HMD Global, the tech firm that brought the Nokia phone brand back to life has yet to confirm its next flagship handset. Nevertheless, the rumors are rife that the Nokia 9 will arrive next year, sporting a handful of improvements over its predecessor, Nokia 8. One of the highlights speculated on the Nokia 9 is the enhanced dual-lens camera with optical zoom feature, as hinted by the camera app update in the recent Android Oreo beta release. 

As reported by Tech Radar, the latest Android Oreo beta for the Nokia 5 is said to include updates for the handset's camera app. However, many of these updates are not applicable to Nokia 5, particularly the 2x telephoto zoom and wide-angle camera option. These camera features can only be used by a smartphone using a combination of two lenses. In this case, the Nokia 5 only has a single-lens rear camera.

Some people thought that the camera app's added telephoto zoom feature in the Android Oreo beta update was intended for the Nokia 8, as the 2017 flagship phone has a dual camera setup. However, the device is not likely to support a 2x optical zoom as its dual-lens shooter only combines images from seperate color and monochrome lenses. The Nokia 8's dual camera functions to provide clearer shots at best.

With this, it is believed that these new camera app updates will arrive in a future Nokia smartphone, which is most likely the Nokia 9. Further supporting this speculation is the rumored combination of two 22MP image sensors for the Nokia 9 dual-lens camera, a high upgrade from the Nokia 8's two 13MP snappers. This makes the Nokia 9 more capable of featuring the telephoto optical zoom.

Meanwhile, there are more hints that the Nokia 9 will be unveiled in early 2018, with the latest one being the device's recent 3C certification in China. It was earlier suggested that HMD Global's next flagship will be launched on Jan. 19, and with the Nokia 9 reportedly getting the 3C certification — it is possible that the handset will arrive in Nokia's media event in China soon. To note, the 3CC is China's equivalent of the FCC filing in the United States and CE filing in Europe.