HMD Global announced the Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 7 Plus at MWC 2018 in February and released in April 2018. The flagships came with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and the next major update for these devices is Android 9 Pie.
Previously, the Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus devices joined the Android Enterprise Program, so will receive atleast two major Android updates, Android P and Q. At the I/O 2018, Google announced that along with Google Pixel lineup, Nokia 7 Plus is also included in the Android P Beta program. So the opted Nokia 7 Plus users started receiving the Android P beta build since the launch of Beta.
When will Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus get Android 9 Pie ?
Albeit, the beta is available for Nokia 7 Plus, it isn’t recommended for daily usage and the flashing of Beta is also a tedious process. So users have to wait till the official rollout of the Android Pie update through OTA to enjoy the new features of Android 9 Pie.
The Search Giant released the Ninth major iteration of Android officially on August 6th with the codename Pie and version number 9. HMD Global has announced recently the rollout for the Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus devices will begin Septemeber and the update will bring the ARcore support for Nokia 8 Sirocco flagship.
Because of the Project Treble of Oreo implemented in Nokia flagships, future updates will be delivered quickly and also much easier for the manufacturer and also carriers. So most likely in mid or late September 2018, the Nokia 8 Sirocco flagship and Nokia 7 Plus devices will start receiving the upcoming android update. The confirmed rollout dates will be posted here, as soon as HMD Global announces them.
What’s new in Android Pie ?
The key features in first developer preview, which was released in March, include Call recording Notification, Improvements to Picture in Picture mode, Screenshot button and markup editor, Indoor Navigation using Wi-Fi RTT and new Volume slider.
In the Beta cum second preview of Android P, Google added many revolutionary features, which are Adaptive Battery and Brightness, Gesture-based interface, App actions and Digital Wellbeing.
Gesture based Interface
The Gesture based interface is a new feature which totally revamps the navigation bar, as the previous leaks revealed. Some users may think that Google followed the Apple’s iPhone X interface in Android 9 Pie. Any how, Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus devices will get a new navigation bar with only pill-shaped home button with the Android Pie update.
To use split screen or multitask, users just swipe up on the screen as there will be no App previews button in the upcoming update. The back button appears only inside apps when needed and disappears later. The simplified Gesture interface will also reduce the screen burn-in due to navigation buttons in the Nokia 8 Sirocco flagship which sports pOLED display.
Digital Wellbeing
At Google I/O 2018, the Search giant explained the features in Android P to deal with the problem of excessive smartphone usage and named them as Digital Wellbeing. Albeit, it contradicts with the Google’s Advertising and benefits, it seems that Google aimed at healthy smartphone usage.
The app timer and winddown are two main features of digital wellbeing. With app timer, the time spent by user on the specific app could be limited. Winddown feature is for the users who excessively use smartphone before going to sleep. It changes the display to greyscale automatically and reduces eyestrain and sleep problems.
Shush Mode
This is an addition to the Do not Disturb feature which also helps to reduce smartphone addiction. When the user puts the device face down, Shush feature gets activated and enables DND automatically, so notification beeps, pings and calls. Only whitelisted contacts can get through Shush mode in case of emargencies. The feature may get enhanced further in forthcoming updates.
Adaptive Battery
This is one of awesome features of the Android P Beta which reduce battery drain even upto 30 percent, according to Google. The VP of Android Engineering, Dave Burke, told at I/O 2018, Adaptive Battery feature works with on-device machine learning and identify which apps the user going to use in coming hours and the apps which are not going to be used and reduce CPU wake-up calls.
The beta users still figuring out how much battery, the new interaction of android is going to save, so in coming days more details about the Adaptive Battery feature will be revealed.
Improved Battery Saver
Google made some improvements to the stock battery saver feature which was arrived with Android Lollipop back in 2014. Till now, the Battery saver disables itself after plugging in, but after plugging off, the user must re-enable it manually if wanted. Now in Android P Beta, the Battery Saver itself turning back on after removing the charging cable, which is really awesome. So user doesn’t need to go through the Settings app to re-enable the battery saver after charging.
Lockdown Mode
The Android Pie update come up with a new feature named as Lockdown to tighten security on Nokia 7 Plus and 8 Sirocco devices. By using the lockdown mode, user can disable the fingerprint unlocking mechanism in the device and thereby prevent forceful unlocking and other means.
