Introduction

The Nokia 9 PureView, released in 2019 by HMD Global, stood apart from other smartphones with its radical five-camera rear system. It promised unmatched depth, sharpness, and professional-grade editing options, aiming to redefine mobile photography. But in 2025, with the industry dominated by AI-enhanced camera arrays and 200MP sensors, the question remains—did the Nokia 9 PureView innovate too soon, or was it simply flawed?

This article explores the technology, strengths, shortcomings, and relevance of the Nokia 9 PureView today.

The Camera System: Five Lenses, One Purpose

The Nokia 9 PureView featured five 12MP cameras on the back—two RGB and three monochrome sensors. These worked simultaneously to capture depth and detail far beyond most smartphones of its time. Unlike the trend of including ultra-wide or telephoto lenses, Nokia focused solely on image quality and depth mapping.

Key Highlights:

  • 5 x 12MP sensors (monochrome + RGB)
  • Over 1200 layers of depth mapping
  • RAW DNG support with direct Adobe Lightroom integration
  • High dynamic range and precise contrast control

For professional photographers, the PureView’s ability to shoot in RAW and adjust every element in post-processing was a game-changer. However, the absence of versatility in zoom or wide-angle shooting made it less appealing to general users who favored a more flexible camera system.

Design and Display

The Nokia 9 PureView sported a 5.99-inch P-OLED display with 2K resolution and HDR10 support. The design was sleek and minimalist, with Gorilla Glass on both sides and an aluminum frame. The display offered rich colors and deep blacks, but lacked the higher refresh rates (90Hz or 120Hz) that have since become the standard.

2025 Perspective:

While still visually appealing, the display now feels dated in a world where even mid-range phones support smoother refresh rates and thinner bezels. Additionally, the under-display fingerprint sensor was slow and unreliable compared to modern optical and ultrasonic options.

Performance and Software

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and 6GB RAM, the phone ran Android One—a clean, bloat-free version of Android. However, even at launch, the Snapdragon 845 was nearing obsolescence. The image processing, which required combining data from five cameras, often resulted in lag and processing delays.

Although Android One promised quick updates, Nokia stopped supporting the PureView earlier than expected. The phone never received the Android 11 update officially, leaving users stranded on Android 10.

2025 Verdict:

In comparison to today’s standards—where devices boast Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips, 12GB+ RAM, and extensive update support—the Nokia 9 PureView lags considerably.

Innovation or Misfire?

The Nokia 9 PureView was one of the first smartphones to fully embrace computational photography. It was a bold step toward combining multiple sensors and AI software to create highly detailed, layered photographs. However, the execution faltered.

Limitations:

  • No wide-angle or zoom functionality
  • Sluggish performance in post-processing
  • Limited software updates
  • Weak battery life (3320 mAh)

Despite its innovative spirit, these drawbacks made the device difficult to recommend to the mainstream audience.

Impact on the Smartphone Industry

The device’s ambitions laid the groundwork for many advancements we see today. Brands like Apple, Google, and Samsung have since refined multi-sensor photography with better hardware-software integration and faster processors. Today’s flagship smartphones use machine learning and advanced chipsets to instantly adjust lighting, depth, and tone in real-time.

TheNokia 9 PureView showed what was possible, even if it wasn’t quite ready for the mainstream. Its legacy lives on in today’s computational photography breakthroughs.

Should You Buy the Nokia 9 PureView in 2025?

For collectors, photography enthusiasts, or those intrigued by experimental tech, the Nokia 9 PureView is still worth owning as a secondary or niche-use phone. But for practical daily use, it falls short of modern requirements. New mid-range phones offer superior performance, better displays, versatile cameras, and consistent software support.

Conclusion and CTA

The Nokia 9 PureView was a bold experiment—one that challenged conventional smartphone photography. While it didn’t achieve mainstream success, it sparked a movement toward computational imaging that continues to shape the industry in 2025.

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