HMD Global: Nokia 9 PureView doesn’t get any updates to Android 11, blame the camera

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Not only is HMD Global reneging on its promise to bring Android 11 to the Nokia 9 PureView, it is also offering a discount for a new phone to customers who have just discovered that their current devices are no longer supported.

These are the customers who paid between $ 599 and $ 699 for the premium Nokia 9 PureView in 2019 after making a big splash with its quintuple rear-facing camera array at that year’s World Mobile Congress. At the time, Nokia was even known as the best phone brand for receiving quick software updates, according to Counterpoint Research, so customers understandably could have felt they could trust Nokia and HMD Global.

As one of the devices in the Android One program, the Nokia 9 PureView runs a near-stock version of Android 9 and is expected to receive at least two years of operating system updates and three years of security updates. Although the phone was updated to Android 10 in December 2019, it hasn’t received any other OS updates since.

HMD Global said they are unable to update the Nokia 9 PureView with Android 11 because “[i]Compatibility between the camera and the software would have led to a compromised experience that does not meet our high standards, “according to his statement. Perhaps because its five cameras were developed in collaboration with Light, the camera company that abandoned it. smartphone photography, HMD Global fails to overcome this technical challenge. That said, the company said the phone will continue to receive security updates.

HMD blames PureView 9’s unique camera array for not being able to upgrade to Android 11Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Rather than allowing current owners to trade their now unsupported devices, HMD Global looks like an attempt to profit from interested customers by asking them to buy a new Nokia phone. “[F]or those of you looking to upgrade to Android 11, “according to its website for Nokia 9 PureView owners,” we are offering a 50% discount on the Nokia XR20 or another device depending on regional availability. All in all, the mid-range Nokia XR 20 is hardly a replacement for the premium Nokia 9 PureView, and you have to jump through hoops just to get that discount.

At a time when Android phone makers are trying to differentiate themselves by modeling Apple’s software support for over four years for iPhones, cases like HMD Global backtracking the Nokia 9 PureView update just remind us not to make these promises. too seriously. Larger companies like Samsung may have more resources to provide four years of security updates for its huge portfolio of devices, but smaller companies like HMD Global and Motorola simply don’t have a good track record. While software support is something to consider when making a decision about buying a phone, especially when holding the phone longer between update cycles, it shouldn’t be the deciding factor for an Android because it might not happen.

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