We’ve all pictured it. Arto Nummela comes on stage, puts up a slide of all Nokia phones of yore, and then puts an ‘A’ in front of them, signifying that they’re all now on Android. Why not, right? The phones that made Nokia the legend could very well be the ones that bring it back into the market. Right? Right? Wroong.
The first Android phone sold under the Nokia brand is going to be the Nokia 6. We all know that now. The metal clad smartphone that runs on a Snapdragon 430 has received mixed reactions from the public, why? Let’s discuss.
Our opinion
Amidst all the specifications, you may have missed a crucial bit of information about the Nokia 6. According to HMD Global, the phone has dual-amplifiers that produce dB louder sound than regular amps. That, in our opinion, is a very Nokia thing to do. Such an enhancement can indeed be useful to the user. It may be apparent only when tested side-by-side, but it may also be one of those features that you can’t let go of once you use it.
That said, there really is nothing more about the announcement that seems exciting. In our experience, the Snapdragon 430 is neither the fastest, nor the most optimizable SoC your phone can have today. Nokia may be handicapped by the industry’s own saturation here.
The perils of expectations
Nokia’s “legendary” status may end up being an issue in its revival. The company is known for innovation, it is known for making products that others didn’t think of. When people think Nokia, especially one that isn’t aligned with Microsoft, they can’t help but expect something that no one else is giving them. Looking at how saturated the industry is today, that may be a major issue.
That’s quite evident from the mixed reactions we’ve seen on our social media forums.
What you thought…
https://twitter.com/digitindia/status/818369562500562945
Nokia 6 images from Weibo via GSMArena.