News: Meet the Nokia 9 PureView — the Pixel 3 XL You Wanted

After months of waiting, it looks like HMD has finally answered the call. Nokia's parent company is finally releasing a true flagship phone — one that isn't just an enhanced version of a previous phone and actually brings something new to the table. That phone is the Nokia 9 PureView.

The Nokia 9 PureView has been a long time coming. It's been rumored since early 2018, one year after HMD started releasing Android-powered devices using the Nokia name. While its unique feature did delay its release (resulting in the use of an older SoC), the overall package makes it a strong contender in early 2019, despite being behind the curve. With its improved camera, well-built design, and other goodies, this might be the phone to put Nokia back in the hands of previous fans.

Jump to a section: Standout Features | Dates | Storage | Price | Body | Basics | Software | Display | Performance | Battery | Front Camera | Rear Camera | Audio | Media Formats | Sensors | Connectivity | Security | Box Includes

Standout Features

The Nokia 9 PureView uses a Penta-lens system, using five cameras simultaneously to take photos. These cameras use technology created by Light which allows them to capture 10x more light than the average smartphone camera.

As a member of the Android One program, it runs stock Android 9 Pie and comes with three years of security updates and two years of software updates. It's offering all this at a price which is hundreds of dollars lower than many other flagship devices with similar specs.

And from March 3rd to March 11th, you can get this phone for $599, putting its price range closer to the OnePlus 6T than many other flagships — an offer that's almost too good to pass up.

Important Dates

Nokia 9 PureView ultimately was announced during Mobile World Congress 2019 on February 24, 2019. The phone will release on March 3rd at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H. Between March 3rd and March 11th, the phone will retail at an even lower price of $599. However, on March 11th, it will return to its full MSRP of $699, so get it while it's hot.

• Release date: March 3, 2019
• Preorder date: Unknown
• Announced: February 24, 2019

Storage Capacity

Similar to the Sony Xperia 1 and LG G8, the Nokia 9 PureView will come in one storage option, 128 GB. It will not support expandable storage via microSD.

• Storage available: 128 GB
• Expandable storage: no

Price for Everything

The Nokia 9 PureView will be priced at $699. For context, the Google Pixel 3 with similar specs retails for $799. Except for the OnePlus 7 and 7T, this will be one of the lowest priced flagship phones to come out in 2019.

• Price: $699

Body

The Nokia 9 PureView will come in one color, Midnight Blue. Both the front and back cover are glass, with both protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

• Frame: aluminum, glass
• Finish: midnight blue

Basics

The Nokia 9 PureView has an IP67 rating. This means it's fully protected against harmful dust and can be submerged in water up to a depth of 1 meter (or 3.3 ft) for up to 30 minutes without damage. The Nokia 9 will be sold unlocked, meaning you can use it on any supported network.

• Height: 6.10 inches
• Width: 2.95 inches
• Depth: 0.31 inches
• Weight: 6.07 ounces
• Dust/water resistance: IP67
• Supported carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile
• Infrared blaster: no

Software

Like most of the Nokia devices released in 2018, the Nokia 9 PureView is in the Android One program. As a requirement, it must run an unmodified version of Android, similar to the Google Pixel lineup. Software updates and security patches are even handled by Google, meaning this device will be updated in a speedy fashion. Another requirement for this program is two years of software updates and three years of security patches. This means the Nokia 9 PureView will get both Android 10 and Android 11.

• Version: Android 9.0 Pie

Display

The Nokia 9 PureView will have a 5.99-inch POLED display. It has a resolution of 2880 x 1440p for a pixel density of 538 ppi. It's one of the few phones this year that will not sport a display notch, instead housing the 20 MP front-facing camera in the top bezel. It is an HDR screen with support for HDR10.

• Screen size: 5.99" inches
• Screen resolution: 2880 x 1440 pixels
• Total pixels: 4,147,200 pixels
• Pixel density: 538 ppi
• Screen type: POLED
• Notch: no
• Screen-to-body ratio: 79.7 percent
• Aspect ratio: 18:9
• HDR: yes, HDR10
• Minimum brightness: Unknown
• Maximum brightness:Unknown
• Refresh rate: 60 Hz (60 Hz for touch-sensing)
• Color temp: Unknown
• Color gamut: Unknown

Performance

Since it originally was supposed to come out in 2018, the Nokia 9 PureView has a 2018 processor (SoC), the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Ultimately, the fate of this phone from a sales perspective will hinge on whether or not consumers care about using an older, but more than capable SoC.

• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• Chip size: 10 nanometer
• CPU frequency: 2.8 GHz (Gold) + 1.77 GHz (Silver)
• CPU cores: 8 (4 Gold + 4 Silver)
• GPU: Adreno 630
• GPU cores: 4

Battery

The Nokia 9 PureView comes with a fairly mundane 3,320 mAh battery. It does support USB Power Delivery and Quick Charge 3.0 for fast charging. It also supports the Qi wireless charging standard up to 10W.

• Battery: rechargeable lithium-ion
• Removable: no
• Capacity: 3,320 mAh
• Wired charging: yes, Quick Charge 3.0 (18W), USB PD
• Wireless charging: yes, Qi wireless charging (10W)

Front Camera

The Nokia 9 PureView comes with one 20 MP camera. We don't know much about the camera outside of its resolution. The front (and rear) camera can use pixel binning which is combines pixels together for a higher detail 5 MP photo.

