HMD Global has announced their first Nokia-branded 5G-enabled smartphone, the Nokia 8.3 5G. Based on  Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G platform, Nokia is assembling a high-end smartphone that is designed to tick all of the required boxes for a good phone, while not driving quite as hard on features and prices as contemporary flagship smartphones. None the less, the large display phone packs a quad-sensor camera module, and in an interesting turn of events, it will support more 5G bands than other handsets on the market today.

Once released, the Nokia 8.3 5G will be one of the first handsets launched in the West that's based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G system-on-chip, an interesting chip that, unlike the flagship Snapdragon 865, uses a fully integrated 5G modem. Furthermore, the 8.3 5G will be the very first phone that uses Qualcomm’s own 5G RF front-end module, a potentially important distinction as Qualcomm's front-end supports a greater number of bands than other modules already on the market. As a result the 8.3 5G is being pitched as a "truly global" smartphone that should be able to work in most countries despite the wide disparity in which bands are used.

Otherwise, while the Snapdragon 765G is not Qualcomm’s flagship SoC, the recently-launched chip is still decidedly capable. The SoC uses two Cortex-A76 based CPU cores for high intensity workloads as well as a further six Cortex-A55 cores for low intensity workloads, and packs Qualcomm's Adreno 620 integrated GPU. For the Nokia 8.3 5G, this is paired with 6 GB or 8 GB of LPDDR4X memory, as well as 64 GB or 128 GB NAND flash memory.

The first 5G Nokia handset comes with a large 6.81-inch IPS LCD with PureDisplay enhancements (deeper blacks, less reflections), and offers a 2400×1080 resolution (386 PPI). Oddly, however, HMD lists nothing about support for the DCI-P3 or HDR10 support, despite the fact that the company has supported HDR on earlier Nokia 7 and Nokia 8-series smartphones.

Instead, it's imaging capabilities are often the strongest side of Nokia handsets, and HMD is aiming similarly high here. The Nokia 8.3 5G comes with a quad-sensor main camera module comprised of a 64 MP main sensor, a 12 MP ultrawide sensor, a 2 MP macro camera, and a 2 MP depth sensor. Nokia says that the main camera is tuned for better operation in low-light conditions and has some additional enhancements by Zeiss, who is also certifying the lenses. As for selfies, the smartphone has a punch-hole 24 MP camera on the front. And audio recording is provided via a Ozo surround audio microphone array.

When it comes to wireless connectivity, the Nokia 8.3 5G smartphone supports Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, and NFC. Meanwhile, the handset has a headphone jack as well as a USB 2.0 Type-C connector for data connectivity and charging. As for security, the device carries a fingerprint reader on its side.

Nokia’s handsets are known for their fine industrial design, so the Nokia 8.3 5G is clearly not an exception. The device has a rounded back and comes in Polar Night color that was inspired by Aurora Borealis usually seen in Norther Finland. Meanwhile, the phone is rather thick at nearly 9 mm and heavy at 220 grams. Otherwise, it should be noted that HMD isn't listing the phone as offering any IP-grade water or dust resistance.

The Nokia 8.3 5G
  Nokia 8.3 5G
6/64
Nokia 8.3 5G
8/128
SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
1x Kryo 475 Prime (A76) @ 2.40 GHz
1x Kryo 475 Gold (A76) @ 2.20 GHz
6x Kryo 475 (A55) @ 1.80 GHz
GPU Adreno 620
DRAM 6 GB LPDDR4X 8 GB LPDDR4X
Storage 64 GB
microSD
128 GB
microSD
Display 6.81" IPS LCD PureDisplay
2400 × 1080 (20:9)
386 PPI
Size Height 171.90 mm
Width 78.56 mm
Depth 8.99 mm
Weight 220 grams
Battery Capacity 4500 mAh
Wireless Charging ? ?
Rear Cameras
Main 64 MP
f/1.7
PDAF
UltraWide 12 MP 1/2.4"
f/2.2 13mm
?° field of view
Macro 2 MP
Depth 2 MP
Flash Dual-LED
Front Camera 24 MP
f/2.0
I/O USB 2.0 Type-C
Fingerprint reader on the side
Google Assistant button
Wireless (local) Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth 5.0
Cellular GSM, CDMA, HSPA, 4G/LTE (1200/150 Mbps), 5G (2.4/1.2 Gbps)
Splash, Water, Dust Resistance ? ?
Dual-SIM Single nano-SIM or Dual nano-SIM
Launch OS Android 10
Launch Price €599 €649

HMD plans to make its Nokia 8.3 5G available this summer. The more affordable version with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of NAND will cost €599, whereas the more advanced model with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of NAND will be priced at €649.

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Sources: HMD Global, GSMArena

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  • close - Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - link

    Just to cut the tension, most flagships increased in price 10-50% this year. The S20 starts at $1000 where last years top S10+ used to sit, and the S20 Ultra tops out at $1400. The Experia 1 II starts at ~$1300 where last year's phone was ~$850.

    You think it's the 128K holographic display that brings that huge price hike? The platinum/diamond casing? the APS-C camera sensors? It's the fact that the 865 traded in just a bit of extra performance for the massive downsides of heat, power consumption and extra chips on the board. You can't really think any phone will be able to consistently run with the fast core at 2.8Ghz, and the other 3 fast cores clocked high all while that 5G modem sucks up the battery and turns your phone into a hand warmer, can you?

    But it's "high end" and that 5% extra scores in benchmarks is all highschoolers care about these days.
  • close - Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - link

    I keep coming back and I have AT's 1990's style comment section to thank. If only we had some articles that show that at it's baseline the 865 is not too much of a jump (sometimes even regression) in performance from the 855. Any tricks that bump performance could equally be used on the 855 if anyone still cared about this "antiquated" SoC.

    The power consumption takes a hit so even a huge battery can't give a power user a reasonable experience. And you know... it's exactly those power users that *need* a high end SoC, instead of a "lowly mid-range" but can't really take advantage because of the power consumption and heat generation. And all this for "just" $1400.

    You can put any label on it but the 765 is a much better package than the 865. But unless you brand something as "high end" you can't sell it to people with more money than sense, can you? "It's shittier in every other regard, power consumption, heat, complexity, price, etc. but it's slightly faster even if in practice you can't realistically and consistently take advantage of that; so pay double for the bragging rights".

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/15609/samsung-galax...

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/15647/samsung-galax...
  • KarlKastor - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    Oh dear. It's not only less cores and smaller caches. It's half the memory bandwidth and not even half the GPU.
  • Fulljack - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    I believe it's because 5G band add more costs, not to mention the regulation, as it's support every band for better carrier aggregation and 5G support.
  • Viipottaja - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    Which 5G ones?
  • gurukiran0027 - Tuesday, April 7, 2020 - link

    this isnt mid-range in anyway, though I really like the rear camera setup...Nokia is focusing more on design I guess
  • wr3zzz - Friday, March 20, 2020 - link

    Good industrial design is form follows function and aping Apple having rounded display corners when the screen is not curved ain't it.
  • Infy2 - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    Competition in this price class offers:
    -OLED displays
    -Flagship SoCs
    -Tele cameras
    -Environmental protection
    -Under-screen fingerprint readers
    -More RAM and storage space

    The phone should be priced around ~400USD to be competitive
  • hemedans - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    It will be Around that or even cheaper. Nokia Doing that everytime their Msrp is for Europe with Tax included. But other parts in world its cheaper than Msrp.
  • Viipottaja - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - link

    Sure. Which 5G phones are $400?

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