Nokia 8: Why there’s no 128 GB variant in the HMD Global flagship

Nokia 8 is officially the first flagship from HMD Global, and given the specifications and features this is a device designed for media creation. The dual-rear camera, the ‘bothie’ option and OZO audio are all geared towards making video content easier, and more fun on this smartphone. But one of the questions around Nokia 8 is the lack of a 128GB variant, since both the front and rear cameras support 4K video resolution. Then of course, there’s the other issue of why HMD Global has chosen not to give 6GB or 8GB RAM variants, especially as the competition is offering these.
According to HMD Global’s chief product officer Juho Sarvikas, the company has good reasoning for why they are sticking with one variant, at least for now. In an interaction with select media ahead of the launch, he admitted that having extra storage on board like a 128GB variant would have been a good idea, but said that currently the company was only looking at one variant. “Today, we’re just talking about the 4GB RAM and 64GB variant,” he said.
It also looks like HMD Global wants to ensure quick availability with the phone and is thus sticking with one configuration. “We want to stay focused with one broad configuration on the global market. The problem with too many configurations is that you then stumble with availability,” pointed out HMD Global’s chief product officer. Sarvikas was also confident the Nokia 8 would score higher in benchmark apps like Antutu and GeekBench against the competition.

On the extra RAM, Sarvikas pointed out that with stock Android, a phone doesn’t always need so much RAM. “Sure in China, where it is the wild, wild West and there’s no official Google Play Store and apps are behaving badly, having more RAM on board could make sense. But any app with Google Play Store won’t be consuming so much RAM and a user typically won’t have so many issues. The benefits of having the extra RAM would be marginal,” he pointed out.

Sarvikas also explained in detail about the camera and the idea behind ‘the dual-sight’ option or what it is marketing as ‘Bothie.’ For those who missed it, Nokia 8 will let people shoot, record video, do a live stream on Facebook with the front and rear camera in use at the same time.
On the live stream integration in the native camera app, Sarvikas explained the company worked closely with Facebook. “Also both of the fused frames are at full HD resolution,” he said. So how long can a user run such a dual-camera live stream and at what resolution, given that overheating invariably becomes an issue?
Sarvikas said in India’s hottest summer days a user should expect 36-60 minutes, after which the resolution will drop. For those using dual camera live stream in more tolerant weather conditions, the company claims it can run for as long until the battery drains out. With the ‘Dual Sight’ option, HMD Global says it fuses the two feeds as it is being captured.

Sarvikas also spoke about the phone’s heat dissipation system, which has a wide and long copper pipe across the device for effective thermal management. “We can dissipate heat effectively on this phone thanks to the wire. There is no typical hot spot near the camera and our heat management solution is very advanced,” he claimed.
The company says it wants to push the envelope in the flagship market, and focus on real-life experiences. HMD Global’s idea is to go beyond the specifications madness. The company says it has shipped millions of units of the Nokia 3, 5, 6 though it didn’t give out any concrete number.