TechTheDay

Nokia recently held their own event in the Mobile World Congress this year. Last year, they proved themselves to be competent enough to compete against the industry leaders with all the phones they released.

Where it Matters the Most

Nokia is taking a different path compared to its competitors. At their Mobile World Congress this year, in Barcelona, Spain, they shared the success they enjoyed last year. Florian Seiche, the CEO of HMD Global, discussed how they found the current environment to be an opportunity to think in a different way in today’s technological race.

Seiche added that it is an opportunity to refocus on what really matters to the consumers. Because of that, they released 11 smartphones last year, which includes the Nokia 3310, a re-release of an old classic that brought Nokia it’s first fame for quality and durability, as the original 3310 was known to be indestructible compared to modern smartphones. With several other phones in their portfolio featuring uniquely Nokia innovations, like the 2-day battery life, Nokia claimed that they achieved a success that exceeds their own expectations last year.

New Phones

To celebrate the success of the re-release of the 3310, Nokia added another re-release to their portfolio: the curved Nokia 8110. The 8110 is a re-imagining of the original 8110 that was first released in 1996. The new 8110 is not capable of 4G technology as well as it can do the same things modern phones do, like using the Internet or becoming a WiFi hotspot.

They then started announcing their smartphone lineup for this year, starting with Nokia 1 which is their cheapest phone in the lineup, at only $85. Next up is a brand New Nokia 6, which is a remake of the original Nokia 6 sold last year and also introduced in the 2017 MWC. Juho Sarvikas, CPO of HMD Global, promises that the remake has enhanced features. The new phone’s camera features Zeiss optics for better images, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset (compared to the old version’s 430 chipset), and wireless charging. Nokia will be selling it for $350 in April this year. Then there’s the Nokia 7 plus with 3 Zeiss optic cameras (2 at the back, one at the front), 6-inch HD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, and 2-day battery life. The new Nokia 7 Plus will be available in the market in April this year for around $490.

Finally, there’s the new Nokia 8 Sirocco, which is the eye-raiser of the Nokia event. With the tagline “an ordinary life deserves an extraordinary phone” the Nokia 8 Sirocco features a stainless steel body (compared to the 7 plus’ aluminum), wireless charging, and the same Zeiss-optic sensitive cameras all the Nokia smartphones are using. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with 6GB of RAM and an internal storage of 128GB.

The downside? The downside is the pricing, which is only about $100 less than what Apple and Samsung are asking for their flagship phones. It seems too pricey for something that has a chipset that is a generation late, compared to the Samsung Galaxy S8 that uses the same chipset for only around $650 today. The body design is a reminder of the Galaxy S8: the edge-to-edge display that thins out from .7mm to .2mm at the edges and a fingerprint scanner located at the back which people may find hard to use.

Androidone

In addition, all Nokia smartphones, past and present, will be using a Go version of the Android Oreo OS. They’ll also be part of the Androidone project from Google, which means that all the phones will come with the latest software and innovations from Google. It also means less bloatware compared to the older versions of the Android and will receive support and updates for the next 3 or so years.

Conclusion

Compared to the new phone from Apple and Samsung, Nokia phones are still cheaper, with the exception of the Nokia 8 Sirroco. Nokia’s brand and dedication to cheap yet innovative products show that the company deserves its place on the mobile industry race.