Nokia 8 review: First impressions

The new Nokia 8

HMD Global, the company that holds licence to manufacture and sell Nokia-branded smartphones, has launched its flagship smartphone Nokia 8 in India. Priced at Rs 36,999, Nokia 8 is the company's most expensive smartphone to launch in India so far and also the first one to sport a dual rear camera setup. The smartphone will hit retail stores on October 14 and will be exclusively available online on Amazon website from the same date.

The smartphone features two 13MP cameras at the rear end. The primary camera takes coloured shots with OIS, while the secondary one shoots in monochrome. The Nokia 8 features a 5.3-inch Quad HD display protected with layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top. The smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and as the company announced earlier, it will receive Android 8.0 Oreo update too. The device is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. It comes with 64GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB by inserting a microSD card. This is the fourth launch of the company this year. Earlier, it had launched its re-imagined Nokia 3310 and Android smartphones Nokia 3, 5 and 6 in India.

Nokia 8 key features:

Body: 6000-series aluminum, IP54 splash resistance

Display: 5.3" IPS LCD, QHD resolution (554ppi), 700 nits brightness; Gorilla Glass 5; Glance screen

OS: Android 7.1 Nougat (basically stock)

Chipset: Snapdragon 835 chipset, 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, microSD card slot

Main camera: two 13MP sensors (color + monochrome), 1.12µm pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture; OIS on the color sensor, Laser and phase detection autofocus, dual-LED flash

Video: 4K video capture, 360° spatial surround sound with 3 microphones; YouTube and Facebook livestreaming (with picture-in-picture)

Selfie camera: 13MP sensor, 1.12µm pixels, Zeiss lens with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus

Connectivity: single and dual SIM versions; Cat. 9 LTE (450/50Mbps), Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, ANT+, USB-C 3.1 (5Gbps)

Battery: 3,090mAh, Quick Charge 3.0 (18W)

Misc: Fingerprint reader, unlimited Google Photos storage

Main shortcomings:

Battery capacity seems low

Not fully water-proof

No 1080p@60fps video recording

Nokia has a legacy to protect and a future to build. Once an industry pillar, the brand has a long way to come back from oblivion. And while the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 surely helped restore some confidence, it's up to the 8 to rekindle the old glory. Or go down trying. Curious to know which way it's heading? So we are - but first things first.