HMD Global announces Nokia 6 (2018) specs ahead of CES 2018

Nokia headquarters in Espoo, FinlandReuters/ Vesa Moilanen

HMD Global has officially announced the Nokia 6 (2018) ahead of Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018. The device has been priced at $230 and retains some elements of the previous model, but with notable improvements. 

The Nokia 6 (2018) is powered by the Snapdragon 630 processor as opposed to its predecessor's Snapdragon 430 chipset and supports USB Type-C instead of Micro USB. This year's model also has an additional 1GB of RAM at 4GB. The gadget sports a 5.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD display and houses a 3000mAh battery. It has 32GB of onboard storage and a micro-SD card slot. A 64GB variant will also be available at $260. 

The Nokia (2018) runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box. According to Tech Source, this comes as a surprise as Nokia has been making up to date Android support a vital part of their product pitch. Nevertheless, the device can be upgraded to run on Android Oreo. 

For its cameras, the Nokia (2018) has a 16MP rear camera with 1 micron pixel size and f/2 aperture. Its front camera is a 8MP shooter with 1.12 micron pixel size and f/2 aperture. The device still features "Bothie," an option to make both cameras to work at the same time which was intoduced in the Nokia 8 last year.  

Similar to the previous year, Nokia is expected to face stiff competition from Huawei. The Chinese company is likely to make an official announcement for its flagship device, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro in next week's CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

The Nokia 6 (2018) is currently available for preorder in China for ¥1,499 for the 32GB variant, and starts shipping on Jan. 10. The Verge reports that it is unclear whether the Nokia 6 (2018) will be made available in other markets, but adds that HMD Global usually launches their products in China before bringing them to Europe and the U.S. a few months later.