Nokia Isn’t Dead Yet: Company Rumored to Release Android Nougat Powered ‘D1C’ to Rival Apple’s iPhone 8

We recently learned that Nokia — the once globally-dominant, Finland-based smartphone manufacturer — was trying to make its ‘big comeback’ in the ever-evolving, ever-competitive smartphone space. Although the Finnish company, itself, will not be manufacturing smartphones, as was the case in the 90s. Instead, Nokia will be licensing only the ‘Nokia’ brand to HMD Global — another Finland-based company, ironically enough, comprised primarily of former Nokia and Microsoft employees.

However, thanks to a report published yesterday by GSMArena, we might not only be getting our first glimpses of what HMD Global’s forthcoming, Android 7.0 Nougat-powered ‘Nokia’ flagship will look like, but we also have some bittersweet clarification in regards to the device’s actual specifications to share.

First and foremost, Nokia will apparently be releasing not one, but two, variants of what has internally been dubbed the ‘D1C’. As such, the device will be offered in both a “lower-tier,” as well as a “higher-tier” configuration — the former of which will reportedly boast a 5-inch, 1080p touchscreen, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, as well as 13 MP and 8 MP rear- and front-facing cameras, respectively — all powered by Qualcomm’s 1.4 GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 452 CPU.

The higher-tier ‘D1C’ variant, on the other hand, will reportedly retain those exact same specifications, albeit while bumping the display up to a 5.5-inch panel (still at 1080p resolution), throwing in a whole extra Gigabyte of RAM, and packing in a slightly upgraded 16 MP rear-facing camera.

According to GSMArena, both models are already “in the prototype testing phase” — and they could, quite possibly, look very similar to the leaked images shown above. No details about pricing, availability, or even a relative launch window are known, however it’s likely that HMD Global could use Mobile World Congress 2017 — an annual exhibition for smartphone and accessory vendors, held in Barcelona, Spain each February — as an outlet to showcase its Nokia-branded, Android-powered handsets.

While many have expressed excitement over the re-emergence of “Nokia” — as a brand — in the global smartphone space, it’s obviously important to note that just because these devices will display the Nokia badge, doesn’t mean they will be as well-received as the premium-quality, Symbian-powered handsets the company churned out years and years ago. Moreover, one could also wonder if HMD Global is just treading water at this point — particularly considering the ‘D1C’ duo’s rather paltry slate of specifications. With Apple, in particular, rumored to be building some extremely powerful, feature-rich devices in 2017, can a 1080p display with just 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage even compete? Only time will tell..

How do you think Nokia’s newest smartphone will compare to Apple’s iPhone 8?
Let us know in the comments!