Nokia 8 Hopes Polished Exterior And Dual Camera Streaming Will Capture Android Market

The latest smartphone to bear the Nokia brand is banking on advanced imaging features and a polished exterior to help it crack the crowded Android market.

HMD Global has released a number of devices under licence from Nokia, which focuses almost exclusively on networking equipment following the sale of its devices business to Microsoft in 2013, most notably the Nokia 3310 revival.

However, the Nokia 8 is undeniably an attempt to capture high end demand. The headline feature of the 5.3 inch Nokia 8 is ‘Dual Sight’ streaming which pairs the rear and front 13 megapixel cameras to transmit two streams of live video for platforms like Facebook and YouTube.

Nokia 8 smartphone

Indeed, the phone is fruit borne of HMD’s partnership with ZEISS optics and this ‘immersive’ streaming is complemented by 360-degree Nokia OZO audio.

Under the bonnet is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage (which can be supplemented by up to 256GB via the MicroSD card slot) and version 7.1.1 Nougat of stock Android.

The fact that the Nokia 8 runs a ‘pure’ version of the operating system rather than the customised variants served up Samsung, HTC and others is being heavily pushed by HMD which claims the arrival of monthly security updates will protect it from the threats that plague the platform.

The final innovation HMD is touting is the aluminum unibody. The exterior is built from a single block of metal and the premium models of the phone have a ‘high gloss mirror finish’ that apparently takes 20 hours to complete.

The Nokia 8 is avaliable in ‘polished’ blue, ‘polished’ copper, standard blue and standard steel and will cost €599 when it is released.

“We know that fans are creating and sharing live content more than ever before, with millions of photos and videos shared every minute on social media,” said Juho Sarvikas, chief product officer at HMD Global. “People are inspired by the content they consume and are looking for new ways to create their own. It’s these people who have inspired us to craft a flagship smartphone which perfectly balances premium design, an outstanding experience and powerful performance.”

Aside from the Nokia 3310, HMD Global has been working on a number of other handsets, including the Nokia 6, which debuted at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February.

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