Nokia 9 PureView night mode feature not coming, HMD chief explains why

Nokia 9 PureView smartphone will not be getting night mode, a dedicated mode for capturing brighter and clearer photos in the low light environment. HMD Global head Juho Sarvikas while replying to a user’s query on Twitter said that due to the Nokia 9 PureView camera subsystem design, it cannot leverage “low light algorithm” on top of the fusion that the system already does. Hence, the creation of a Night Mode or fusing a low light algorithm, as seen with other Nokia smartphones, is not compatible with the handset’s camera app. Sarvikas suggests that the Nokia 9 PureView owners should be shooting in .dng format and editing the shots later on in Lightroom.

Hi dOrso, due to the camera subsystem design, we can not leverage “low light algorithm” on top of the fusion of that the system already does. In other lighting conditions, if you get a .jpeg result you don’t like, keep .dng (raw) capture on and revisit it in Lightroom.

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) December 17, 2019

Nokia 9 PureView users will likely find this news disappointing considering most 2019 smartphones, flagships and budget phones included, come with a dedicated night mode feature. When taking photos in night mode, the camera uses a long shutter speed to capture lights and details in a dimly lit environment. Results have shown that images taken with night mode are comparatively better than any other modes such as flash. With a camera setup as powerful and unique as the one on the Nokia 9 PureView, a night mode feature would have been welcomed indeed.

Nokia 9 PureView specifications

Nokia 9 PureView was launched earlier this year as the world’s first smartphone with a penta camera setup at the back. The setup comprises of five 12-megapixel Carl Zeiss optic sensors with LED flash. These consist of two RGB sensor and three monochrome sensors with f/1.8 aperture and auto-focus. For selfies, a 20-megapixel sensor is available on the front. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

Nokia 9 PureView also ships with stock-Android 9 Pie OS out of the box and 5.99-inch pOLED display with QHD+ resolution, HDR10 support, and thick bezels on the top and bottom. The handset houses a 3,320mAh battery with fast charging support and wireless charging support as well. It also comes with an optical fingerprint scanner takes care of the security. The Nokia 9 PureView was launched in India back in July with a hefty price tag of Rs 49,999.