Nokia’s comeback to the world of smartphones was built on the promise of regular Android updates, even for its cheapest handsets. Current owner HMD Global is now fulfilling its pledge by launching the Nokia phones beta labs.
As can be guessed by its name, the program will serve as the testing ground for upcoming software updates for all Nokia offerings. The Nokia 8 is set to be the first member of the program. Owners can sign up for it and get their hands on an early beta build of Android 8.0 Oreo.
As with any beta software, the experience probably won’t be very stable since there might be unexpected bugs and issues aplenty. Anyone who’d rather wait it out for a stable Oreo upgrade will have to be patient till the end of the year.
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This is true of the rest of the gang as well. While the Nokia phones beta labs page only mentions the Nokia 8 as of now, the Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6 are also supposed to get its hands on Android 8.0 at around the same time.
Nokia Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas confirmed this in a tweet, stating that the company is just starting with the Nokia 8. The Nokia 3, Nokia 5, and Nokia 6 will follow in pursuit. This is good news for anyone who took a risk with the firm on the hopes of getting regular updates.
Nokia’s been pretty reliable when it comes to software updates across its portfolio. It has a real chance of differentiating itself from other manufacturers that launch phones and then ignore them or delay updates by months or years. You can sign up for its beta program here.