Nokia’s true flagship device was highly anticipated for a long time. Fans and users alike are patiently waiting for the day that finally a flagship Nokia phone would surface. Well, that day is finally here as HMD Global unveiled the new Nokia 9.
Let’s start off with the highlights: the Camera
The company’s new flagship device is the worlds first penta-camera equipped mobile device where it sport 5 camera array for superior mobile imaging experience.
This new penta-camera module is made possible in collaboration with Light – a company renowned for their 16 camera equipped device that also runs Android. And so the next generation PureView camera is born.
The PureView camera on the new Nokia 9 comprises five 12 Megapixel sensors all with the same focal length of 28mm and an Aperture of f/1.8 Zeiss lenses. three of which are monochrome sensors and 2 are RGBs. These 5 cameras are arranged in a way like a down arrow. There’s a sixth camera actually a ToF one for more depth information. Along with these cameras is the handset’s Dual-tone LED flash.
This new set of camera array puts the PureView camera back into the limelight as it takes not superb images by combining every detail of the subject from each sensor into one image with superb dynamic range and up to 12.4 stops of difference that results into a an image more similar with DSLR camera with wide sensor.
While that’s the hardware front, more magic happens within the software side of things. There’s RAW support that users can easily tune to their liking. From opening up shadows, adjust sharpness, highlights and all other things to make each image standout.
HMD Global worked together with Adobe to make editing RAW images from the phone a lot easier with the free mobile app of Adobe Lightroom. Besides Adobe, It also partnered with Google to make its native Photos app to support images taken from Nokia 9’s five cameras. It will allow Google Photos to adjust focal points and bokeh from photos and display RAW files from the app.
Despite its five cameras, none of them has optical image stabilization but has electronic stabilization on when taking videos. With AI support, Nokia 9 can detect stationary position of the device which could enable 10sec long exposures for shooting in low-light scenarios. For photography enthusiast, the Nokia native camera app also has a full manual control functions to make every settings fit for their needs.
That was long for the main cameras, on the front however sits alone a 20MP Selfie shooter which support Tetracell pixel binning for less noisy photos taken in low-light and there’s a display flash as well to help keep Selfies illuminated.
Power
The new Nokia 9 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. I know it’s meant for last years flagship devices but still powerful enough and that the Nokia 9 was developed since last year and HMD Global had the device optimized for that chipset then that would be a better choice.
Paired with that powerful chipset is 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of storage. It’s not expandable as other Nokia devices but a 128GB should be aplenty for most task unless you participate in OS beta testing which requires wiping all the data within your storage to make a fresh copy of your OS.
Features
Nokia 9’s cameras are the prime features but besides that, there are a few things new and useful features on the Nokia 9.
The handset will have a 5.99-inch display and features Nokia PureDisplay with a pOLED panel covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It has a 2K resolution for crisp and smooth image rendering.
The display also features Nokia’s first on-display fingerprint sensor. It’s a variant of optical sensor though so it’s not quite as sensitive as the new ultrasonic fingerprint reader from other brands. But it should work most of the time.
It also supports AI Face Unlock, this one right here is the most requested feature from existing Nokia users but is has just appeared recently with the 2019 devices. We can’t say though if HMD Global will enable that with existing device but it’s good to know for many that HMD Global has finally have it supported on new devices.
For durability, the Nokia 9 has a 6000 series Aluminum frame and is anodized and polished with a Midnight Blue color, the only available color for the handset. The back of the device is covered by a vacuum molded 3D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for superb premium finish. The glass on the back also serves a double purpose that we’ll detail in a bit.
This one is not a feature at all but it’s worth mentioning. The Nokia 9 is an Android One device and runs Android 9 Pie out of the box. It doesn’t have any bloatware that other devices have and doesn’t even shipped with Adobe Lightroom even its massive support but at first boot, the system will give an option to download the Lightroom app and it’s up to the user to confirm or not.
Battery
We are not quite impressed with the battery capacity on the Nokia 9 though. At 3320 mAh, the device could drain that before the day ends and that is quite the fact especially if you are into photography. The Nokia 4.2 being a mid-range device was able to get 4000mAh so why can’t the Nokia 9 a flagship device can’t do that? It doesn’t make much sense right?
However, to make up for the modest battery, HMD Global added a 10W wireless charging to the Nokia 9 that eases out charging. It’s one key purpose of the the premium glass back.
It comes with fast charging support through USB-C which the port also second as a audio port for USB-C type headphone, yeah the Nokia 9 lacks a dedicated 3.5mm audio jack.
Pricing + Availability
The new Nokia 9 will be priced at $699. It’s quite cheap for flagship device today but that can be expected given the choice of chipset for the handset. HMD Global is also making a limited run for the handset. When stocks are out, they won’t be making more of it.
The handset will be available next month and HMD Global is starting to get pre-orders immediately. Grab yours now while you can.
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