The Nokia 9 PureView: A Camera-Oriented Android Phone with Some Surprising Flaws

One of the standout features of the Nokia 9 PureView is its camera system, which is designed to produce high-quality images with excellent color and exposure. The phone's primary sensor is a large 5-megapixel ZEISS lens that can capture detailed shots even in low-light conditions. In addition to this, the phone also features three secondary sensors: one 12-megapixel monochrome sensor, one 12-megapixel RGB sensor, and a time-of-flight camera. The phone's ability to blend everything together seamlessly is truly impressive, making it easy to create stunning images without any noticeable artifacts or imperfections.

The Nokia 9 PureView also allows for extensive editing of the image, making it possible to fine-tune every aspect of the photo, from exposure and color balance to noise reduction and grain control. This feature is particularly useful for photographers who want to have complete creative control over their images. The phone's camera app is user-friendly and intuitive, with a variety of modes and settings that allow users to capture a wide range of images, from portraits to landscapes.

The Nokia 9 PureView's camera system is comparable to the iPhone 10 in terms of color and exposure accuracy, although it does not quite match the iPhone's performance when pushed hard. The phone's highlights can be slightly exaggerated, which may be off-putting for some users. However, the overall image quality remains excellent, with plenty of detail even when the highlights are maximized. Overall, the Nokia 9 PureView is an excellent choice for photographers who want a high-quality camera system without breaking the bank.

The rest of the hardware on the Nokia 9 PureView is somewhat generic, which may be a disappointment for some users. The phone's body is made of glass, with GorillaGlass protection on both the front and back. However, the phone's middle section is slightly flexible, which could be a concern for users who drop their phones frequently. The front display is a Quad HD OLED panel that is nicely saturated but may be too bright for some users. The bezels around the screen are relatively large, although the phone does not have a notch.

One notable omission on the Nokia 9 PureView is the lack of stereo speakers and a headphone jack. The USB-C port on the bottom of the phone provides a convenient charging option, but it would have been nice to see some additional audio features or more flexible charging options. Overall, while the hardware may not be particularly innovative, it does provide a solid foundation for the phone's other features.

The Nokia 9 PureView is powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor, which was a powerful chip last year but has since been surpassed by newer models like the Snapdragon 855. The phone's performance is decent but may not keep up with the latest flagship phones in terms of speed and responsiveness. This may be a concern for users who want to multitask or play demanding games on their phone.

One notable feature of the Nokia 9 PureView is its software support, which includes Android 1.0 (codenamed "Stock Android") and two years of regular security updates, as well as three years of Android updates. This makes the phone an excellent choice for users who want a clean and secure Android experience without the hassle of frequent updates or worrying about compatibility issues.

The Nokia 9 PureView also features an in-display fingerprint sensor, which is designed to provide convenient biometric authentication without needing to swipe out of the screen or pop up a home button. However, this feature does not always work as smoothly as it could, and may require multiple attempts to register successfully. Overall, while the fingerprint sensor is a nice addition, its reliability may be an issue for some users.

