HMD Global - the self-proclaimed home of Nokia phones - is bringing four new Android devices to Australia in May. The ultra budget Nokia 1, and the midrange Nokia 6 (2018) will be available on May 4, while the Nokia 7 Plus and flagship grade Nokia 8 Sirocco go on sale on May 17.
All four handsets are powered by either Android One or Android Go.
Android One is an unmodified version of Android maintained by Google rather than the device manufacturer. Google promises that all Android One devices will get at least two years of major operating system updates and regular security updates.
HMD's Nokia Android phones all ready ran a clean version of Android, but the move to the Google-maintained take on the operating system should mean phones receive updates in a more timely fashion.
Android Go is a version of Android tuned for faster and smoother performance on entry-level hardware. Apps start 15% faster, the entire OS is smaller so that phones have more available storage out of the box, and Google has redesigned many of its apps to be lighter and less data intensive.
Nokia 8 Sirocco
The Nokia 8 Sirocco is Nokia's new flagship device, and is very much "on trend". It has a curved Gorilla Glass 5 front and back, and dual rear-facing cameras. Notably, the phone's frame is stainless steel rather than aluminium; HMD says this makes it 2.5 times stronger.
Key specifications for the Nokia 8 Sirocco include a 5.5-inch 1440p curved display, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, IP67 water-resistance, wireless charging, and dual rear-facing cameras (a 12MP primary lens and a 13MP zoom lens). Notably, the Nokia 8 Sirocco doesn't have a headphone jack, so you'll need to use USB Type-C or Bluetooth for audio.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco will be available from May 17 for $1,199, exclusively through JB Hi-Fi.
Nokia 7 Plus
The Nokia 7 Plusis a midrange device being pitched as "affordable flagship", touting an extra-tall 18:9 display and the same dual lens camera configuration found in the Sirocco. You don't get water-resistance and the processor is one step down, but the Nokia 7 Plus doesn't seem like it makes too many compromises in terms of keeping the price down.
Other key specifications for the Nokia 7 Plus include a 6-inch 1080p+ display, a Snapdragon 660 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of expandable storage. The phone is built using an aluminum unibody coated with six layers of ceramic paint to hide antenna bands.
The Nokia 7 Plus will be available from May 17 for $649 through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
Nokia 6 (2018)
The Nokia 6 (2018) is a refresh of last year's Nokia 6, featuring a more compact design, fast charging, and ZEISS optics for the rear-facing camera.
Key specifications for the Nokia 6 (2018) include a 5.5-inch 1080p display, a Snapdragon 630 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 16MP rear-facing camera.
The new Nokia 6 will be available from May 4 for $399 through JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
Nokia 1
The Nokia 1 is HMD's new entry-level device, and is the sole smartphone in the new range to be powered by Android Go. The body is polycarbonate rather than aluminum or glass, and the specs are pretty barebones. These include a 4.5-inch 480p display, a 1.1GHz MediaTek processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 5MP camera. Hopefully Android Go will mean it the Nokia 1 punches above its weight in terms of performance.
You'll be able to get the Nokia 1 from May 4 for $149 through Harvey Norman.
Alex Choros
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