Newsletter
HMD Global is presently working on a new Nokia-branded device that will be equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 710 chip, industry insider Roland Quandt said Monday. The handset is planned to debut in either fall or winter, with the main implication here being a fourth-quarter release. The same source added that Google’s Pixel-series device featuring the same chip is code-named “Bonito,” with that particular smartphone also being expected to launch over the final three months of the year, most likely in early October when the company’s annual hardware event traditionally takes place.
Originally announced last month, the Snapdragon 710 has been envisioned as a chip that will lead to a new definition of “premium” mid-range devices offering the vast majority of capabilities of Android flagships without commanding flagship prices. Qualcomm already started sampling the silicon, having said the first products to feature it should hit the market by the end of the quarter, i.e. this month. While HMD’s device isn’t expected to be among the earliest adopters of the chip, the device in question is likely to launch as the Nokia 7.1 or Nokia 7.1 Plus, as suggested by the Finnish company’s previously employed product naming practices.
The Snapdragon 710 is a 10nm module featuring eight cores – six efficiency ones running at up to 1.7GHz and a high-performance dual-core setup clocked at a maximum operating frequency of 2.2GHz. With twice as powerful artificial intelligence computing capabilities compared to the Snapdragon 660, the latest offering from the San Diego, California-based mid-ranger is likely to remain the world’s most powerful non-flagship mobile silicon until next year. HMD itself is presently selling devices covering all price brackets, though its portfolio is still somewhat limited in the United States where the company has yet to attempt competing with high-end handsets. The Nokia brand returned to the smartphone world on a global stage just over a year ago and has already seen success in Europe and select Asian markets, having captured some one-percent of the world’s mobile market in Q4 2017, according to most major industry trackers.