Ever since the new Nokia came out with its first Nokia phones two years ago, we heard rumblings that flagship devices that would rival the iPhone, Galaxy S, and Pixel phones would arrive in due time, and HMD Global delivered. The company, however, never launched that elusive Nokia 9 phone that appeared in rumors all the way back in 2017. That might change soon, a new leak tells us.
According to well-known leaker Evan Blass, the following image shows a the Nokia 9 PureView phone. And we’re looking at the kind of leak — a press render — that precedes a commercial launch. As the name suggests, Nokia is bringing back the PureView camera branding, which should be good news for fans. The Nokia 9 phone has other surprises as well, but also a feature you might not appreciate:
Nokia 9 PureView "Beholder." HNY pic.twitter.com/x4Kh3anP46
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) December 31, 2018
The PureView camera on the back of the phone features five lenses, which would be a first for the mobile market. To date, no smartphone maker placed more than four rear-facing cameras on a phone — Samsung’s Galaxy A9 has a four-lens camera setup, by the way.
In addition to the five camera cutouts on the back, we also have a flash cutout, as well as a seventh hole, which may be used for a time-of-flight lens, although this is speculation from yours truly.
There’s no fingerprint sensor on the back because it’s tucked under the screen. You can easily see the placement of the in-display fingerprint sensor on the screen. That’s where you’ll have to touch the display to unlock the phone.
Also exciting is the fact that the phone has Android One branding on the back, which is an indication that Nokia 9 will come out with an Android 9.0 Pie version similar to Google’s release.
Some people will also appreciate the flat display more than the curved screen that Nokia used for a different flagship earlier this year.
What you won’t like about this Nokia 9 are the top and bottom bezels which are quite large by 2018 standards. Not to mention that the Galaxy S10 launching next year will have a screen that will occupy almost the entire front side of the phone. By comparison, the Nokia 9 will be quite ugly.
Moreover, the headphone jack seems to be gone, but that would be an understandable move from a company that just used plenty of internal space for a sophisticated five-lens camera setup and an in-display fingerprint sensor. On the same note, it’ll be interesting to see how big the battery inside the phone will be. Wireless charging seems to be supported. That glossy back can only be made of glass.
Blass didn’t reveal the phone’s release date, but with CES and MWC 2019 around the corner, we’d expect Nokia to unveil several new devices real soon.
