Nokia 9.2 PureView 5G - All the rumors in one place (Updated - April 20) - Android

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Nokia 9.2 PureView 5G - All the rumors in one place (Updated - April 20) - Android

Update: More evidence suggests an in-display selfie camera and 120Hz refresh rate are coming.

The Nokia 9 PureView smartphone held in a person's hand showing off the back of the device.

Update, April 20 , 2020 (5AM ET): We have rumors to suggest that the Nokia 9.2 PureView will feature an in-display selfie camera and a 120Hz screen refresh rate. We’ve updated the original article to reflect the new information. Read on for more.


HMD Global isn’t known for making flagship smartphones, but the Nokia 9 PureView from 2019 was the company’s best shot in the category. The follow-up to the Nokia 9 will likely be mostly an iterative upgrade, tentatively known as the Nokia 9.2 PureView.

HMD Global officially revealed the Nokia 9 PureView in February 2019 after several months of delays. The Android One smartphone sports a whopping five rear camera lenses along with a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor. We expect the follow-up to the Nokia 9 to feature another multi-lens camera setup with some new upgrades. We also expect some of the internal specs to get bumped up as well.

Nokia 9.2 PureView: Name and release date

The back of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone.

Judging from prior HMD Global naming schemes for its Nokia-branded smartphones (which even the company itself says are confusing), we assumed the name for the follow-up to the Nokia 9 would likely be the Nokia 9.1 PureView. Later rumors suggested the handset will carry the 9.2 moniker instead while others suggest it could even tout the 9.3 name. Until Nokia releases its official branding, we will refer to the handset as the Nokia 9.2 PureView.

Since the phone might be 5G-capable (more on that in a bit), it’s possible the device will have 5G in its official name, something like Nokia 9.2 PureView 5G. However, the “9.2” aspect of the name, as well as the PureView moniker, will almost assuredly be a part of the title.

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According to sources speaking with Nokia Power User, the planned launch of the Nokia 9.2 was originally slated for the third quarter of 2019 before it was delayed until Q2 2020. However, due to HMD wanting to include more updated internal specs, it was delayed again and likely won’t see a release until Autumn 2020.

As such, we should expect the Nokia 9.2 PureView to launch at some point before the end of the year but no sooner than September. October is usually a big month for smartphone releases so HMD could possibly release the handset then.

Design

The front and side of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone.

It’s very unlikely we’ll see too many design changes with the Nokia 9.2 PureView. Instead, it’s far more likely we’ll see the same overall design but with a few tweaks.

That means the penta-lens camera setup on the back of the device will likely look very similar. It’s possible the lenses and other related hardware could get some upgrades, but the overall look will likely be the same.

The front of the device is likely where most changes could occur. One rumor stemming from Nokia Anew (@nokia_anew) claims HMD could be planning to include an under-display selfie camera on its upcoming flagship.

Another report from Nokia Power User notes that the under-display selfie camera is almost confirmed for the final market version of the phone. The report attributes this information to sources close to HMD Global, the official Nokia mobile licensee. It says that Nokia was testing both a pop-up selfie camera and an under-display camera, but has found the latter to be stable enough for the final retail version of the new flagship.

If that ends up being the case, the Nokia 9.2 would be one of the first handsets (possibly even the first) to tout the feature. Several companies such as Oppo, Xiaomi, and Samsung could also release handsets with under-display selfies soon, but there is no official word on when that might be.

This would also mean the display bezels of the Nokia 9.2 could likely be much smaller than what we saw on the Nokia 9, which had a large forehead and even larger chin.

The in-display fingerprint sensor will also still be around, as it would seem a step backward to put a rear- or side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the Nokia 9 follow-up.

Specs and features

The front of the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone.

As one would expect, the most notable rumored upgrades for the Nokia 9.2 PureView relate to its rear camera system.

Unfortunately, even with a whopping five rear camera lenses on board, the Nokia 9 failed to impress many smartphone camera reviewers, including us here at Android Authority. Many of the problems with the camera didn’t stem from the hardware; it was the software that didn’t measure up.

For example, the camera app took too long to start up and actually crashed a few times during testing. HMD pushed software updates to address these early issues, but even then the camera system didn’t compete with photo-centric heavyweights such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and the Huawei P30 Pro.

With the Nokia 9.2 PureView, the software is rumored to be getting an upgrade and the hardware could as well. This is what an anonymous source had to say to Nokia Power User:

We can expect even better camera performance with a special focus on video and low-light performance. Camera speed has also been improved with a combination of better processor and software algorithm improvements with the help of Light. But the development team still is working on optimizations.

Interestingly, a later report from Nokia Power User claims Nokia will likely do away with the last generation’s Light camera technology. The Nokia 9 PureView used five 12MP cameras (three monochrome sensors and two RGB sensors) powered by multi-lens camera company Light.

This enabled better HDR and low-light snaps and more granular depth effects but led to a lack of detail and slow camera performance. This potentially means the updated handset could feature a more conventional normal/wide/telephoto camera layout. The latest rumors from Nokia Anew suggest the company is experimenting with a 24MP, 20MP, and 48MP camera setup and at least one of those sensors could feature OIS.

Hopefully, the omission of Light’s camera tech doesn’t completely take away from the handset’s rumored upgrades. We still hope the Nokia 9.2 PureView can be the promised photo powerhouse we were supposed to get with the Nokia 9.

Read also: The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra camera makes me think I don’t need a DSLR anymore

Elsewhere, we expect the internals of the Nokia 9.2 to get some upgrades. Several rumors suggest the smartphone will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. On the other hand, Nokia confirmed plans to launch a Snapdragon 765 phone but said nothing about a S

20/04/2020 09:10 AM