Nokia took the smartphone world by storm at this year’s Mobile World Congress show, thanks to the resurrection of the 3310.
Yes, it lasts for ages and yes, you can play Snake on it, but a reimagined dumbphone isn’t the flagship we were really after, is it? A selection of mid-range Android handsets didn’t exactly set tongues wagging, but we might not have long to wait until Nokia breaks out the big guns.
WHAT WE KNOW
Iris scanner inbound?
The latest rumours suggest Nokia will be adding iris scanning to the Nokia 9, bumping up security and giving you a new way to unlock your phone, just like Samsung has done with the Galaxy S8.
Dual-camera cleverness
Carl Zeiss lenses have appeared on top-end Nokia phones in the past, and according to leaks, that’s set to continue here. Only this time, there will be two: the Nokia 9 should arrive with a dual-camera setup. There’s no clue as to what form this system would take, or if it would follow in the footsteps of Apple, Huawei or LG with twin-sensor trickery. The main sensor should top out at 22MP, but the pixel count for the secondary sensor is still a mystery.
Plenty of power
A flagship phone needs to have great performance, and the Nokia 9 should be no exception. The current crop of rumoured specs include a Snapdragon 835 CPU, 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of super-fast UFS storage (plus microSD expansion), and a 3800mAh battery keeping the whole thing juiced up. It should be IP68 dust- and water-resistant, too.
OLED all the way
Expect to see a 5.5in, QHD OLED panel on the front of the Nokia 9, if the most up-to-date rumours are to be believed. That would easily put it on par with the current crop of flagship phones, even if Nokia doesn’t go for a slim-bezel, odd-aspect ratio design.
OZO Audio onboard?
The juiciest rumour we’ve heard so far is the addition of OZO audio. This is Nokia’s 3D sound recording and playback tech that was built specifically for VR – suggesting that the Nokia 9 will arrive with the 4 microphones needed to make it work, and support for VR footage shot on the company’s high-end OZO 360-degree video cameras.