Nokia 8 Sirocco first impressions: This premium flagship from Nokia looks promising with its curved glass display

Nokia announced its all-new Sirocco branded smartphone at the Mobile World Congress 2018. Christened as the **Nokia 8 Sirocco** , the smartphone is a premium take on HMD’s currently available flagship Nokia 8 smartphone. [caption id=“attachment_4366989” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Nokia 8 Sirocco. Nokia Mobile.[/caption] The device is inspired by the fancy Nokia 8800 Sirocco, which was released more than a decade ago in 2006. The new Nokia 8 Sirocco carries forward the main elements of the 8800 with a body that is now made of steel (instead of steel armour) and adds glass to deliver something unique only to an Apple iPhone X, which costs a lot more. The design, while looking like a mix of **Galaxy Note 8** and the older Note 5 edge, looks modern but kept reminding me of the Samsung’s Galaxy S series thanks to its curved edge displays. It is however, the first smartphone from the new Nokia, that looks like it could take on similar priced offerings from Apple and Samsung. Inside, the Nokia 8 Sirocco seems pretty much there, but unfortunately features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, which is a bit old in comparison to the rest of the flagships launched at the Mobile World Congress this year. You still get 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage inside that gorgeous steel and glass body, which should make you forget about the minor performance hit. The Nokia 8 Sirocco now has a 12 MP (wide) + 13 MP (tele) camera accompanied by a dual tone flash. While the cameras gain their f/1.7 and f/2.6 apertures, they lose the OIS, which should hit hard when it comes to an already unimpressive low light performance of the Nokia 8. The front facing unit gets a downgrade with a 5 MP unit as opposed to the 13 MP PDAF unit on the older Nokia 8. Connectivity options include the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, and a single SIM slot for 4G LTE connectivity along with Qi wireless charging thanks to the glass back. Powering it all is a 3,260 mAh battery that should charge quickly thanks to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge technology built right in. The software was quick and showcased no lag thanks to the presence of Android One, which is an almost stock and clean version of Android Oreo. With all the bells and whistles of a flagship, it now remains to be seen whether the Nokia 8 Sirocco can really take on flagships from Samsung and Apple, from what I can tell it’s only the camera’s performance that seems worrisome at the moment. Even if Nokia gets the camera right, will smartphones buyers in India be willing to shell out close to 749 Euro for a Nokia smartphone? Be sure to follow our **MWC 2018 page** , Twitter and Facebook channels for LIVE updates from the show floor. Disclaimer: Tech2 was invited to MWC 2018 by Huawei, who were responsible for all expenses related to travel and accommodation.

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Nokia 8 Sirocco first impressions: This premium flagship from Nokia looks promising with its curved glass display

The new Nokia 8 Sirocco carries forward the main elements of the 8800 with a body that is now made of steel and adds glass to deliver something unique only to an Apple iPhone X, that costs a lot more.

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