2017 saw the return of a legend. With Finnish company HMD Global acquiring the rights to manufacture smartphones under the Nokia brand name, die-hard fans of the beloved Nokia brand got a taste of something new.
Kicking things off with the Nokia 6, HMD Global released the Nokia 2,5 and the flagship Nokia 8. All the devices were affordable and packed their fair share of punch in terms of features and specifications. Now, with 2018 just around the corner, it looks like HMD Global is adding another Nokia device to the current lineup.
The Nokia 1 is expected to be launched in March 2018. It will also be the first Android Go device from HMD Global. In case you were wondering, Android Go is a less resource hungry version of Android. Based on Android 8.1 Oreo, this is a very light variant of the operating system.
The Nokia 1 may look like this (Image Credits: Android Authority)
So this means that manufacturers will have to ensure that their devices have certain configurations set. All apps that are installed in Android Go would also use the “Go” version of themselves such as YouTube Go, Maps Go and even Google Assistant. T
The aim here is to optimize the apps so that they take up minimum storage space for less powerful devices. This is so that manufacturers can bring smartphones to emerging markets.
For starters, the Nokia 1 would deliver entry level specs along with a matching price. As such, the device is supposedly going to pack 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. If you feel that is not enough, fret not as the Nokia 1 will also have a microSD card slot for expandable storage.
Image Credits: Android Authority
Packing a rumored 720p display, the Nokia one will cost around the USD $83-$95 price point. This is set perfectly towards Android Go device specifications and even Android One specifications where the price of the smartphone would be less than USD $100.
For now, that’s pretty much all we know about the Nokia 1. HMD Global is actually playing a pretty smart game with Nokia. In October 2017, they announced that all Nokia devices manufactured under HMD Global would be eligible for the Android P update. Since Android P is the yet-to-be-announced next major Android update, this reassures Nokia users that their devices would remain up-to-date for at least a year or two.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is the same thing that Google did with the Nexus and Pixel lineup of devices. They ensured that each device would get at least 2 years of updates before being replaced, and thus far they’ve stayed true to their word. In fact, Nokia’s lineup of smartphones greatly resembles the Nexus lineup of smartphones. Both device lineups which hopefully include the Nokia 1 have minimal if not no bloatware apps installed, but rather have just the core Google apps on them.
The Nexus lineup (Image Credits: AndroidGuys)
In addition, HMD Global has also promised Nokia smartphone users that all Nokia smartphones would have unlocked bootloaders which would take place one model at a time. This would essentially give N the users a greater opportunity to modify their devices.
HMD is certainly playing it smart with Nokia. Let’s see what they have in store for 2018.
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