HMD Global has confirmed that the Nokia 9 PureView isn't slated to be updated to Android 11. The news that this is the end of the road in terms of OS upgrades for the Nokia 9 PureView will come as an unwanted surprise to its owners considering that HMD Global promised during the 2019 launch event that it would receive the Android 11 update.
HMD Global is blaming the decision on technical difficulties arising from the Penta-lens camera setup that was co-developed with a company (Light) that is no longer in the smartphone camera business. While OS upgrades are out of the question which leaves it languishing on Android 10, the Nokia 9 PureView will continue to receive security patches.
So, this isn't great news for Nokia 9 PureView owners. At all. In an attempt to mitigate its failure to uphold its promise of rolling out an Android 11 update, HMD Global is giving out a 50% discount so that current Nokia 9 PureView owners can buy a Nokia XR20 for half price. In a statement on its website, HMD Global said the following:
“…we had to make the tough choice not to offer the Android 11 software upgrade for Nokia 9 PureView. Incompatibilities between the camera and the software would have led to a compromised experience that does not meet our high standards.”
“Your current Nokia 9 PureView won’t change and you will continue to receive security updates. But, for those of you looking to make the jump to Android 11, we’re offering a 50% discount on Nokia XR20, or another device depending on regional availability.”
That's all well and good but with all due respect to HMD Global, the Nokia XR20 is in no way equivalent to the Nokia 9 PureView other than being more robust in nature. A flagship smartphone it is not and why would users want to downgrade to a newer handset just for Android 11 whilst paying out more money in the process? A straight swap or partial refund would be more appropriate instead of HMD Global trying to get another bite of the cherry whilst attempting to fix an issue it's responsible for.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
