HMD Global this week unveiled a new smartphone in the form of the Nokia 8.1. The new device will go on sale in Europe, as well as the UK for the affordable price of €399 / £379.99 (or $452). Interested parties will be able to place an order for it come January 14.
The Nokia 8.1 is an upper mid-ranger coming with great specs. Among its major highlights is the spacious 6.18-inch FHD+ display that comes with HDR10 support. The screen benefits from HMD’s PureDisplay screen technology which promotes richer colors and higher contrasts. It also includes a notch on top.
The Nokia 8.1 might have had all the qualities needed to be called an affordable flagship, save for the processor powering it, a mid-range Snapdragon 710. This is an octa-core 10nm chipset clocked at 2.2GHz, which albeit not being as powerful as the Snapdragon 845, will still do a very good job of keeping things working smoothly on board the device.
Furthermore, the Nokia 8.1 will ship out with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage (expandable up to 400GB via microSD).
HMD’s partnership with Carl Zeiss continues with the Nokia 8.1
In terms of photography, the Nokia 8.1 boasts a Zeiss-optimized dual-lens arrangement with a main 12MP (f/1.8) and a secondary 13MP sensor for portrait shots. HMD has also included optical image stabilization on board, so you can get steady shots. Nokia’s popular Bothie feature that lets you shoot with both cameras is also supported here.
Rounding up the package is a 3,500 mAh battery with fast charge 18W. HMD boasts the phone will be able to support up to 2-days of use on a single charge.
Another big highlight with the Nokia 8.1 is that the device runs Android 9 Pie out of the box. Given the low number of phones launching with the latest version of Android on board, it’s quite refreshing.
Also read: 9 features we love from Android 9 Pie
As we mentioned above, the phone will go on sale next month in Europe in Blue/Silver, Steel/Copper and Iron/Steel color options. Unfortunately, HMD already confirmed the Nokia 8.1 won’t make it to the US.