“The Nokia 8.1 is the first Nokia-branded device to receive the latest Android 10 OS upgrade.”
HMD Global has announced the rollout of Android 10 as an OTA update to its mid-range smartphone, the Nokia 8.1. The smartphone becomes the first handset in HMD Global’s portfolio to receive the Android 10 upgrade, justifying its tag of the Android One programme and continuing Nokia‘s relatively solid track record of providing timely, regular updates and upgrades to its devices over time. The Nokia 8.1 is right now the only Nokia-branded device to be running on Android 10, and the update is being offered in a phased rollout manner.
Incidentally, the Nokia 8.1 is the first smartphone running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC to receive the Android 10 upgrade. Launched in late 2018, the Nokia 8.1 was introduced with Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. The smartphone is powered by the aforementioned Snapdragon 710 SoC, along with three variants of RAM and storage — 4GB and 64GB, 6GB and 64GB, and 6GB and 128GB. The device features a premium, glass build, with the front featuring a 6.18-inch, full HD+ 19:9 display with HDR10 certification. The device features minimal bezels, and a wide notch at the top housing the front imaging and sensor apparatus.
To the rear, it features a 12-megapixel, Dual Pixel image sensor with f/1.8 lens, and a 13-megapixel telephoto secondary camera unit. The dual-camera unit features Zeiss lenses, electronic stabilisation and can record videos at up to 4K at 30fps. To the front, it features a single camera unit with a 20-megapixel sensor and f/2.0 lens. The overall package is powered by a 3,500mAh battery with 18W fast charging, and input ports include a hybrid microSD memory card slot for storage expansion by up to 400GB, as well as a USB-C port at the bottom with OTG support. The rear also features a fingerprint sensor.
Priced at Rs 16,499 on Amazon India, the Nokia 8.1 presents itself as a solid, mid-range Android smartphone that offers a reasonably compelling specifications sheet, along with the promise of well-timed Android upgrades and the value addition of the Nokia brand. Users that have not received the Android 10 upgrade prompt yet should check device settings to find the update, or simply wait for a couple of days until Nokia pushes the OTA prompt to all Nokia 8.1 devices across the world.
