Nokia 8 Review

HMD Global announced the re-entry of the Nokia brand in the mobile market late last year, and the Nokia 6 became the first phone to be unveiled under the new arrangement. This was followed by the launch of the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 3, with the focus very much on the entry-level segment. That changed in August when the Nokia 8 was unveiled at a special event in London. This device is the realization of a long-held dream of many enthusiasts - a Nokia-branded Android smartphone with flagship-class specifications.

The Nokia 8 packs the Snapdragon 835 SoC - a chip that nearly all current-generation Android flagships are built around - and comes with near-stock Android. That means there’s little room for differentiation in terms of specifications or software. Instead, like many other OEMs, HMD is pinning its hopes on the camera to act as the big selling proposition for its most expensive smartphone till date.

To that end, HMD has revived Nokia’s iconic partnership with Carl Zeiss AG - the brand that lent its name to many famous Nokia camera phones back in the day - for the front and rear cameras of the Nokia 8. The phone also packs some new tricks like the ability to capture ‘bothies’ and record spatial 360^O audio thanks to technology borrowed from Nokia’s Ozo camera. Is that enough to make the Nokia 8 stand out in a crowded market?