To use the Lockdown feature, user just have to tap on the Enter Lockdown option in the Powermenu. The option appears with different UI than the remaining options in the Menu, so we can easily identify it. After enabling the Lockdown mode, user has to use other unlocking systems like PIN, password or pattern to work the device again.
Update on 15/07/2018 :
Google released the fourth preview of Android P on July 2nd and we digged deep into its features. It seems that the fourth preview of Android P is very near to final version and stable enough. There many UI changes in the Android P DP4, background fill has been removed from icons in Quick Settings and Media volume controls. Upcoming events are again displayed on the Lockscreen, the feature was disable in the earlier preview. Other changes in DP4 include Call volume slider in Sound Settings, New gesture navigation slider and New back button.
Update on 25/7/2018 :
The Search Giant released the Android P Beta 4 aka DP5, a few hours ago. The major changes in the DP5 yet to be revealed. The factory images of DP5 are available for Google Pixel and Pixel 2 series devices and the OTA rollout also begins. Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus devices should receive the Android P Beta 4 in coming days, as part of the program.
Dave Burke, the VP of Android Engineering suggested in his blog post, the developers should make their apps ready for Android P. The latest Beta is very stable and near to the final release. The public release of Android P could come in third Quarter of 2018, most likely in early or mid-August. In the mean time, we will know more about the official codename of Android 9.0.
Update on 7/8/2018 :
Yesterday, the Search Giant released the Android P official version with codename Pie, the version number is 9 not 9.0. Previous rumours claim that Android P would come on August 20th, but Google decides for an early release of Android. The latest iteration of Android seems to be very stable and free from bugs. The Pixel and Pixel 2 device owners are getting the Android Pie update through OTA and flashing factory images.
Nokia 7 Plus and 8 Sirocco devices should receive the official release of Android 9 Pie in a few days as they are partner devices. The official rollout dates of Pie will be revealed soon.
Update on 22/8/2018 :
HMD Global has confirmed that the Nokia 7 Plus mid-ranger will get the official Android 9.0 Pie update from the next month. A few days ago, the company starts the rollout of Beta 4 build of Android 9 for its mid-ranger. Now the rollout of final build is coming to 7 Plus in September. Confirmed rollout dates of the Pie update are yet to be revealed but the tech analysts expect the rollout in the first or second weeks of September.
However, the company hasn’t shared any details about the rollout for its flagship, Nokia 8 Sirocco. The flagship users are currently on Android 8.1 Oreo and waiting for Android Pie. Most likely, shortly after 7 Plus, the rollout may spread to 8 Sirocco too.
Update on 26/9/2018 :
HMD Global has released another beta of Pie for Nokia 7 Plus which brings the Digital wellbeing support and other minor fixes. The Beta under version 4.1 released few days ago and rolling out to the registered beta users. In the last month, HMD Global’s Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas announced that the global rollout of Android Pie officially begins in September. So in a few days the Nokia 7 Plus and 8 Sirocco users will receive the Android Pie official build.
After Google Pixel and Pixel 2 devices, Nokia 7 Plus becomes the first phone to get Digital wellbeing support. Although the feature is still in beta stage, it will be finalized soon.
Update on 9/10/2018 :
HMD Global announced about a week ago that the company is going to start the Pie rollout officially with Nokia 7 Plus mid-ranger. As this is a phased rollout, Nokia 7 Plus devices thoughout the World will be updated to Android 9 in phases. Till now, the Pie rollout has begun in many regions in full scale.
According to the official statement, Nokia 6.1 and 6.1 Plus mid-rangers stand next in the line for Android Pie. In this month only, these mid-range devices will start receiving the Pie update. Then, in November, the flagships Nokia 8 and 8 Sirocco will get the Android 9 Pie update. The confirmed rollout dates will be revealed very soon.
Update on 18/1/2019 :
After the rollout of Pie for Nokia 8, HMD Global begins the rollout for its flagship Nokia 8 Sirocco on January 9th. We have received multiple reports from Nokia 8 Sirocco users that they have got Pie update notifications. The size of the update is about 1.4 GB and also includes December’s Security patch. On January 16th, Nokia also released Pie Kernel source of Nokia 8 Sirocco, so custom roms developers can make use of it. The update was scheduled to rollout in late-November but keeps postponed due to some technical problems. Finally, HMD Global managed to pushout stock Android Pie without any known bugs for Nokia 8 Sirocco users. The next major update for the flagship is Android Q only, which is currently under development at full pace.
