When HMD launched the Nokia 8 last year, it was a phone with top specs but a dated design. It thus seems a bit funny that the refresh for the phone, the Nokia 8 Sirocco, has a more modern design but dated specs.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco uses last year’s Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 6GB RAM, but, because of its Android One implementation, it runs faster and smoother than phones with the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, such as the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco has style and speed but one of the most important features of a phone is the camera, and the original Nokia 8 had let us down in that area. Let’s find out if the Sirocco can up the game with photography to make the new Nokia 8 compete with the likes of Samsung Galaxy S9 and Huawei’s P20 Plus.
Nokia 8 Sirocco price and availability
HMD had announced the Nokia 8 Sirocco at MWC earlier this year, but the phone is only now getting ready to go on sale. It’s expected to be in store shelves by the first week of May.
The original Nokia 8 had a killer price of AED 1,699 which allowed us to ignore some of its shortcomings such as the design and the camera. However, HMD has priced the Nokia 8 Sirocco at AED 2,399 which is quite a bit higher than it’s predecessor and very close to the Samsung Galaxy S9 that can be purchased for AED 2,600. Thus, the Sirocco really needs to stand out to compete in order to justify this price tag.
Design and display
- Premium design with minimum bezels
- Slightly weighty but with a solid feel
- 16:9 curved screen isn't great at palm rejection
If you’re familiar with Nokia phones from the past, you’ll recognize Sirocco as the luxurious version of the much loved Nokia 8800 which became an instant classic for its premium design and materials.
It must have been a challenge for HMD to recreate that experience. Thankfully, they get things mostly right with the Nokia 8 Sirocco which is super sleek with a curved screen, a stainless steel frame and a glass back.
Like most phones with a glass back, it's slippery and easier to break than a metal one. We managed to catch the phone slipping off the couch a couple of times, and, it's easy to imagine how that could have not ended well.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco measures 140.9 x 73 mm and it just 7.5mm thin which makes it sit comfortably in your hands. It's a tad weighty and dense but that just gives the phone a solid feel.
HMD really turns up the heat where the screen tapers into the stainless steel frame. This makes the Nokia 8 Sirocco look super thin - a mere 2mm at its thinnest edge. That same stainless steel frame also sports the volume and power keys, which are beautiful but a bit hard to press. Yes, it's certainly form over function.
The left side of the phone holds the SIM tray which accepts a single nano SIM. There is no dual SIM variant of the phone and neither is there any place to add a MicroSD card. The phone is also only being released in one color - black.
On the back and centered you can see the dual camera module with a two-tone flash sitting to it's right. There is a camera bump in case you're wondering. Right below the camera module it the fingerprint sensor that is quite fast when it comes to unlocking the phone.
On the bottom sits the USB Type-C port with a lone speaker. HMD has decided to axe the 3.5mm jack, which isn't surprising considering that many phone manufacturers that have already headed down that route. Thankfully, a set of premium looking earphones is included in the box that sound much better than what is included for free with most other phones.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco is IP67 certified, meaning you can get away with a little bit of water splashed on it. Also, being a glass phone, expect to see fingerprint smudges very easily.
Compared to last year's model, the Nokia 8 Sirocco has significantly reduced bezels around the screen which makes it smaller in size than its predecessor, but with a bigger screen.
The phone somewhat resembles the Galaxy S7 Edge and the BlackBerry Priv with a 16:9 aspect screen that curves around the edges. It’s amusing how we’ve gotten used to 18:9 screens in a matter of a year but the 16:9 screen on the Nokia 8 Sirocco works because of it's smaller 5.5-inch size.
The screen technology is P-OLED and most likely manufactured by LG. We haven’t had much luck with LG manufactured OLED screens in the past with both the Google Pixel 2 XL and the LG V30+ showing a blue tint on the slightest tilt of the screen.
The Nokia 8 Sirocco suffers from a similar fate, and based on your luck and your sensitivity towards it, you might be completely fine with it- or not. We played around with two units each of which exhibited varying levels of the blue tint shift.
The blue tint is especially visible is where the screen curves on the sides and you're looking at an app with a white background - such as Gmail, Instagram or almost every other popular app.
Another issue with the screen is the lack of palm rejection which can make it frustrating to use the phone- especially on the camera app. Holding the screen from the curved edges would sometimes register as a tap which would make you lose focus or not be able to tap on the shutter.
