Nokia

HMD Global seems to have adopted a two-pronged branding strategy when it comes to its Nokia smartphones. It launches a “X#” series model for China, followed by an “#.1 Plus” variant for the rest of the world. Barely a month after it did the latter with the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus, HMD Global is now rumored to be preparing the Nokia X7 and 7.1 Plus. And judging by this first leak, it will mix new Nokia designs with old Nokia legacy.

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The notch is a very divisive element. As such, it didn’t come as a surprise that when the removal of the feature to hide it on the Nokia 6.1 Plus was blamed on an ominous and still unknown Google requirement, the Web went ablaze with speculation. The favorite theory was that Google prohibited Android One OEMs from implementing a feature not found in Android One. That, however, may not be the case and the feature has indeed returned but still leaves one question unanswered: will stock Android on the Pixel 3 XL have it?

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The notch is probably one of the most divisive design trends in smartphones today. Some hate it with a passion, others don’t mind it at all. Fortunately, most manufacturers that have screen cutouts provide an option to “hide” it. Most, but not all. HMD Global baffled users and fans when it suddenly pulled out the option to hide the notch. It turns out, it was at Google’s behest. And while it’s easy enough to write it off as something specific to Nokia phones, it doesn’t bode well for the Pixel 3 XL.

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Not only does the prototype Nokia phone seen here have 5 lenses on its back, it probably has a couple more up front. This is the AOP-SKU3, a - again - prototype device, also running with the code-name TA-1094. This device comes in blue, shiny blue, with a metal rim and at least a power button and a volume button on its side, plus at least one antenna band on top. Also it's very shiny and blue - so shiny.

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LG just made a rather startling announcement days before IFA. Unlike Samsung, whose first Android Go phone, the Galaxy J2 Core, was repeatedly leaked before it was finally announced, LG’s first Android One phone was almost totally unexpected. With the LG G7 One, another major manufacturer jumps into Google’s revamped program. But what exactly is Android One and what are your best choices in getting one? Puns aside, here are the top picks for the pure Android experience you’ve always wanted but couldn’t get because of the Pixel phones’ price tag.

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The Nokia PureView may well return, with HMD Global reclaiming the storied photography trademark and in the process stoking rumors of camera-savvy future smartphones. Nokia, back in the days before the Microsoft acquisition, created PureView as a brand for its innovative camera technologies.

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It’s that time of year again. New Android version, new guessing and then waiting game for which phones will get the update and, just as importantly, when. Things have gotten better over the years, in no small part thanks to high-profile security scares and Apple gloating, but it’s far from being ideal. Ideally, that would be when lists like this will be superfluous. But until that glorious day, here are some of the smartphone makers who have gone public about their love for Pie and those that have been unsurprisingly yet annoyingly silent for the past weeks.

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This week the folks at Nokia decided to bring their classic game "Snake" back to the public via Facebook Camera. Using the new augmented reality features of the Facebook Camera platform, Nokia delivered Snake to all users starting this morning. To attain said Snake, one needed only to open the Facebook app and click a button in the Facebook Camera. Now, if only they'd bring Tony Hawk Pro Skater there too...

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As we inch ever closer to the eventual arrival of nationwide 5G networks, carriers are in a race to build out their offerings faster than the others. Today, T-Mobile took a big step toward getting its 5G network off the ground, announcing a new partnership with Nokia that will accelerate the carrier's 5G deployment. All told, the deal is worth a whopping $3.5 billion, which is enough to make anyone's eyes water.

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HMD Global is becoming one of the most prolific Android smartphone makers of late and you might not know it. That’s mostly because their smartphones are, of course, branded as Nokia phones. But more than the name, they have proven themselves to be quite the formidable contenders in the market and almost every new model is met with anticipation. The new mid-range Nokia X5 is no different and HMD Global has more or less confirmed that it is coming to the rest of the world, too.

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It seemed at first that HMD Global would be bucking the trend and going against common practices in the Android market. It did, after all, put nearly pure Android in its Nokia phones. But with the Nokia X6, it proved it could also play the notch game. Just a day after it launched the low-range Nokia X5, HMD Global is now launching the Nokia 6.1 Plus which is, for all intents and purposes, the Nokia X6 with two differences: it runs Android One and it will launch outside of China.

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HMD Global needs no major events to announce a new member of its growing army of “pure Android” smartphones. Just weeks before Samsung’s Unpacked, the OEM unveils the Nokia 5X, its second smartphone with a notch. But while the Nokia 5X may be slated only for the Chinese market, rumors say that, unlike the Nokia 6X, it could actually make it to international markets under a different name: the Nokia 5.1 Plus.

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