Nokia 8: Full, in-depth review

Name: Nokia 8: Full, in-depth review
Item: Nokia 8: Full, in-depth review
Rating: 4.50
Author: Fergus Halliday

More than just nostalgia

Fergus Halliday

PC World

@Cvamped

31/08/17

Expert Rating

4.50 / 5

Pros

Great form factor
Solid performance

Cons

Minor stability Issues
Camera is sometimes slow to load

Bottom Line

There’s so much more to like about the Nokia 8 than just the nostalgia factor. Solid specs, crisp cameras and fantastic form factor make it a comeback for the brand.

Would you buy this?

Price
$ 899.00 (AUD)

Camera

As with the performance offered by the Nokia 8, the phone doesn’t quite have what it takes to set a new high bar for camera quality. However, given the price, it doesn’t necessarily have to.

For what you’re paying, the image quality here is both generally outstanding and absolutely at the level you'd expect. It's not quite as sharp as the HTC U11 or Google Pixel - but if you're happy to settle for a great camera over the best-in-class, that might not bother you too much.

Landscapes (seen below) come through with a pretty compelling level of detail and bright colors, no matter which mode you use the camera in.

Close ups (also seen below) looks similarly impressive.

We found the auto-focus function a little fiddly from time to time but came away reasonably impressed with the device’s ‘Live Bokeh’ mode, which lets you preview and adjust the intensity of the effect. Unfortunately, this mode does rely on the dual-lens camera so you can’t really take selfies with it.

Close up taken using the Nokia 8's Live Bokeh effect

In darker conditions, the camera performed similarly well. There’s no dedicated low-light mode but the monochrome sensor helps make up the difference somewhat.

Of course, it’d be impossible to talk about the Nokia 8’s camera without touching on ‘The Bothie’ (also known as Dual-Sight mode). This unique mode of the device’s camera allows you capture photos and videos using both the front and back cameras at the same time. It didn’t take long for this gimmick to tire on our end. However, given its overall friendliness and easy usability towards livestreaming, it’s difficult to rule entirely.

Stranger things have taken off.

When it comes to filming more conventional video, the Nokia 8 delivers reasonably crisp results. It comes capable of capturing video in up to 4K quality (at 30FPS) and recording 360-degree audio too (courtesy of Nokia’s unique OZO surround sound tech).

The biggest complaint we had with the camera was that it often took just a second (or two) to fully load up and calibrate whenever we opened the app or toggled between the mode being used. Not a deal breaker, but definitely not a positive quirk either. It’s also worth noting that HMD haven’t bothered with a proprietary media gallery app, so the Nokia 8 relies on Google Photos by default.