Nokia Joins Android One, Launches 5 New Phones at MWC

At MWC, HMD is launching its new line of Nokia-branded phones. The company started off its MWC keynote by announcing its “deeper” partnership with Google by joining Android One, which will power most of the company’s new Android phones today.

Here’s everything you need to know about HMD’s new Nokia-branded phones.

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Nokia 8810 4G

Nokia is bringing back the popular Nokia 8810 feature phone that featured on The Matrix decades ago. The company is today launching the Nokia 8810 4G, a €79 phone that comes with 4GB of storage, Qualcomm Snapdragon 205, 4G connectivity, Google Assistant, Facebook, and other apps. It even has the slider that gave it the “banana” look from the original 8810.

Nokia 8 Sirocco

Nokia is upgrading its flagship Android phone with a new curved display design. The new Nokia 8 Sirocco boasts a 5.5-inch QHD pOLED curved display and is built of a single block of stainless steel. The device comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, which is a bit disappointing considering most other flagship phones coming out this MWC include the new Snapdragon 845. Plus, there is no headphone jack. It will be available this April for €749. Oof. But hey, at least it looks beautiful.

Nokia 7 Plus

The Nokia 7 Plus is more of an interesting product. It’s a mid-range Android device with the Snapdragon 660, a 6-inch IPS LCD display, 4GB RAM, and promises to offer up to 2 days of battery life. Nokia is bringing the Nokia 8’s Bothie feature to the Nokia 7 Plus, and the device will now offer advanced control over key camera features thanks to Zeiss optics. This device costs €399, and it will be available this April.

Nokia 6

Nokia is also launching a refreshed Nokia 6 this year. The new Nokia 6 comes with more power thanks to the Snapdragon 630 and up to 4GB RAM, a slightly improved design made out of a single block of aluminium, and support for wireless charging. It will be available this May for €279.

Nokia 1

And lastly, there’s the crazy cheap Nokia 1. It’s an Android Go phone that will retail for $85 and comes with a MediaTek MT6737M processor, 1GB RAM, an 5MP primary camera, 8GB storage, and a 2150mAh battery. This device is meant for developing countries, and it comes with Android Go which is a stripped down version of Android Oreo meant for less powerful devices like the Nokia 1. It comes with $7.99 Xpress-on covers that let you customize the look of the device.


Nokia’s new line of Android devices seems pretty solid, though the flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco might not get much traction as the others, especially the Nokia 1 and the Nokia 7 Plus.

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Conversation 23 comments

  • johnh3

    25 February, 2018 - 11:12 am

    <p>I suppose Nokia is the brand to go for if you want fast updates and no bloatware. The Pixel phones are still not avaible in many markets.</p><p><br></p>

    • rameshthanikodi

      25 February, 2018 - 8:09 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#248481"><em>In reply to johnh3:</em></a></blockquote><p>HMD's rollout of Android Oreo wasn't very fast or anything special. If anything they are more on par with other OEMs who rolled out Oreo in February 2018.</p>

      • johnh3

        25 February, 2018 - 8:27 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#248578"><em>In reply to FalseAgent:</em></a></blockquote><p>Well my current Nokia 8 (that was shipped with android 7.1) got android 8.1 since some time now so I think they did a good job.</p><p><br></p><p>Other OEM,s still struggling with to push out Oreo (android 8.0)</p><p>But the older models was not part of the Android One program as all of the new Nokia android devices now is.</p><p>Nokia 6, 7+, and 8 Sirocco.</p>

        • rameshthanikodi

          25 February, 2018 - 9:06 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#248581"><em>In reply to johnh3:</em></a></blockquote><p>Didn't the Nokia 8 get Oreo officially only earlier this month (Feb)? My Asus got Oreo in late Jan. And Asus doesn't even ship stock Android. We're considered the early bunch and we're still like 4 months behind the official release of Oreo on Pixel phones.</p><p><br></p><p>Yes, most OEMs have yet to push out Oreo, but again, it isn't like HMD is doing something special in the area that puts them way ahead of everyone. At best, you could say they are on par with the fastest, but not faster.</p>

