Meet the Nokia 8

Nokia is back, and stronger than ever!

Nokia was one of the first to venture into the mobile phone business and I grew up seeing its devices everywhere…it was my first love! Actually, it was everyone’s first crush!

I have used many of their devices in the past, the N70 and the E71, and I remember how impressive they looked and felt.

2017 witnessed the great comeback of this trusted brand, offering a range of devices from the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and now the Nokia 8, winning the hearts of all genres of users, from the old time faithful ones, since the 90s, to the new and curious on boarders!

People these days are allocating even more of their time to mobile rather than anything or everyone else, so Nokia jumped into the boat to impress and it did!

Their latest release flagship phone, the Nokia 8, is sleek, fast and smart, to say the least, in brief!

I am happy to share with you the following technical specifications as listed on Nokia's website:

Design Size 151.5mm x 73.7mm x 7.9mm	Colors  Polished Blue, Tempered Blue, Steel, Polished Copper	Network and connectivity Network speed LTE Cat. 9, 3CA, 450Mbps DL/50Mbps UL 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (MIMO), BT 5.0, GPS/AGPS+GLONASS+BDS, NFC (sharing) ANT+	Performance Operating system Android™ Oreo RAM 4 GB LPPDDR4X CPU Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 Mobile Platform, Octa core, (4* 2.5GHz Qualcomm® Kryo™ CPU + 4* 1.8GHz Kryo)	Connectivity and sensors Connectivity Type C, USB3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Sensors Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, E-compass, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Sensor, Hall sensor, Barometer SIM slot 1 nano-SIM slot + 1 nano-SIM or 1 MicroSD card slot
Storage Internal memory 64 GB1 UFS2.1 MicroSD card slot Up to 256 GB	Audio Connector 3.5mm AHJ headphone jack 3-mics	Display Size and type 5.3” IPS QHD Resolution 2560 x 1440 Material Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, 2.5D Glass	Camera and flash Primary camera 13 MP (Colour + OIS) + 13 MP (Mono), 1.12um, f/2.0, 76.9˚, PDAF, IR range finder, dual tone flash Front-facing camera 13 MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2.0,  78.4˚, display flash	Battery and charging Battery type 3090mAh2, non-removable

I didn’t want to rush things, so I took my time, exploring this magnificent phone, and now I am ready to share with you how smoothly we lived together, highlighting: Display, Battery life, Camera, Build quality and software.  

Display

Very bright and sharp. Using it outdoors in daylight, the screen is always visible and the text looks super sharp on this QHD resolution display. The colors, tend to be more natural than over-saturated.

I so loved the screen, but it would have been more astounding if it was bigger…Nokia, is there anything up your sleeves for a 6 inch?!

 

Battery Life

This phone is a champ in this department. At last, I have a phone that does not give up on me, in my hour of need, nor in any hour…the battery’s long life allows it to run for long hours.

Who needs those chargers and cables when you can’t find them? I surely don’t when am with my new Nokia; charge it once and juice lasts you all day long, and more!

The Nokia 8 chargers very quickly thanks to "Quick Charge 3.0" and comes with USB Type C

My bed calls while I am still left with around 25% battery remaining, which is amazing, considering the fact that I am a heavy internet user.

The extended battery life is one of the best characteristics in this device…I fall asleep a happy man!

Camera

If your phone has just one camera on the back of it, then I am sorry to say that it’s so 2016!!!

The Nokia 8 features a dual-sensor 13 megapixel rear shooter that can capture ‘bokeh’ images with superb blurred background.

The “Carl Zeiss” optics are there too; just like the old days, and if you’re familiar with the Zeiss name in the photography industry, then you should know that having their name on a camera or lens, means that the product has undergone heavy testing and fine tuning to ensure optimal image quality. The result is vibrant, sharp and contrasty images.

Check the following sample images:

Day Shot

Night Shot

Notice the "Bokeh" or Background blur

Video on the Nokia 8 is excellent. With the ability to capture videos at 4k resolution, and the availability of optical image stabilization with great surround audio capture, the outcome is nothing short from impressive. You also have the option to further stabilize the captured video from within the gallery app to the point where the video has no shakiness what so ever!! Check out the below video taken during a bumpy ride in the mountains!

In addition, you have the ability to broadcast live video streaming to Facebook Live and YouTube Live with a single touch..what a feature!

The front facing camera is amongst the best I have ever seen. I assure you, that you will not need to flip your phone and use the rear facing cameras to take selfies.. I swear, it is awesome!

A new remarkable feature, introduced first and only by Nokia, is the “Bothie”! It allows you to capture images with the front and rear facing cameras, simultaneously.

Imagine being able to capture your mouthwatering cheese burger and your facial expressions when it is in-front of you..at the same time 🙂!

Build Quality

The phone is well built, using metal and glass, and aligns brilliantly with Nokia’s legacy of sturdy phones. I went for the shiny blue, called Polished Blue, by Nokia…it’s gorgeous!

The overall look of the phone is very clean, the front of the phone is flaunted by the display and a finger print scanner located beneath it that works as should, yet, I would have preferred to move it to a different location, in favor of smaller bezels.

Though the phone is not water-proof, it can still withstand the casual splashes... not that I have the guts to dip it in water, even if it was tolerant…I love my baby too much!

The phone comes with 64GB Build-in Storage and an additional slot for either MicroSD card or a second SIM

Software

Hello Android, you’re here and I love you.

Nokia 8 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box

The Nokia 8 has the latest version of Android installed – Android 8, aka Oreo, at the time of this review. Since I got the phone, around a month ago, I have already received an OTA update to the latest software, a positive indication that consistent update cycles will be followed.

With no additional skins on top of Android, the phone provides an almost pure Android experience, thus, it is buttery smooth, no lag, no hiccups, no nothing going bad. There’s only speed, speed and much more speed…I wake up a happy man!

  

Verdict

Nokia is here, and definitely on track.

I have to admit, with all the brands and options in the market, it is hard to compete these days. But with long years of manufacturing experience they possess, Nokia have a huge chance to be back on the scene as one of the big players in the mobile industry.

The Nokia 8 is a good start, with a great build, good cameras, excellent battery life, and these are exactly the basics that most users require. I expect the following generation to incorporate more features like water-proofing, wireless charging, smaller bezels and bigger displays, but for now, all I can say is welcome back Nokia, welcome back…we had a wonderful well spent honeymoon!