Brightness levels are quite high on the Nokia 8 Sirocco and we had no issues using it outdoors on bright and sunny days. Since the screen is based on OLED technology, expect the colors to pop, though HMD should look into giving the user an option to make the screen less vibrant.
Another advantage of OLED is having an always-on mode which HMD calls Glance view. Besides the time and notifications, this screen can also show you your upcoming calendar appointments. A nice addition would be the audio track playing on your phone.
Battery life
- 3,260mAh battery capacity
- Easily gets you a full day and then some
- Supports fast charging and wireless charging
The battery capacity of the Nokia 8 Sirocco is 3,260mAh which, judging by today's flagship phones, isn't on the highest side. For example, the Galaxy S9 Plus has a 3,500mAh battery while the Huawei P20 Pro has a battery capacity of 4,000mAh. Though, these phones are a lot larger to accommodate bigger batteries
When it comes to actual usage, we found the Nokia 8 Sirocco to easily last longer than the S9 Plus and roughly the same as the P20 Pro which means that you'll surely get a day and then, depending on your usage, maybe one more.
When it comes to charging, the Nokia 8 Sirocco supports Qualcomm's fast charging standard with the included power adapter. And putting that glass back to use, HMD has also added support for wireless charging on the Sirocco.
An hour’s charge bumped up the power on the Sirocco by 73% which is quite fast. Using Samsung's wireless charger, we got 26% in one hour which is also decent for wireless charging.
Running our usual battery test of streaming a 90-minute full HD video in full screen with brightness on max and accounts syncing in the background, our Nokia 8 Sirocco lost 22% which is on the higher side. But keeping the screen brightness in check, we had no issues getting a full day.
Overall, we're quite pleased with the battery life and the fast charging capabilities on the Nokia 8 Sirroco.
Camera
- 12MP f/1.7 and 13MF f/2.6
- 5MP fixed-focus selfie camera, f/2.0
- 4K video recording
The camera is now one of the most important features of a phone and when you are paying for a manufacturer's flagship phone, you expect it to be better than any of it's other models. But that's not what you get with the Nokia 8 Sirocco.
HMD has used the exact same camera module on the Nokia 8 Sirocco as it has on the Nokia 7 Plus which costs a 1000 Dirhams less than the Sirocco. That, along with the lack of OIS didn't instill much confidence when we started testing the camera on the Sirocco.
Although last year's Nokia 8 also featured a dual camera setup, HMD has moved from using one RGB and one monochrome sensor to using a wide and a telephoto lens fixed at 2X zoom- a similar configuration to the Galaxy S9 Plus or the iPhone X.
You can take decent photos with the Nokia 8 Sirocco when lighting conditions are great and your hands are steady, but we weren't impressed much when it came to quickly shooting a photo or under tricky lighting conditions which, almost always, resulted in blurry or dark shots.
The good news is the return of the Pro mode on the camera app which was considered the best camera UI in Nokia's pre-Android days. It allows you to quickly adjust settings like ISO levels, while balance and shoot in macro, and if you put in the time and effort, results in great shots.
The 5MP front-facing camera takes adequate selfies, and like last year's Nokia 8 supports 'bothies' that allows you to capture photos and videos from both the front and back cameras and live stream them to Facebook or YouTube.
Coming to videos, you have the option to record in 4K or full HD and use the three built-in mics to capture audio using Nokia's OZO technology.
Camera samples
Android One for the win
- Stock Android 8.1 Oreo
- Guaranteed Android updates
The Nokia 8 Sirocco is equipped with last year's Snapdragon 835, which makes us wonder if HMD has a true flagship planned for later this year. On paper and in synthetic benchmarks, this handset will lose out to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S9 or the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact.
But when it comes to real-world usage, the Nokia 8 Sirocco is super snappy and we think the bloat-free Android One experience has a big part in making this phone work as fast as Google’s Pixel 2 phone, which is also using the same chipset. With 6GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage, the Sirocco offered a butter smooth experience in almost every app we tested it with.
Another advantage to Android One is that you’re guaranteed an upgrade to the next two versions of Android so expect Android P and Android Q(?) to be available on the Nokia 8 Sirocco. HMD has done well to keep its older phones updated to the latest version of Android and judging from that, the Sirocco could be one of the first non-Google phone to get the upcoming version of Android.