      • maethorechannen

        Premium Member
        26 February, 2018 - 4:06 am

        <blockquote><a href="#248578"><em>In reply to FalseAgent:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Maybe at the high end they're nothing special, but I think they are special at the low to mid end. My Nokia 5 has been getting regular updates including Oreo, which is not something I've ever seen before in such a low cost phone.</p>

        • rameshthanikodi

          26 February, 2018 - 8:09 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#248628"><em>In reply to maethorechannen:</em></a></blockquote><p>Plenty of Xiaomi low end phones get updates. And my phone is mid-range, not high-end.</p>

    • jrickel96

      26 February, 2018 - 12:06 am

      <blockquote><a href="#248481"><em>In reply to johnh3:</em></a></blockquote><p>Unlocked HTC is usually one of your best bets for fast rollouts if you don't go with the Pixels. The U11 was one of the earliest, receiving Oreo about 100 days after official release by Google. HTC has a pretty good track record on this front. Unless you buy a Pixel, HTC's flagship is likely your best bet to receive an update quickly.</p>

      • johnh3

        26 February, 2018 - 1:51 am

        <blockquote><a href="#248607"><em>In reply to jrickel96:</em></a></blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote><em>Nokia 8 recived Oreo in december 2017 if I remember it correctly or maybe in early january. On 14 february I get the 8.1 update. Yes other brands got a good track record to. The reason I bought a Nokia (Sweden) they got a carrier deal so I will have support for VoLTE and other features in Telia that Im using.</em></blockquote><blockquote><em>HTC have basicly lost all carriers in my market. You not see them in other electronic retailer store either. You can only buy them online from HTC.s own website. so I doubt they will survive much longer in the mobile market.</em></blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><p><br></p>

        • jrickel96

          26 February, 2018 - 9:30 am

          <blockquote><a href="#248624"><em>In reply to johnh3:</em></a></blockquote><p>I agree. I tend to think they'll get bought up. I suspect many phone brands will not survive for much longer. The prices have gotten so low in the Android market and the margins so bad. I expect we'll see consolidation like what we saw when the PC prices plummeted – and they never got as bad as Android is getting. </p><p><br></p><p>HTC is a brand I see getting bought by someone. Same for many of the lesser brands. HMD has some hope under the Nokia brand, though I'm skeptical of longterm viability due to low margins – though they do not have the legacy issue and that makes them more compact. </p><p><br></p><p>I huge problem for many of these companies is the legacy in the company. That's what brought Nokia down the first time. HMD is a rather small company that outsources manufacturing. That's also how some of the smaller companies can survive as well – your BLU types. But I wonder about the longterm viability of LG in the market or of Moto. They have larger parents that can weather storms, but how long until stockholders revolt?</p><p><br></p><p>I would not be surprised if we end up with only Samsung, Huawei, and some smaller brands in the market. There's no will to stop making low end handsets in an attempt to stop the bleeding.</p><p><br></p><p>Nokia is a good brand to stick with if it gets updates in your region. Definitely a better alternative than Pixel. I'd say the same thing concerning HTC if they were easily available.</p>

  • rmlounsbury

    Premium Member
    25 February, 2018 - 12:03 pm

    <p>While my daily driver is an iPhone X, I do like to have an Android phone around. I think the Nokia 7 will fit that role rather well. </p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    25 February, 2018 - 4:26 pm

    <p>I would not be surprised if the reason they went with 835 is because they could not secure supply of the 845. Bet most of those chips is earmarked for samsung initially.</p>

  • SvenJ

    25 February, 2018 - 5:19 pm

    <p>I'm wondering if some (or all) of these will show up on Google Fi. That would be a big plus in my mind. </p>

  • rameshthanikodi

    25 February, 2018 - 8:11 pm

    <p>loving the Nokia 6 and Nokia 7. They seem like great value and great phones.</p>

