Nokia as Android smartphone: Will it work?

The world might have been a different place if Nokia, at the peak of its popularity, had decided to jump onboard the Android bandwagon. As a company that had innovated with feature phones like no other tech company, Nokia probably would have by now become a formidable name in the smartphone industry if only they had foresight enough to have understood Android’s value.

But better late than never, right?

Barring the half-baked Nokia X-series smartphones that came with an Android-based operating system (OS) in 2014, Nokia has finally unveiled its first proper Android smartphone. Yes, at long last!

The Nokia 6, though, will be available only in China at present, and runs Android 7.0 Nougat. The phone comes with an all-metal body, a 5.5 inch full-HD and a 2.5D Gorilla Glass screen. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, the phone boasts 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

The Nokia 6 carries a 16-megapixel camera on the rear with f/2.0 aperture, Phase Detection Autofocus and dualLED flash. On the front, it comes with an 8-megapixel camera. The phone is backed by a 3,000mAh battery.

The Nokia 6, announced by HMD Global - the exclusive licensee of Nokia for mobile phones and tablets - on Sunday, will be initially available for buying for 1699 CNY (roughly Rs 16,739) in China only, with no word on global availability and pricing for now.

"From the outset we have stated that we intend to move with speed to establish a position as a player in the smartphone category and create products that truly meet consumer needs. Our ambition is to deliver a premium product, which meets consumer needs at every price point, in every market. We start today, with our premium, high quality Nokia 6; built to deliver a fantastic core user experience for Chinese consumers. We look forward to unveiling further products in the first half of this year," Arto Nummela, CEO, HMD Global, said.

But even with decent specs, a good price tag and some latent trust that old Nokia patrons have for the brand, it is worth wonder if at all, Nokia would ever manage to rise back to its glory days. For Nokia to survive in this ultra-competitive market of smartphones, they will need to innovate and stand out. As of yet, there are no indications of the Nokia 6 being a wonder technology in terms of hardware.

As far as the software is concerned, no information is out yet about Nokia’s handling of the Android OS. There have been hints of it running on a near-stock version, but only time will tell.

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