Could Nokia be about to launch its first flagship phone since 2019?
Speculation is mounting that Nokia may be about to launch its first flagship phone since 2019’s Nokia 9 Pureview.
The evidence pointing to a new flagship isn’t conclusive, but it is certainly compelling. A now-deleted Weibo post from HMD China project manager Zhang Yucheng promised that a new Nokia 5G phone will arrive on the country’s “Singles’ Day” – an unofficial holiday that falls on November 11 each year.
Granted, the presence of 5G doesn’t necessarily point to a flagship phone, but in the past the company hasn’t scheduled events for its mid-range and budget offerings, so it’s hard to imagine this being a party for a low-cost handset.
Why the post has been deleted is anybody’s guess, but the best hope for people in the west banking on a new Nokia flagship is that the Chinese marketing department teased the product before the various other territories were ready to go. Otherwise, it’s entirely possible that a possible new Nokia flagship will be a China-only proposition, given the reveal was on a Chinese social network.
That would give a little credence to a recent report that claimed HMD is planning on releasing a Nokia smartphone running Huawei’s new Harmony OS software. Notably, Huawei has since labelled reports that Nokia is going to adopt the operating system as “false,” however.
That was reportedly for the Nokia X60 and X60 Pro, which could still be in the works, even if Harmony OS isn’t running the show. Elsewhere, there are rumours of a Nokia X50, but early signs point to mid-range specs, with a device powered by the Snapdragon 775 5G processor, which feels less likely to be subject to a special event.
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Hopefully we do see a new Nokia flagship handset in the near future. The Nokia 9 Pureview was a strange device thanks to its (at the time) unprecedented five-lens rear camera setup and somewhat dated chipset, but it was a welcome challenger to flagships from the likes of Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi and OnePlus.
We have reached out to HMD Global to ask about the deleted Weibo post, and will update this post if and when we hear anything.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