  • Waethorn

    25 February, 2018 - 11:08 pm

    <p>Is Android Go part of Android One program?</p>

    • jrickel96

      25 February, 2018 - 11:59 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#248601"><em>In reply to Waethorn:</em></a></blockquote><p>No. It's Google's new low-end phone initiative. First reviews have not been good – sluggish and freeze up, though Google says this will be fixed at final release. Demo models for press had issues. </p><p><br></p><p>Android is in a pickle. High end devices don't sell much (S8 and Note 8 combined for less than 40 million over the past year and overall high-end device sales annually are in the 60 million range, if that). Android One is an attempt to create a clean system, but Samsung is not joining the party and they are the largest Android player and the top seller of high end spec devices. But most of the Android One handsets will be more midrange.</p><p><br></p><p>Problem on the midrange is Android has compatibility issues emerging. ARCore works on a very small selection of Android devices and the newest update to Unreal is limited to a certain set of handsets.</p><p><br></p><p>BUT the prices for Android handsets continue to fall. Last year the average transaction price was $203, down from close to $400 two years ago – and it appears the price will go below $200 this year while iPhones are over $750 and PCs are over $700 (and largest HQ screens are actually cheaper than smaller ones, so better margins on the PCs).</p><p><br></p><p>So Android introduces Android GO to allow OEMs to trim the specs even further. 1GB of RAM. 480P display. Three year old Snapdragon 210. Prices are in the $100-150 range or less and will be sold overseas but also in the US. OEM margins have been bad on the low end and Google had to help to prevent OEMs from bailing.</p><p><br></p><p>One is Google's latest attempt at clean builds that has little hope for success because Samsung won't play along.</p><p><br></p><p>GO is an attempt to create a decent low spec form of the OS.</p><p><br></p><p>And if anyone wants to move forward with AR or higher end apps they will have to leave most Android users behind. We're talking about that at my company right now. The ARCore stuff pretty much only works effectively on the S8 and Pixel 2 and these are actually rare phones out in the wild compared to all the other Android phones out there. My analytics data will show dozens of different attaches and none of them can climb over .5% while the iPhone is 75% of users that I see. </p>

      • Waethorn

        26 February, 2018 - 11:57 am

        <blockquote><a href="#248606"><em>In reply to jrickel96:</em></a></blockquote><p>I didn't ask any of that.</p><p><br></p><p>I wanted to know if Android Go will be updated by Google just like the Android One program, and whether Android Go falls under the Google support umbrella of Android One.</p>

        • jrickel96

          26 February, 2018 - 5:53 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#248724"><em>In reply to Waethorn:</em></a></blockquote><p>Still will be OEM updates. It's a version of O and will be a version of each Android version going forward. Has stripped down app support models. Go is really optimized for PWA and lighter app models. All of the core Google apps are lighter and I believe they all are PWAs. </p><p><br></p><p>Everything indicates security and OS updates still have everything to do with OEMs and carriers. So the Nokia versions are likely to be updated at a rate consistent with other Nokias, though Google has not promised that the Go version of the Android OS will be released concurrently with the main version. The Go version of O is only about to be released, so it's possible that release could trail the main version by several months. Then the OEM will have to do their own build. </p>

      • Jorge Garcia

        28 February, 2018 - 5:54 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#248606"><em>In reply to jrickel96:</em></a></blockquote><p>Thank you for that informative post.</p>

  • ponsaelius

    26 February, 2018 - 5:02 am

    <p>The current Nokia 8 would be fine for me except that the camera seems to get some poor reviews. I am not sure that the Sirocco is delivering more than glass to the edge and a higher price.</p>

    • brian_c

      Premium Member
      26 February, 2018 - 7:31 am

      <blockquote><a href="#248629"><em>In reply to ponsaelius:</em></a></blockquote><p>As a current Nokia 8 user I'd say that the camera is OK, good if you are stuck but not something to depend on. My wife's Samsung Galaxy S7 has a much better camera.</p><p><br></p><p>Selfishly I am hoping that this new Nokia 8 fails badly, any phone that sacrifices a 3.5mm headphone jack deserves to fail.</p>

  • BlackForestHam

    26 February, 2018 - 5:18 pm

    <p>Mehedi still writes like an 8th grader. Take a class at a community college, kid. </p>

    • peterh_oz

      27 February, 2018 - 10:17 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#248792"><em>In reply to BlackForestHam:</em></a></blockquote><p>Obviously you know some smart 8th graders. If only you had been one of them, rather than the patronising wimp you became, hiding behind a screen pseudonym.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    26 February, 2018 - 10:35 pm

    <p>The 8810 has Google assistant? Does that mean it runs Android?</p><p><br></p><p>And will any US carrier have these things?</p>

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