Nokia 9 PureView vs Black Shark 2 vs Galaxy S10e vs OnePlus 7 Pro: A new flagship battle

Nokia, in a very surprising move, has quietly announced its latest flagship smartphone called the Nokia 9 PureView. The device had been launched months back at MWC 2019 in Barcelona and finally, it has made its way to India. At a price of Rs 49,999 the device is anything but cheap and it competing at the higher end of the smartphone spectrum with the likes of OnePlus 7 Pro (Review), Black Shark 2 (Review), and the Galaxy S10e (Review).[caption id="attachment_6968941" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

Nokia 9 PureView[/caption]In terms of specs, the device happens to have a previous-gen Snapdragon 845 chipset and it has just the single variant which is 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. Display wise the device happens to have a 5.99-inch Quad-HD+ (1440x2960 pixels) POLED screen with 18.5:9 aspect ratio. There is also an in-display fingerprint reader for authentication purposes.

By far the most interesting feature for the Nokia 9 PureView is the five-camera setup present at the back. Two lenses are regular RGB sensors both with 12 MP resolution and f/1.8 aperture while the other three happen to be monochrome B&W sensors also with 12 MP resolution and f/1.8 aperture. Combined the monochrome sensors can capture 10 times more light than standard RGB sensors. All five cameras work together in creating a single shot and the phone has dedicated camera hardware inside, to bring down the processing required to take photos.Competition-wise the OnePlus 7 Pro is the obvious rival for the Nokia 9 PureView. Apart from that the Black Shark 2 and the Galaxy S10 also fall somewhere around the same price range. So let's see how the device compares in a spec battle. Obviously, this isn't a blow-by-blow comparison of the Nokia 9 PureView and we shall reserve final judgement of the device after a full review.

Smartphone	Nokia 9 PureView	OnePlus 7 Pro	Black Shark 2	Samsung Galaxy S10E
Display Size (inch)	5.99	6.67	6.39	5.8
Resolution (pixels)	1440 x 2880	1440 x 3120	1080 x 2340	1080 x 2280
Pixel Density (PPI)	538	516	403	438
Display Type	P-OLED	Fluid AMOLED	AMOLED	Dynamic AMOLED
Dimensions(mm)	155 x 75 x 8	162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8	163.6 x 75 x 8.8	142.2 x 69.9 x 7.9
Weight (gm)	538	206	205	150
Dual SIM	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SIM Type	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Nano-SIM	Hybrid Dual
Connectivity Types	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / LTE	GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Qualcomm Snapdragon 855	Exynos 9820
CPU Cores	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa-core	Octa Core
CPU Clock Speed (GHz)	4x2.8 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver	1x 2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x 1.80 GHz Kryo 485	1x 2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x 2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x 1.80 GHz Kryo 485	2x 2.7 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x 2.3 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x 1.9 GHz Cortex-A55
GPU	Adreno 630	Adreno 640	Adreno 640	Mali-G76 MP12
RAM	6 GB	6,8 GB	6,8 GB	6. 8 GB
Ruggedness	IP67	Splashproof	Splashproof
On-Board Memory	128 GB	128, 256 GB	128, 256 GB	128//.256 GB
Expandable Memory	No	No	No	Yes, up to 512 GB
Sensors	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	In-display fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass	Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Primary Camera	5x 12 MP, f/1.8	48 MP, f/1.6 (primary) + 16 MP, f/2.2 (ultrawide) + 8 MP, f/2.4 (telephoto)	48 MP, f/1.8 + 12 MP, f/2.2	12 MP, f/1.5-2.4 and 16 MP. f/2.2
Optical Image Stabilization	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Camera Array	Penta-camera	Triple Camera	Dual-camera	Dual-camera
Autofocus System	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Phase detection autofocus	Dual Pixel PDAF
Secondary Camera	20 MP	Motorised pop-up 16 MP, f/2.0	20 MP, f/2.0	10 MP, f/1.9
Video Capture	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps	2160p@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@480fps, Auto HDR, gyro-EIS	1080p@30fps	2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps
Flash	dual-LED	Dual-LED	LED flash	LED Flash
OS Version	Android Pie	Android Pie	Android 9.0	Android 9.0 Pie/ One UI
AI (Smart Assistant)	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Google Assistant	Bixby, Google Assistant
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, DLNA, hotspot	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	v5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD	5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX
NFC	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Infrared	No	No	No	No
Fingerprint Scanner	Yes, In-display	Yes, In-display	Yes, In-display	Yes, side-button
3.5mm jack	No	No	No	Yes
Radio	No	No	No	No
USB Type	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C reversible connector	Type-C Reversible connector
USB Standard	USB 2.0	USB 3.1	USB 2.0	v 3.1
Battery (mAh)	3320 mAh	4,000	4,000	3100
Fast charging	Yes, In-display	Yes, 30 W Warp Charge	Yes, fast battery charging 27W	Yes (support wireless fast charging as well)
Colors	Midnight Blue	Mirror Grey, Almond, Nebula Blue	Black, Silver, Blue	Prism White, Prism Black, Prism Green, Prism Blue, Canary Yellow, Flamingo Pink
Prices in India	Rs 49,999	Starts at Rs 48,999	Starting at Rs 39,990	Rs 50,900

Verdict

The Nokia 9 PureView appears to be a day late and a dollar short in the processor department at least. The phone's Snapdragon 845 chipset has been used in all flagships of last year and the competition packs in the latest 7nm chipset from Qualcomm and Samsung's Exynos. The RAM and storage options are also not to promising as the Nokia offers only the 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage options while the competition has up to 12 GB and 256 GB storage. The camera appears to be a saving grace as the Nokia 9 PureView uses all its five 12 MP cameras to click photos which should, in theory, offer unprecedented image quality. We shall give further details on the device after performing a full review.