From about a month ago:
HMD announced a new slate of Nokia phones Tuesday. To go along with the previously announced Nokia 6.1, we have the Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1, and Nokia 2.1. The highest-end phone here starts at $220, and the price goes down from there.
Every Nokia phone is worth paying attention to, because they are all part of Google’s Android One program. This means they run stock Android and get monthly security updates. Nokia promises two years of major OS updates and three years of security updates for everything. It’s really hard to find good, cheap smartphones, and with this lineup (depending on distribution), HMD seems to have the market locked up.
The 3.1 will be available in the US starting 2 July, and browsing around Dutch stores, it seems they’ll make it to The Netherlands (and thus, I assume, the rest of Europe) in early July as well. These look like some incredibly solid, affordable, and properly update-friendly phones (because they run Android One). I might pick one of these up myself.
Nokia phones are neither cheap nor particularly high quality. (Alcatel and others sell similar vanilla models for less). Android has arguably only got worse each iteration since Kitkat so updates are no big deal (nor even desirable).
Edited 2018-06-26 08:08 UTC
Android with less than 2 gigs of RAM is a recipe for severe lags unless you don’t install anything from the play market.
Have you really tried Android GO? Or are you confusing it with regular Android?
Android Go or Android One? ‘Cause you call it ‘Go’ but Thom calls it ‘One’.
Yes, and we are talking about two different things. There is Android One and then there is Android Go. Android Go was created specifically for phones with 1GB of RAM (maybe even less).
Okay, so Thom should add that to the article then ’cause right now it reads as if all of these phones will run Android One.
No. All of those phones are part of Android One program. One of them, however, is running Android Go, which is also part of Andriod One.
Android Go is a special version of Android.
Android One is a special program where all devices covered by that program will get stock Android and monthly updates. It covers both regular Android and Android Go.
Get it now?..
Edited 2018-06-26 11:56 UTC
What I meant is that the article should mention “because they are part of the Android One program” ’cause right now it reads as if they use Android One as an OS, but One is not an OS, it’s a program.
Article does mention that. In the very beginning. If you only read the quote that Thom posted here and don’t bother to read the actual article, that’s your problem…
I’ve read both. My criticism was aimed at Thom’s quote.
Umm, the only phone in this roundup with less than 2gb of RAM is the Nokia 2.1, which is and Android Go phone. The OS and apps are significantly pared down down from a standard distribution. Yeah it’s not great when compared to typical mid-range offerings but it would be usable.
I know it is not part of the article, but I just got a Nokia 6.1. It was only $269 but it is definitely not a “cheap” phone. 4GB / 64GB, SD 630, USB-C, 5.5″ LED, Headphone jack, microUSB (up to 128GB), machined from a block of aluminum and feels like a tank (in a good way). Two years of OS updates and three years of security patches. Moved from a Samsung Galaxy phone (C7). The only thing I miss is the OLED display but the LED is a quality display.
Too bad, for me
– I dislike metal cases, they feel unpleasantly cold; especially in colder climates; strange that Finnish Nokia/HMD would go with it. I miss polycarbonate unibody of N9 and early Lumias…
It’s really hard to find good, cheap smartphones, and with this lineup (depending on distribution), HMD seems to have the market locked up.
You can’t be serious with this BS. If this idiot can’t good, cheap smartphones, he hasn’t been looking very hard,or it’s just another scam article hyping yet another company scam artists like him are getting kickbacks from.
I asked you for proof last time you claimed that The Verge is receiving such kickbacks, and you ignored it. So, I’ll try again – in the era of idiots bleating “FAKE NEWS” whenever something they don’t agree with is written by the media, regardless of evidence, could you please provide proof for your claim that The Verge is paid by – in this specific case – Nokia to write this article?
Edited 2018-06-26 14:02 UTC
Are you kidding? The Verge writes articles he disagrees with.
If that isn’t proof, I don’t know what is!
I don’t claim that the Verge got some kickback for this piece, but I am willing to concede a point to the guy:
These phones look like and are specced like landfill android. A53 is not the recipe for a smooth phone. 1 GB ram is… well… so 2014, to say the least. And the screen/body ratio looks pretty undesirable. Granted these are not flagships, but they are not worthy of much praise anyway.
‘stock android’ is like a myth.. since some OEMs actually improve the experience (touchwiz is crap but i appreciate the option of local contacts), and the immense amount of bloat from around 2012 is nowhere to be seen, not to mention that half of it is not even open source, i really don’t see the appeal.
especially since with android one, as ‘stock’ as it is, even the bootloader is under google’s control. which means that even if you don’t care for custom ROMs and unlocked bootloaders,
1) you are denied the option of having full control over the device you own, and
2) no-one is able to see what is going on in the background.
considering all this and that nokia’s hardware has never been that impressive, and that i trust google even less than other megacorporations (since they directly rely on your data to survive).. well no. just no.
You really should try to read. First of all the so-called “locked bootloader” can be unlocked under Development settings so no need for hacks or anything. Secondly, their hardware makes iPhones feel like children’s toys.
Something like this is also miles ahead in design than iPhones without the need of glass and copyrighted corners everywhere:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMD_Global#/media/File:Nokia_8_in_copp…
Non-removable batteries…These are as good as toilet paper.
In fairness, there are removable batteries, non removable batteries, and glued batteries that can be removed with an heating plate, pliers and a guitar plectrum/pick.
If the battery can last at least three years, the latest option is not that much unacceptable.
OSAlert potential buyers should be aware that although these HMD phones are attracting with their stock Android they all come with locked bootloaders and no official procedure to unlock them contrasting with practices from so many other manufacturers in the Android world.
This may be OK for you but this made me chose another brand.
No. I have the 6 and it has a very clear “UNLOCK BOOTLOADER” setting under development settings. Like all Android one phones.