In conclusion, the Nokia 9 PureView is an excellent camera phone that offers high-quality images with plenty of creative control. However, at seven hundred dollars, it falls behind other flagship phones like the iPhone 10 and Galaxy s10e in terms of overall well-roundedness and performance. While it has some interesting features, such as its in-display fingerprint sensor and software support, these may not be enough to justify the phone's price tag.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(mustache rustles)- Makes like a weirdnoise, you notice this?It's okay, I'll shave itsoon, don't worry about it.Hey guys, this is Austin.Ever since Nokia was revivedwith a focus on Android,they've actually releasedsome really cool stuff.Phones like the Nokia 7.1deliver solid hardwarewith a clean softwareexperience, and most importantly,it's all at a pretty reasonable price.So, when Nokia releasedthis, the Nokia 9 PureView,at a little bit more of a flagship level,well, I gotta say I was curious.Also, it has a bunch of cameras.So around back there arefive 12 megapixel sensors,so two of them shoot in color,three of them shoot in monochrome,and there's also a time-of-flight sensoras well as a flash.It's actually kinda gota cool honeycomb look,although I think a lot of people find thisto be kind of a little disturbing maybe.How does this make you feel?- Oh no (laughs) I do not, no, stop that.- The idea is that all thesecameras are fused togetherusing some tech from Light, thecompany who makes that crazy16 sensor camera, nowwhile this doesn't go quiteto that ridiculous degree,what you should get,at least on paper, arethings like better sharpness,better low-light and a better depth mapfor things like portrait shooting,but of course, the real questionis how well does it actually work,or did they just add abunch of cameras hereto be cool and trendy?Now we can look at theon paper specs all day,but the real test is totake the Nokia 9 PureViewinto the real world, and you can't askfor a nicer day to shoot than this.So to start with, we're goingto take some standard photosto see how the cameras work in a normal,pretty nice looking condition.Wow, it takes a long time to processeven like a standard still.Let's try something a little tighter,okay, so the camera appis reasonably quick,but it takes a longtime to process a photo,I mean I'm still sittinghere waiting for itto, I don't know, do whatever stitchingand post-processing it needs to do.It definitely does pullin more dynamic rangeafter doing its processing.I wanna try some in the Bokeh mode though,I actually think that's sortof where this really can shine.Stand right there, let me geta little one of these guys.Okay, ready, and that actuallydoes look pretty nice,so as I look around theedges, it does a very nice jobof kinda naturally makinga depth map to sort of pullKen out of the background.Now, it's not perfect, Ican see there's a coupleof little edges thataren't perfectly smooth,but generally speaking,it does a good job,and it does a good job with, for example,the camera and otherthings in the foreground,which sometimes trip these systems up.Then to put this in context,I have the Galaxy s10e.This is very much in thesame kinda price range,and it also does have a Portrait mode,so let's see how this stacks up.Oh yeah, no it actuallydoesn't do as good of a job,it kinda loses some of your hat,the camera is a little bit blurry,yeah, no, this is definitelynot as good of a depth map.You do see an advantage,although I will say one thing,this is so much faster, ittook about a second to process,versus almost 15 seconds on the Nokia.So let's see what thislooks like side by side,or at least as close as I can get it,so snapping on s10, snapping on Nokia.You know, actually, Ikind of like the Nokiaa little bit better here,a little bit contrastierthough I guess, there's a littlebit more range in the s10.One thing I will mentionis that while the Nokiahas a ton of cameras, they allhave the same focal length,so there's no wide angle,there's no telephoto,you can use the digitalzoom here which supposedlytakes advantage of them, but on the s10,you do have that awesomewide angle camera,and let's be real, it's actuallysomething that I use a lot,so, you know.- So Austin decided to letme do the light room workfor this, because I actually,yeah I actually use light room,but it's cool that it comes on the phone.Because I wasn't the one that shot these,I don't have the greatestframe of reference,but, so I'm just gonna playaround with the range here,I'm gonna see how much ofthe highlights I can actuallypull away, and how much ofthe shadows I can pull up,and, I mean there isa lot of detail there.It actually did keep theblur, like the actual portraitblur in the background, which is neat.It even brought in thoseimperfections that you brought up(laughs) earlier, like around your hair.It did a good job atblending everything togetherand also letting you editall that stuff in raw,so if I just do a littlesomething here to reign inthe highlights and bring upthe shadows a little bit,maybe warm up the image a little too,just to give it some look.It looks pretty comparable to the iPhone.The iPhone definitely getsgrainy when you push it too hard,even though it does giveyou a little bit of a betterstarting point in termsof color and exposure.The image is plenty sharpfor as much as I pushed itand toned down the highlights,there's a lot of detail there still.If you're a photographerthat just does mobile stuff,then maybe this is acompelling sell to you,but if you want a morewell-rounded experience,then I wouldn't buy thisphone just for the camera.- Let's talk about therest of the hardware.Put simply, it's a littlebit on the generic side,so it does have GorillaGlass on front and back,although I will mentionthat there's actuallyjust a little bit of give in the middle,which is not something I'm used to seeingespecially on a flagship.Around front, you do have a nice display,but the bezels are abit on the large side,sure you don't have a notch,but it would've been niceto maybe trim that down just a little bit,especially considering thatthere's no front-firingspeaker here, there'sa lot of wasted spacethat they could've usedfor stereo speakers.Also, speaking of audio,around bottom, you do havea USB-C port, but you don'thave a headphone jack,so, yeah.Now the screen is actuallyone of my favorite partsof the phone, it's a Quad HD OLED panel,and not only is it nicely saturated,maybe a little bit toomuch, but importantly,it gets very bright,and it's totally usable,even when you're using it outside.Honestly, this is one of theareas where you do noticea difference between theNokia 9 and some of the othercompetitors in this pricepoint, including the iPhone 10ras well as the Galaxy s10e,it just has a better screen.Spec-wise thought, thisreally can't compete.So inside, you'll find a Snapdragon 845,which was great last year, but this year,it's just not quite up to thesame flagship level qualityof something like the iPhone10 or the Galaxy s10e,it just falls behind.It's definitely a weak point,although I do understandthat it probably tookthem a while to optimizethe Snapdragon with all of thedifferent cameras and stuff,but honestly, I think not onlyis this part of the reasonwhy it's so slow to process,but it just isn't the mostquick, fast phone out there.It's fine for normal use,but it's really not quitewhat I would like to seeat the seven hundred dollar price point.Like basically all NokiaAndroid phones at this point,it is powered by Android-1,that means that not only dowe have a very clean buildof Android 9, but importantly,you also get a guaranteeof two years of Androidupdates and three yearsof security updates,that is a big, big plusin this category.I take that back, it's nota big plus in this category,it's a big plus for literallyanyone using a phonewho wants to get more than a year,maybe a year and a half of updates.One of the flashierfeatures of the PureViewis the in-display fingerprint sensor.Now this is something we'veseen on the OnePlus 6Tas well as the Galaxy s10, bothof which do it fairly well,but here, well, let me just show you.So if I tap the screen, it'sokay I'll eventually do it,there we go, now I put myfinger on it, and nothing, okay,I'll put it again, a-ha, it worked.Let me do that again.This is probably one of theleast reliable fingerprintsensors I've ever used.Of course it's (swear word muted out)working for, Goddamnit.(bleep)There we go, there see it,look, it took me three tries that time,I'm not crazy.The Nokia 9 PureView hassome very interesting techand there are some coolparts about this phone,but at seven hundred dollars,it is playing with the big boys,and as far as I'm concerned,it's just not quitethe same well-roundedpackage as you can getwith that iPhone 10r, Galaxy s10e,now yeah, for some peopleI think the camerasare gonna be worth it, for the most part,not really worth the price,at least until it comes down a little bit.(mustache rustles)