Other than the pro camera app and a help/feedback app, there aren’t any non-Google apps installed on the Nokia 8 Sirocco. While other manufacturers like to include their own version of apps for the dialer, the text messages client, the photos app or the email app, HMD uses Google’s apps for all of these.
We ran the Geekbench 4 benchmarking app on the Nokia 8 Sirocco and it averaged a multi-core score of 6,590, which is in line with the flagship phones from last year.
But again, while those benchmark numbers compare to last years flagship (including the original Nokia 8), real world performance on the Sirocco is a different story and it's as fast to operate and launch apps as almost any top-of-the-line Android phone of this year.
Movies, music and gaming
When it comes to consuming media or gaming, the 16:9 aspect ratio on the Nokia 8 Sirocco makes it a better device than many flagship phones with an 18:9 display. Most new movies or YouTube videos are shot in 16:9 which means that don't get black bars on the sides watching videos on the Sirocco and instead, enjoy a fully immersive experience.
Games and many apps also fall into this category as there are still quite a few developers that haven't updated their apps to make use of the new taller screens- no issues running such apps on the Sirocco. Also, the Snapdragon 830 processor, bundled with 6GB RAM provides plenty of power for almost any game.
Coming to audio, there is just one speaker on the Nokia 8 Sirocco located at the bottom, next to the type-C charger. It's reasonably loud and doesn't produces good quality audio, but we're used to seeing stereo speakers on high-end phones which the Sirocco doesn't have.
There's also no 3.5mm jack to plug in a pair of "old-fashioned" headphones, but at least you get a decent pair of type-C earphones inside the box.
Verdict
There's no denying that Nokia 8 Sirocco is a step up from last year's model. With the Sirocco, HMD proves that it can design a phone that is stunning to look at and stands out in the crowded smartphone space.
HMD's choice of using last year's Snapdragon 835 processor might appear questionable, but pairing it with a clean Android One experience makes the Nokia 8 Sirocco operate faster than phones with the latest Snapdragon 845. The stock Android experience also makes sure there aren't any third party battery draining apps with the Sirocco easily lasting over a day.
Where the Nokia 8 Sirocco falters is with the camera. It's not bad, but the fact that HMD is using an identical camera on it's much lower priced Nokia 7 Plus makes you wonder why you're paying for a flagship but getting a mainstream experience in what is arguably one of the most important aspects of a smartphone.
While HMD is doing good with budget and mainstream models, their flagship game needs to be upped. The Sirocco has the potential to be the best mid-ranged phone, just like the Nokia 8 was last year but in order to do so, the price needs to be dropped by $100 and the camera needs to take better much better pictures.
Who’s this for?
The Sirocco is targeted towards consumers who don't like or want the new fashionable 18:9 or 19:9 screens on their phones and prefers the more traditional 16:9 ratio phone that is extremely well designed, has good specs and comes with a bloat-free Android experience.
Should you buy it?
If you don't demand much from a smartphone's camera and want a premium phone that isn't over-sized, runs fast and offers stock Android with guaranteed updates, along with a great battery life, then surely look at the Nokia 8 Sirocco.
After an alternative? Consider these three phones:
Samsung Galaxy S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is last year's flagship from Samsung but offers everything you'll find on the Sirocco 8 with a better camera, expandable memory and dual SIM options if that interests you. It won't be as fast as the Sirocco because of Samsung's super customized skin and Android updates will be slower but it is priced similar to HMD's offering.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy S8 review
Apple iPhone 7
Apple phones age well and the iPhone 7, which is priced similar to the Nokia 8 Sirocco will offer you a super fast experience with a good camera and guaranteed OS updates. It's design might not be as nice as the Sirocco but hey, it's an iPhone.
Read our iPhone 7 review
Nokia 7 Plus
We realize that we're comparing a premium phone to a mainstream version but the Nokia 7 Plus offers the same camera and a stock Android experience with guranteed updates like the Nokia 8 Sirocco. It might not have as great of a design and be a bit slower but it does cost a lot less and offers a bigger battery along and dual SIM capabilities.
Read our hands-on with Nokia 7 Plus
First reviewed: May 2018
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