Next Nokia flagship phone could be delayed to ensure it's not obsolete at launch

We were expecting to see the Nokia 9.1 PureView, successor to the 9 PureView, in early 2020, possibly at the MWC 2020 trade show in February, but it seems we were wrong about the release date – and the name.

That's based on a rumor from Twitter user @nokia_anew, who suggests that the Nokia 9.1 PureView is not the name of the phone – instead, Nokia is jumping straight to the 9.2 PureView. 

In addition, it's apparently not coming in early 2020 but closer to the end of the year.

• Check out the best Nokia phones
• Read our Nokia 7.2 review
• What does the Snapdragon 865 do?

According to Nokia Anew, this is to ensure the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset will be powering the phone. The Twitter user says the delay is for the 'replacement of the processor', which suggests Nokia was at one stage using an older chipset for the phone.

The use of the cutting-edge Snapdragon 865 is almost certainly an important enough change to necessitate Nokia delaying its next flagship's release. HMD Global declined to comment on the rumor.

The Nokia 9 PureView had the Snapdragon 845, which was outdated even for its time, and many users and reviewers criticized that element of the phone as a result.

By using the Snapdragon 865, Nokia would try to ensure the 9.2 PureView will hold up against many of the biggest phones of 2020 like the Samsung Galaxy S11 or Sony Xperia 2.

We don't know much else about the Nokia 9.2 PureView at this time, but we'd expect it to be similar to its namesake, possibly with five rear cameras in a 'spider-eye' design. We'll let you know more when we find out, possibly further into 2020, but there will likely be more Nokia handsets announced before then.

• Why Nokia phones could soon be your common workplace partner

Via GSMArena