HMD Global is
continuing its product lineup expansion in the US with the announcement of the
Nokia 3.1 A for AT&T and Nokia 3.1 C for Cricket. Although the name is
similar, don't confuse these with the Nokia 3.1 - they have bigger screens, a
different SoC, and a different RAM/storage combo.
This marks the
first time HMD itself has worked with AT&T since it's brought the Nokia
brand for smartphones back from the dead, although it has been offering the 3.1
Plus handset through AT&T subsidiary Cricket for a while now.
The Nokia 3.1 A and
Nokia 3.1 C are identical save for the colors used and the carrier branding on
the back. They both have a 5.45-inch 720p display, an 8 MP rear camera with LED
flash, a 5 MP front-facing snapper, the Snapdragon 429 chipset, 2GB of RAM,
32GB of expandable storage, and a 2,990 mAh battery.
They both charge
via USB-C, which is nice to see in a world in which some manufacturers are
sticking with micro USB for their cheapest devices. The new Nokias also both
run Android 9 Pie, still the latest version of the OS. Unfortunately the
carrier customizations that they've gone through mean that neither is part of
the Android One program, like most other Nokias. That said, the UI is very
similar to what the company offers on its Android One handsets, you just don't
get the fast updates, and you're also not getting the same
window of support.
Android One phones
receive two years of platform updates and three years of security patches, but
these two will have to make do with OS and security updates "at a regular
cadence and as frequently as possible" for 18 months after their launch.
The Nokia 3.1 A in
black lands in select Walmart stores on June 10, while the Nokia 3.1 C in white
will be available from Cricket on June 14. Pricing details will only be shared
on those dates, but expect these handsets to be pretty cheap, considering the
specs on offer.
