Detailed look at the Nokia 9 PureView penta-camera smartphone

After being a part of numerous rumours and leaking in its entirety, HMD Global has finally unveiled the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone with its five rear camera layout. The Nokia 9 PureView sits atop of HMD Global’s lineup and is its flagship smartphone, the brand has ensured it boasts all the specifications that make it worth its wait. At the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, HMD Global announced a smartphone for not just casual photographers but for enthusiast and professional photographers as well.

While the main highlight os the Nokia 9 PureView is undoubtedly its Penta-camera setup, it has other noteworthy features as well. Like the Nokia 8.1, the handset features a premium glass finish on the front and back that sandwiches a metal frame. Considering that a majority of flagship smartphones come with a glass back, it's no surprise that HMD Global has opted to use this material on their top of the line handset. The design also helps with the ingress protection rating which is IP67 meaning it can take a dip in water without getting damaged.

On the front, we find a 5.99-inch P-OLED display that features HDR-10 compliance and a resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels which is essentially a QHD+ display. For protection, it's been fitted with a Gorilla Glass 5 that should keep away minor scratches or cracks. Featuring an OLED display, the Nokia 9 PureView features an in-display fingerprint sensor. However, if that’s not your thing, you can also take advantage of the AI-assisted Face Unlock feature that’s present here.

While most flagship handsets come loaded with a Snapdragon 855 chipset, the Nokia 9 PureView features a Snapdragon 845 SoC. It appears that Nokia has intentionally fitted this chipset in the handset as they have worked to optimise the camera algorithms that make use of all the essential features of the CPU. The Snapdragon 845 chipset is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB of expandable storage and when launched will come in a single colour option — Midnight Blue.

The Nokia 9 PureView comprises of five cameras with all of them featuring 12MP sensors that feature an F/1.8 Carl Zeiss lens. Two cameras are comprised of RGB sensors while the remaining three are monochromatic sensors. The sixth camera found here is a ToF sensor that aids in further depth sensing. Lastly, there is a dual tone LED flash also located on the rear.

All five work together to collect up to 10-times the amount of light than a single colour sensor of the same type. Every image captured by Nokia 9 PureView is HDR, with up to 12.4 stops of dynamic range and a full scene 12MP depth map. Each 12MP JPG image can benefit from outstanding detail in areas of both bright sunlight and dark shadows at the same time with incredible texture. The depth map allows beautiful bokeh, giving you the possibility to adjust focus in Google Photos after you have taken the shot. Maximising the heterogeneous computing architecture of the Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile platform and featuring a dedicated imaging co-processor, the Nokia 9 PureView gives you a glimpse into the future of smartphone photography with unparalleled control over your images through the updated Pro Camera UI. Nokia 9 PureView allows you to capture images in uncompressed RAW “DNG” format and through a partnership with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom allows editing on the device.

There is no camera bump for a flawless finish that radiates the thoughtful design you expect of a Nokia smartphone. And you can rest assured that the Nokia 9 PureView will get through the knocks and mishaps of real-life thanks to the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back. Lastly, the Nokia 9 PureView comes with a 3320mAh battery that supports fast charging and 10W wireless fast charging.

Nokia 9 PureView is already shipping and will retail for a global average retail price of USD 699 which is about Rs 50,000.