Mobile World Congress 2018 has just kicked off but HMD Global has already showcased 5 Nokia smartphones including the recently unveiled mid-ranger, the Nokia 6 2018. Out of the 5 devices HMD Global showcased at MWC 2018, only 2 of them are new, the other three are new versions of existing devices.
The cheapest phone the company unveiled is the Nokia 8110 “slider phone”. This is not an entirely new device but is rather a remake of the classic Nokia 8110 feature phone. The company did a similar thing last year with the unveiling of the Nokia 3310 and I wasn’t surprised to see it do a similar thing this year.
HMD is not focusing on feature phones only but devices such as the Nokia 8110 help attract the old Nokia fans and this is good for the company. HMD wants to give these fans such devices just to get them excited about the other new Nokia phones. HMD is not necessarily banking on the success of these devices since there are other Nokia feature phones on the market and these ones (Nokia 8110 and Nokia 3310) are all about bringing back the memories.
The Nokia 8110 surprisingly has LTE support, I didn’t expect to see that. This is a different move by the company as it makes the device attractive to different users. The phone will be available from May this year for $97 (approximately Ksh 9,900).
The Nokia 1
The next device unveiled by HMD is the Nokia 1 smartphone. It is expected to retail at $85(approximately Ksh 8,700), cheaper than the Nokia 8110. The Nokia 1 is an entry level device and comes with Android Oreo Go Edition. This is a version of Android optimized for smartphones with 1GB RAM or less. Google said that we would see a number of Android Oreo Go Edition devices at MWC 2018 and the Nokia 1 is just the first and hopefully not the last.
With an optimized version of Android, the Nokia 1 should run smoothly than most people expect it to. This is the very essence of having the optimized version, to ensure users with low end devices can still get a good experience when using Android. The Nokia 1 looks like an interesting device that might put Nokia on the radar of people looking for affordable devices if it ends up being reliable.
Most of the other features of the Nokia 1 are pretty standard for a device within this price range. Check out those features below.
Display Size: 4.5 inches with a resolution of 854×480 pixels
Processor: 1.1 GHz Quad-core MediaTek MTK6737 processor
RAM: 1 GB
Storage Space: 8 GB, can be expanded using a microSD card
Android Version: Android Oreo Go Edition
Camera: 5 MP Camera at the back with a 2MP front facing one
Battery: 2150 mAh battery
The Nokia 6 Refreshed
HMD also took the opportunity at MWC 2018 to unveil the new Nokia 6 smartphone. We saw this phone a couple of weeks back when it was unveiled in China but it has not been introduced to international consumers until now. The phone will be available as from April for about $343 (approximately Ksh 35,000). This is not a new device but rather an upgrade to what we had in 2017. It is a bit pricey and I hope HMD can adjust the price downwards when it launched the phone to this part of the world.
Below are some of the key specifications of the new Nokia 6.
Display Size: 5.5 inches with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor
RAM: 3/4 GB
Storage Space: 32/64GB, can be expanded using a microSD card
Android Version: Android 8.0 Oreo
Camera: 16 MP Camera at the back with dual-tone flash, ZEISS optics, 8MP front facing one
Battery: 3050 mAh battery
The Nokia 7 Plus
The fourth device from HMD that we saw at MWC IS the Nokia 7 Plus. This is an upgrade from the Nokia 7 that is already on the market. It is slightly more expensive than the Nokia 6 but still cheaper than the new Nokia 8. It comes with some pretty interesting specs that you expect from a mid-range smartphone in 2018.
The Nokia 7 Plus is all about the camera and this is sort of what we expect from most smartphones this year. I would have been surprised if HMD did not take this route to be honest. If you remember clearly, the previous Nokia phones were known for their cameras and HMD wanted it to be the same with these new ones. In addition to this, the Nokia 7 Plus is the first device from the company with the modern 18:9 aspect ratio.
Some of the other specifications of the Nokia 7 Plus include:
Display Size: 6.0 inches with a resolution of 2160 x 1080
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor
RAM: 4 GB
Storage Space: 64GB, can be expanded using a microSD card
Android Version: Android 8.0 Oreo
Camera: Dual 12 MP + 12MP Camera at the back ZEISS optics, 5MP front facing one ZEISS optics
Battery: 3800 mAh battery
The Nokia 7 Plus will be available as from April for $399(approximately Ksh 41,000).
The Nokia 8 Sirocco
The last device we saw from HMD at MWC is the Nokia 8 Sirocco. As you probably already know, this is not entirely a new device but rather a refreshed variant of the Nokia 8 that we saw last year. The Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with a few changes such as Gorilla glass on both the front and the back. This is different from the aluminium back we saw on the original Nokia 8 from 2017.
The bezels at the front have been reduced a bit as the fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back. This is a small but important design change with the Nokia 8. Some of the other specifications of the Nokia 8 Sirocco are listed below.
Display Size: 5.5 inches with a resolution of 2160 x 1080
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
RAM: 6 GB
Storage Space: 128GB
Android Version: Android 8.0 Oreo
Camera: Dual 12 MP + 12MP Camera at the back ZEISS optics, 5MP front facing one ZEISS optics
Battery: 3260 mAh battery
Like all the Nokia phones we have seen at MWC, the Nokia 8 Sirocco will be available as from April for $920 (approximately Ksh 94,000).