• Resolution: 20 MP
• Aperture: Unknown
• Zoom: no
• Flash: yes, LED
• Image stabilization: no
• RAW support: no
• Object detection: Unknown
• Formats: Unkonwn

Rear Camera

This is where things get interesting: the Nokia 9 PureView has a total of five rear cameras. Each camera has essentially the same lens, but two of the image sensors behind them are RGB, while the other three are monochrome. Each time you take a photo, all five cameras capture an image. These images are then fused together to create a highly detailed 12 MP photo.

However, if you choose to shoot in RAW, this final image will actually be anywhere between 60–240 MP. With this photo, you can use Adobe Lightroom (who HMD has partnered with to provide the free version to Nokia 9 PureView users) to edit the photos with the same tools as you'd find on a computer. Each lens is optimized by ZEISS for additional picture quality.

• Resolution: 12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP
• Sensor size: 1/2.9" + 1/2.9" + 1/2.9" + 1/2.9" + 1/2.9"
• Aperture: ƒ/1.82 + ƒ/1.82 + ƒ/1.82 + ƒ/1.82 + ƒ/1.82
• Zoom: Unknown
• Flash: yes, LED
• Image stabilization: no
• RAW support: Unknown
• Lens cover: Unknown
• Object detection: Unknown
• Formats: Unknown

Only a single RGB sensor is used in videography. It can shoot up to 4K at 60 fps.

• Resolution: 720p, 1080p, and 4K
• Max frame rate: 1080p at 60 fps, 4K at 60 fps
• Slow motion: Unknown
• Time-lapse: Unknown
• Photos: Unknown
• Zoom: Unknown
• Flash access: Unknown
• Image stabilization: no
• Object detection: Unknown
• Autofocus: Unknown
• Audio: Unknown
• Formats: Unknown

Audio

The Nokia 9 PureView has single bottom-firing speaker, so no stereo speakers. It has no headphone jack either, so audio will either be limited to using a dongle and wired headphones or wireless headphones.

• 3.5 mm headphone jack: no
• Stereo speakers: no
• Mics: 3
• Max speaker volume: Unknown

Media Formats

The Nokia 9 PureView supports the usual file types supported by Android.

• Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WAV, FLAC, APE, OGG, MID, M4A, IMY
• Video: MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265(HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM

Sensors

The Nokia 9 PureView includes the usual set of sensors. It does include a barometer to improve elevation readings for location detection.

• Accelerometer: yes
• Ambient light: yes
• Barometer: yes
• Color temperature: no
• Compass: yes
• Gravity: no
• Gyroscope: yes
• Hall: yes
• Infrared: no
• Laser: no
• Pedometer: no
• Proximity: yes

Nokia 9 PureView is great for location tracking. It includes all global geolocation standards except QZSS (Japan's GPS equivalent), allowing it to accurately detect your location in North America (GPS), Europe (Galileo), Russia (Glonass), and more.

• GPS: yes
• aGPS: yes
• Glonass: yes
• BeiDou: yes
• Galileo: yes
• QZSS: no

Connectivity

With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, the PureView is unable to support Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). However, it does include NFC for Android Pay and Bluetooth 5 support.

• Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth: 5
• NFC: yes
• Cellular: nano-SIM
• Port: USB Type-C

The Nokia 9 PureView supports LTE Band 13 which should make it compatible on Verizon networks. However, it must get a Verizon certification for compatibility. It will work on both AT&T and T-Mobile networks as an unlocked phone. It will also work on some prepaid networks such as Cricket, Tracfone, Net10, Simple Mobile, and H2O Wireless.

Model number A.

• GSM 2G EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• GSM 3G/3.5G HSPA+: 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz
• 4G LTE LTE: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/28/32/38/39/40/41/66

Security

The Nokia 9 PureView uses an in-display fingerprint scanner. Again, because this phone was delayed, it uses last year's optical in-display fingerprint scanner tech, which requires light to shine on your finger. This means it won't work with most screen protectors and it's affected by dust and water if they are on your hand.

The PureView uses TrulySecure facial recognition. This feature is a FIDO-certified biometric authentication technology, which Sensory (the company behind this feature) claims can identify and authenticate enrolled users with 99.999% accuracy (a 1 in 10,000 failure rate). This feature runs completely on-device, is encrypted, and data is never shared over the internet for maximum security.

• Fingerprint scanner: yes, in-display
• Face scanner: yes, TrulySecure
• Iris scanner: no
• Manual authentication: password, PIN, pattern, swipe

Box Includes

The phone will come with the usual arrangement of items, including a USB-C charging cable, fast charger, a dongle, and a SIM tool.

• Nokia 9 PureView device
• Nokia Type-C charging cable
• Charger
• Adapter (Type C to AV jack)
• Quick Start Guide
• Headset
• SIM Tool

• Follow Gadget Hacks on Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Flipboard
• Sign up for Gadget Hacks' daily newsletter or weekly Android and iOS updates
• Follow WonderHowTo on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Flipboard