Nokia, the Finnish company that once dominated the smartphone market with its Symbian phones before being acquired by Microsoft and fading into oblivion, is back. HMD Global, a Finnish company comprising of veteran Nokia executives and staff, purchased the rights from Nokia to manufacture and sell phones under its brand name.
The company officially made its comeback with the Nokia 6 that it launched in China early this year. But on day 0 of MWC, the company made its global debut with three new handsets: Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6. Not to forget, the company also launched the iconic Nokia 3310 albeit with a 2017 spin on it. We have already covered the launch of the Nokia 3, 5 and 6, but there are a few more things that you need to know about Nokia’s comeback devices. Read below to find out.
Pure Android
Nokia and HMD Global are making it a point to highlight that all the three devices unveiled by the company are going to run the purest form of Android available. The Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, while the Nokia 3 runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. All the three phones will not come with any kind of bloatware or other unnecessary feature whatsoever. They will just run the pure stock build of Nougat that one finds on Google’s own Pixel devices. Impressively, even the display units at Nokia’s launch event in Barcelona were running the March security patch. Nokia and HMD Global are also promising to roll out quick software updates for their handsets. The quick rollout will not just be limited to major Android updates; the companies are also committing to rolling out monthly security updates for the devices to keep them safe and secure.
Snapdragon and MediaTek
The Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 sport largely the same specifications. Both handsets come with Qualcomm’s formidable octa-core Snapdragon 430 chipset which is clocked at 1.4GHz. The Nokia 3, however, is the only phone that is powered by a quad-core MediaTek chipset. This is perhaps also the main reason why the handset runs on Android 7.0 Nougat, while the other two Nokia devices run on Android 7.1 Nougat. To make up for the slower chipset, the Nokia 3 comes with DuraSpeed that helps in improving app opening and loading times.
Google Assistant and Unlimited Space on Google Photos
Running the purest form of Android also comes with its own share of benefits. All the three Nokia phones announced today will come with Google Assistant and offer unlimited storage space on Google Photos, just like Google’s own Pixel handsets.
Build Quality
Unlike other Chinese OEMs out there, Nokia will not be taking part in the mindless specs wars with its mid-range handsets. Instead, the company is focusing on delivering a premium build quality and experience with its devices. For their price, all the three phones pack solid build quality that their competitors will not be able to match up to. In fact, the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 are very similar to each other in terms of design and build quality, with the former only coming with a smaller display. As for user experience, as I mentioned above, the company is sticking to the purest form of Android and promising quick software updates for all the three devices.
Hybrid SIM/microSD Slot
Considering their price and growing consumer needs, the Nokia 3, 5 and 6 come with a hybrid microSD/SIM card slot. This means that you will be able to use either two SIM cards or one SIM card and a microSD card slot on the phone at any given time. Nokia will be launching its three handsets in Q2 around the world. What do you think about the company’s comeback handsets? Do you see yourself buying the Nokia 6 over its competitors purely based on its stock Android experience and build quality?
