Nokia 8 set for reveal this week: what to expect?

HMD’s Nokia smartphones seem to be enjoying brisk sales thus far, but the flagship Nokia 8 is also set to be revealed this week.

We’ve already seen leaked images of the device courtesy of Venturebeat’s Evan Blass, but what should we expect in general?

Camera

Nokia phones were renowned for their camera performance, with HMD looking to recapture this with their phones as well.

The Nokia 8 is expected to pack dual-13MP main cameras, apparently taking the form of a monochrome and colour shooter, much like Huawei’s phones.

Previously leaked renders also show Carl Zeiss branding on the phone, although it’s unclear if this is indeed part of the previously announced hardware partnership.

What about the camera app? A recent report purportedly showed the application in action — Lumia Camera, it is not.

Horsepower

It wouldn’t be a flagship phone without a powerful chip to go with it, and the Snapdragon 835 is expected to feature here.

In addition to the Snapdragon 835, a benchmark app also seems to show that the new phone will have either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and a 5.3-inch QHD display.

Which version of Android?

The aforementioned benchmark app claims that the Nokia 8 is running Android 7.1.1, so it’s a safe bet that we’ll see this update at the very least.

However, one report, citing a separate benchmark, claims that the Nokia 8 is running Android 8.0. If the phone indeed packs the new version of Android, it could be the first device to launch with Android O. A pretty big statement then.

Nevertheless, it’s expected to pack a near-stock version of Android, in line with HMD’s previous phones. But expect a tweaked camera app and Dolby Atmos support, at the very least (like other HMD smartphones).

Cool features?

If the Nokia 5 and 6 are anything to go by, then we can expect a front-mounted fingerprint scanner on the Nokia 8. Another feature we’re likely to see is fast-charging, thanks to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge technology.

Several reports have claimed that the Nokia 8 will have an iris scanner, following the Lumia 950 and Samsung Galaxy range. But we’ll have to wait and see about this one.

Price

We’re obviously not sure of the South African price for the Nokia 8, but we’ve seen a few international retailers reveal their price tags.

Vodafone Romania has purportedly claimed a prepaid price of €434, while WinFuture claims a €589 price in Scandinavia. WinFuture claims that the Nokia 8 price is likely to be lower outside Scandinavia due to high tax rates.

Featured image: Evan Blass via Twitter