The known Nokia 2017 devices' build, design, specs and features so far do not disappoint but the already revealed Nokia 6 and the rumored Nokia P1 flagship phone as well as the supersized Nokia N1 tablet will not only rely on gorgeous looks and premium hardware. The focus of the new Nokia is possibly to take the place of the beloved Nexus handsets, new reports said.
Before Google discontinued the Nexus smartphone and tablet lines, they commanded loyal following mostly because of two things - affordable price tag and stock Android running the show. Now that the brand is officially retired and replaced by the pricey Pixel phones, Nokia is reportedly looking to pick up where Nexus has left off.
On the question of selling devices with dirt-cheap sticker price, Nokia will indeed sell handsets below the $100 mark but these are for the company's basic phone offerings or the reintroduction of 3210-like handsets. The upcoming Nokia smartphones and tablets will not be exactly cheap but are surely more affordable when compared to the flagship rivals from Apple and Samsung.
But according to NokiaPowerUser, the Nokia 6 will be distinct because of its unique rendering of Android OS and the same applies to the rumored Nokia PI and Nokia N1. All new Nokia phones and tablets will slide out of the box rocking the latest build of Google's mobile operating system, the report said.
"Our ambition is to always use the latest and safest Android OS," HMD Global, the manufacturer behind the Nokia brand, was reported by NokiaPowerUser as saying. In order to achieve this goal, it is assumed that the Nokia 6, for instance, will hit the market boasting of at least near-stock Android.
And in doing so, all Nokia devices will be among the first to get Android firmware updates, which is a feature identified with the Nexus brand. This indeed was the plan as HMD confirmed in the same report that part of the Nokia package is to "provide timely updates."
How this will carried out, the report did not specify but one good guess is that Nokia will be competing with the Pixel smartphones in getting to users the latest Android OS update.
On release date, likely to coincide with the MWC 2017 that kicks off February 26, the Nokia 6 will run on Android 7.0 Nougat and will likely jump to 7.1.1 in no time. But Nokia actually outrunning Google's Pixel to the next Android firmware update (and become the unofficial new Nexus) remains to be seen.