HMD Global made a huge splash at Mobile World Congress 2018, launching not one, but five new Nokia-branded phones. The Nokia 8 Sirocco, the flagship of this year’s line up, is a gorgeous phone with strong specifications.
If you’re unaware, HMD Global is a company that launched last year, with the branding license to create new mobile phones under the Nokia brand name. It has to follow certain guidelines from Nokia, to make sure the phones are up to standard. Here’s everything you need to know about the Nokia 8 Sirocco.
Design
The Nokia 8 Sirocco is a departure from the other Nokia phones announced by HMD Global at MWC. A sleek Gorilla Glass 5 case wraps around a stainless steel frame. On the front you’ll find a nearly bezel-less, 5.5-inch P-OLED screen with a 2,560 x 1,440 pixel resolution, that curves around the edges ever so gracefully. At these edges, the phone is just 2mm thin, but at its thickest it’s 7.5mm.
Flip the phone over and there’s a dual-camera setup with a flash unit sitting top center of the case. The fingerprint sensor falls right below the camera, which should make it easy to locate quickly. Missing, unfortunately, is a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Long-time Nokia devotees may recall the company has used the Sirocco name — which refers to a desert wind or breeze — before, differentiating an expensive special edition Nokia 8800 phone with it around 2006.
Specifications
The Nokia 8 Sirocco looks stunning, and no improvement is needed for the specification either. A Snapdragon 835 processor along with 6GB of RAM provides the power, and there’s 128GB of onboard storage which should be enough for most. Be warned there’s no MicroSD slot for additional storage. There’s an ample 3,260mAh battery that supports both quick and wireless charging, and the phone is also IP67 water-resistant.
It is worth noting the Snapdragon 835 is about to be succeeded by the Snapdragon 845, and will therefore not be the “fastest” Qualcomm chip available. However, it will provide more than enough power for almost everyone for several years to come, so don’t be put off buying it.
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
In terms of cameras on the Nokia 8 Sirocco, there are two lenses on the back of the phone featuring a main 12-megapixel, wide-angle camera, along with a secondary 13-megapixel telephoto lens. Nokia continues its partnership with Zeiss lenses on the Nokia 8 Sirocco. For selfie use, a 5 megapixel, wide-angle camera sits above the screen.
Nokia has added a new Pro Mode where you can make adjustments to the ISO, shutter speed, and other settings to improve the final look of your photos in the camera app. It’s a common feature on most high-end smartphones, but rarely included with camera apps on Android One devices.
Software
Speaking of software, the Nokia 8 Sirocco is indeed a part of the Android One lineup, meaning it runs a stock version of Google’s Android 8.0 Oreo. We’ve more often seen Android One used on low- to middle-end devices such as the Xiaomi Mi A1, and the HTC U11 Life; but the Nokia 8 Sirocco is considerably higher spec than these phones. Having Android One is a good thing, as it receives timely operating system and security updates, unlike phones with a manufacturer user interface, and there’s no bloatware.
Price and availability
HMD said the Nokia 8 Sirocco will set you back a pricey 750 euros, and it launches in April 2018. There’s no word yet about a U.S. release.
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