did the company indicate it will be. That leaves us with MWC 2019, which will be jam-packed with great products it seems, especially in the smartphone sector. Rumors actually suggested that the company’s Chief Product Officer, Mr. Sarvikas, decided to postpone the launch of the Nokia 9 on several occasions, first for unknown reasons, and then because he didn’t feel the camera was up to par with other flagships out there.
Snapdragon 845 Or 855?
The Nokia 9 was actually rumored to arrive with the Snapdragon 845, and it still is, kind of, but the Snapdragon 855 variant will almost certainly become a reality as well. A couple of weeks back, some Nokia 9 PureView video materials surfaced, suggesting that the device will include the Snapdragon 845, but a number of other reports said that the Snapdragon 855 variant will become official as well at some point, and support 5G. It remains to be seen what will happen at MWC 2019, but at this point, it may be best for HMD Global to release only the Snapdragon 855 model, as the Snapdragon 845 is no longer a flagship SoC, and at a premium price point, they’re expecting the Snapdragon 855.
Other Specs & Design
The Nokia 9 PureView is actually expected to sport a large display which will be around 6 inches big, in diagonal. The phone is also expected to sport at least 6GB of RAM, and it will pack five cameras on the back, which is why it’s often referred to as the “penta camera” handset. The phone will ship with Android 9 Pie, and it will be a clean, stock software, as the Nokia 9 PureView will be a part of Google’s Android One project.
The phone will be made out of metal and glass, and it will be curved on the side. The phone’s display will be flat it seems, and the device will include bezels above and below the display. Those bezels will not be thick, but they won’t be as thin as they are on some other flagship phones in the market. The device will not sport a display notch, nor a display hole in order to accommodate a front-facing camera.