I got a heartache when Microsoft snapped ties with Nokia. While the naming rights were handed over to HMD global, Foxconn acquired the feature-phone market. Nothing seemed right as my favorite firm was dissolved and a reincarnation seemed highly improbable. However, it seems Nokia has made a comeback of sorts by introducing a new smartphone, exclusively in China.
Termed as HMD Global's Nokia 6, this handset marks the second stint for the company albeit a weaker processor and a promising acoustic setup. In this post, I will be talking about my opinions regarding Nokia's future as a smartphone manufacturing company.
The Good
I still have a distant memory of the Nokia 216 feature phone— flaunting a 2.4-inch screen and 30-day standby support. I must say that Nokia 6 is a great improvement sans Microsoft's branding. The unibody aluminum chassis is a massive addition and the adoption of Android Nougat is certainly a big step from Nokia— right into the future.
Apart from that, Nokia seems to have improved its acoustic aura with the inclusion of Dolby Atmos support and two stereo quality speakers. The screen, as per the tabulated specs sheet, looks great at 5.5-inches and 1080p.
The Bad
While each one of us was expecting Nokia to start 2017 with a bang, the company— veiled as HMD Global played safe with the Nokia 6. The only reason for me to say this is the lack of a competent processor. Nokia 6 throws in Qualcomm's Snapdragon 430 SoC which is more of an average processor— released at the fag-end of 2017. While Xiaomi was the first one to get it on-board, Lenovo pushed it further with the likes of K6 and other associated models.
Frankly speaking, I don't condemn the addition of Snapdragon 430 as it is a decent enough Octa-Core SoC for the entry-level smartphones. I am only disappointed on seeing Nokia's safe play even after been pushed into oblivion for such a long time. I would have expected the company to come out, making a statement of sorts. Instead of announcing its arrival, Nokia chose to slide in a basic smartphone— presumably to see the market reactions.
Coming back to the specifications which feel average, the camera at 16MP is more of a letdown. The f/2.0 aperture is a bad option for low-light photography and even the 8MP selfie shooter couldn't save the day. Moreover, the camera looks spec-heavy but misses out on 4K video recording support.
Bummer!
Not just the processor, I am also saddened by Nokia's approach of underutilizing the not-so-bad Snapdragon 430. Nokia 6 lacks NFC and VoLTE which are actually the brighter spots of the concerned processor. While users will still be able to watch streamed content over 123 movies and other applications like YouTube and Vimeo— the download speed might not be that great courtesy Cat.4 LTE support.
Lastly, the 3,000mAh battery looks weak as compared to some of the other handsets in the market. Snapdragon 430 supports Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 but it will be interesting to see if Nokia 6 utilizes the same.
Will there be Microsoft-Again?
HMD Global took over the name for a reason. This is one Finnish firm comprising of ex-Nokia employees and therefore the fixation for 'Nokia' nomenclature is understandable. Moreover, Microsoft took over Nokia only as an experimental move and with the desire to leverage the 'Lumia' brand name. With that out of the way, there isn't a chance that Microsoft will be showing any interest in Nokia— unless the latter comes out with a chain of high-end gadgets.
The Future?
I have always been a fan of Nokia branded handsets as Symbian was my favorite platform for a long time. Therefore, my connection with Nokia goes way beyond the postulates of hardware and software. However, as a tech enthusiast, Nokia 6 didn't impress me at all courtesy the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset.
That said, I am still looking forward to the Mobile World Congress 2017 and expecting Nokia to come out with certain bigger announcements. I understand that a battered company looks to play safe but I would never underestimate Nokia as it has the capability of surprising even the best in the business.
Do let me know if you guys are as upbeat as me regarding Nokia second stint.