Nokia 8 Sirocco

Nokia 8 Sirocco is the new “poster boy” for HMD Global’s bold attempt at rekindling all that is has lost in the smartphone industry. Although it’s a heavy claim to make, HMD has admitted that the Nokia 8 Sirocco is made in service of the fans who have been repeatedly asking for a premium flagship that pushes the envelope.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco, Black, 128GB, 6GB RAM runs for Rs.49,999. It comes with a 5.5-inch P-OLED capacitive touchscreen display with 1080 x 2280 pixels at 432 PPI (pixels per inch). This flagship is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 Octa-core processor and comes with 6GB RAM. It also has 64/128 gigs of internal storage that is non-expandable. The phone runs the latest Android Pi and has a 3260mAh non-removable battery. It measures 140.9 x 73 x 7.5 mm and weighs 177 gm. Further, it also houses a 12 MP primary camera and a 13 MP secondary telephoto camera on the rear, and has a 5 MP front shooter for selfies.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is an elegant device with Gorilla Glass on the front and the back. Its more compact form factor can be misleading since it is surprisingly heavy for its size. But that may as well be the driving point behind it surviving a dip in the water, owing to its IP67 rating.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is 5.5 P-OLED capacitive touchscreen display that has a 16/9 aspect ratio. This feels surprisingly large when compared to newer phones which come with tall screen aspect ratios. Most content fits rather nicely on the screen though, and you don’t end up with awkward black bars – which happens when apps haven’t been calibrated to the phone’s particular specifications.
Sirocco sits well in your hand, with the curved edges on the back allowing it to nestle gently in your palm. The company has purposefully used a 5.5-inch display to make the phone more compact.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 6GB RAM, which was used in the original Nokia 8 – and was top of its class in 2017. The Snapdragon 845 is a newer chipset – and while there aren’t a lot of phones in the market currently powered by it, Nokia may have to contend with criticisms about having an older generation chipset in the near future. That said, the practical difference between the Snapdragon 835 and 845 is relatively minor. Simply put, the former might not be able to compete against newer flagships on benchmarks but it has the power to run pretty much anything else you want.

The camera lenses on the Nokia 8 Sirocco are tuned by Zeiss Optics, a collaborating partner for Nokia phones for all camera related concerns.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco shows a 12 MP regular camera with f1.75 aperture and a secondary 13 MP telephoto camera with f2.6 aperture. The camera setup is good on paper, and the Nokia 8 stakes its claims of surpassing its predecessor (the Nokia 8) on this feature. The main camera takes sharp photos with good contrast and vivid colours that are not over-the-top. It also has a live Bokeh mode that allows you to adjust the level of blur you want in the picture after you’ve clicked it. On the front of this phone, you get a 5MP camera meant for selfies and video calls.

With a 3200 mAh non-removable battery and 77 hours of battery life endurance, it performs average at best amongst other flagships. Thankfully, the phone supports wireless charging, and there’s a bundled quick charger that gets you from 0 to 49% battery in half an hour. The Sirocco comes with the latest Android OS and is part of the Android One program which provides updates from Google directly. It is one of the biggest draws, since it’s the only flagship that comes with stock Android and also guarantees consistent updates for the OS – the only phone aside from the Google Pixel to do so.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is a noteworthy upgrade over the original model. It’s fast, comfortable to use, looks good, and brings back stock Android software, with a guarantee for regular updates. All of these are good enough reasons to buy this phone, though it’s at a higher price point than most of its direct competitors with the Snapdragon 845. The Nokia 8 perhaps does not do enough to justify the price difference, however. There are not many things consumers can cling on to aside from brand loyalty to Nokia. Therefore, unless you’re getting a serious discount, this may not be a top recommendation at this price range.