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Nokia 8 scores Android 9 Pie beta update to reward your patience

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Dec 11, 2018, 9:07 AM

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Since the somewhat surprising rebirth of the Nokia brand, the 2016-founded company in charge of marketing and selling these increasingly popular phones basically played all its software support cards right.

But in addition to issues delaying the release of the high-end Nokia 9 PureView, the brand was recently rumored to be withholding certain updates to boost the sales numbers of the already Pie-powered Nokia 8.1.

After firmly refuting the speculation, the new “home of Nokia phones” is today rolling out Android 9 goodies for the Nokia 8, but only as part of a public beta program. That means you can now sample Google’s delicious Pies on the fall 2017-released 5.3-incher, with bugs and general system instability likely to still be a part of the equation however.

This should also put all gossip to rest regarding the main reason behind the delay of an update initially scheduled for November. HMD Global, the exclusive global Nokia brand licensee, has no intention to hinder in any way the user experience on its new and old devices.

As Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas explained on Twitter a few days ago, the Nokia brand remains committed to pushing updates “as fast as possible”, but alas, sometimes the unforeseen happens.

“Each chipset family and each product in it requires dedicated work”, which appears to be taking more time as far as the Nokia 8 is concerned for some reason. Is an “immediate Beta Labs release” enough to make up for that? If not, something tells us the final Android 9 Pie update is around the corner anyway.

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.

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