The rumours and leaks around Nokia’s return to the smartphone game have been swirling like crazy for the past few months. There is great news for Nokia fans all around the globe. The company has finally officially confirmed the fact that they will return to smartphones in 2017.
Once the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, Nokia’s fate was sealed after its decision in 2011 to partner with Microsoft’s Windows Phone and sideline Android. However, now its coming back, and that too with three handsets in the offing.
Spotted by Nokiapoweruser, Nokia unveiled a chart at the Capital Markets Day presentation outlining the company’s plans for the next two years. And in that chart it is clearly written that Nokia will return to the smartphone game in 2017. The company also plans to dabble in the VR space along with digital health brand transition and patent licensing for expansion in mobile, consumer electronics and automative.
For 2016, the chart outlines the launch of OZO VR camera (which we saw earlier this year), Withings acquisition and Samsung license agreement expansion. The company’s plans for 2018 include VR technology expansion, growth in remote patient care in Digital Health and continued patent licensing growth and diversification.
Nokia’s grand comeback: What all do we know so far?
Soon you will be able to buy a Nokia branded smartphone again. And this time with Android in tow. There are three smartphones rumoured to be in the pipeline.
Of the three smartphones, two are tipped to be flagship devices with top of the line specifications and the third, dubbed the Nokia D1C, will be a mid-range device. What is interesting to note is fact is that past leaks suggested that the Nokia D1C was not a smartphone at all, but actually a tablet.
Nokia D1C - the mid range handset
However, fresh leaks have emerged with images of the D1C revealing once and for all that the device is in fact a smartphone. These images all but confirm Nokia’s much awaited comeback into the smartphone game.
The leaked images show the smartphone having rounded metal edges, with capacitive buttons at the front and volume and power buttons on the right. What is interesting is that the Gold color variant of the device is expected to come with a fingerprint scanner embedded in the Home button, while the other color variants (White and Black) will lack this feature.
Nokia D1C specifications
The D1C is set to come with a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a fullHD screen (display size uncertain) and the Adreno 505 GPU.
While not confirmed, the device could come with a 13MP front and 8MP rear camera, with Android 7.0 Nougat on board. On the connectivity side, the device is set to support 4G LTE, Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0 as well as GPS/A-GPS.
Two flagships on their way
Disappointed that these are strictly mid-range specifications? Fret not, because rumors pointing to two high-end Nokia devices with 5.2/5.5-inch QuadHD displays have also been floating about.
These devices are set to come with the powerful Snapdragon 820 processor, a 22.6MP rear camera and 4K video recording support.
Price and availability
Leaks and rumours point to the high-end devices sporting a price tag of around Rs 30,000, while the D1C (the mid-range device) is expected to be priced south of Rs 20,000.
MWC link
In October, Nokia announced via Twitter that it’s CEO Rajiv Suri will be a keynote speaker at MWC 2017. Now it seems apparent that the company will be announcing their new phones at this keynote.
Are you as excited for Nokia’s return as we are? Sound off in the comments!
