For some time now Nokia has been out of the higher end smartphone game. After their failures with Windows Phone they’ve mostly been out of the way for Samsung and Apple to carry on their success. Now under the HMD brand, Nokia is back to spoil the party.

The Galaxy S8 and perhaps soon, the Apple iPhone 8 is going to be sold against the Nokia 8. An impressive entry from the brand hoping to leverage any brand equity that is left in the Nokia name.

The big difference in this Nokia phone to prior generations is that it now runs a pure Android OS. So it will now run any and all the apps you can expect on your Samsung’s, Sony phones etc. Running on the latest Qualcomm processor backed with 4GB of RAM and a hefty 64GB of storage at a base level, you’ll be running any apps or games with plenty of space to feel free.

Similar to the Galaxy S8, the Nokia 8 is now water resistant with IP54 rating. 5.3inch screen has a Gorilla Glass face to do it’s best to survive drops and scratches. Two 13MP cameras on the rear and one 13MP camera on the front will mean that your selfies will be very good but your portrait shots from the dual rear cameras will be stunning. Like prior Nokia smartphones we have an expectation for good hardware, particularly in the cameras and the Nokia 8 is fortunate to have the rear cameras co-developed with ZEISS. Another name you can trust.

One feature that stands out on the Nokia 8 is the ability to shoot video, take photos or even livestream using the front and rear cameras at the same time. So if you’re on Facebook Live there is no need to flip between them constantly, just show both at once.

All of the usual sensors are packed inside too so you’re really not missing anything between this and the Galaxy S8 from that point of view, the Nokia 8 is also 7.9mm thick and only 160 grams in weight.

Nokia 8 will be available for a RRP of $899.00 at JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman in early September. Available to pre-order from JB Hi Fi Friday 18 August.