Nokia could be planning to bring its first Android phone to the rest of the world next month, or it could be planning something even bigger. The Nokia 6 is already available for preorder in China, but rumors about the upcoming Nokia 8 are flying fast and furiously.
Nokia teases Feb. 26 event
Nokia Mobile posted the video on its Facebook page showing off its new Android phone, announcing that it’s coming to China and promising more announcements on Feb. 26. Many tech blogs and news sites are taking the post to mean that the company will launch the Nokia 6 in the rest of the world on that date, although the post certainly doesn’t say that.
The company said the phone would be exclusive to China, at least at first, and it opened preorders for it this week. The phone itself will become available in stores in China on Jan. 19 with a price tag of only CNY66 (or $9). Certainly it’s a phone designed for price-conscious Chinese consumers, and it should do well in other emerging markets as well, if it ever makes it to other markets.
What about the Nokia 8?
The Feb. 26 event Nokia announced is timed during the Mobile World Congress, which suggests that a new phone could be launched. Many companies, including the big boy Samsung, reveal new phones during the show, so the question now is whether Nokia will be showing off a new phone or if it will simply announce plans to launch the 6 in other markets besides China.
While the Nokia 6 is the company’s first Android smartphone, the 8 is what is capturing the attention of the rumor mill. The folks at GSMArena posted some videos they claim show the company’s next flagship, which is widely being called the Nokia 8. Although the phone is expected to debut at MWC, Qualcomm supposedly showed it off at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month.
Attendees were apparently told not to take photos of the phone, but someone sent a video of it to GSMArena and claimed it will be the Nokia 8. The video shows no physical buttons on the front. So perhaps the company is teasing the unveiling of the 8 (which is not unexpected) rather than the launch of the 6 in new markets. It’s either that, or the videos sent to GSMArena are not of the 8 but rather of some other phone. Or perhaps the company will announce the expanded launch of the 6 paired with the unveiling of the 8.
Two Nokia 8 models expected
The 8 will supposedly come with either a Snapdragon 835 or Snapdragon 821, with a lower price on the older chipset. The pricier one is expected to have 6GB of RAM and a rear-facing 24-megapixel camera with OIS and EIS. The selfie camera is expected to be 12MP, and it’s expected to have dual front-facing speakers. Storage options are expected to be either 64GH or 128GB.
The less expensive one with the Snapdragon 821 chipset is expected to have 4GB of RAM and a less impressive camera, although no specs were given on it.
