GSM Arena reports that the images first surfaced a few days ago on Chinese social network Weibo. They have now reappeared, posted with new additions by Chinese news site CNMO.com.
The renders allegedly show the Nokia “C1,” an Android phone destined to arrive in 2016. It is rumoured to be based around an Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, a 5-inch 1080p Full HD display and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Although the images do not clearly reveal whether the phone is built from plastic or metal, they do show designs that appears similar to that of contemporary Nokia. The chassis is covered by a sheet of glass and is not adorned with any other details aside from a speaker and front camera. On-screen buttons keep the front simple and clean.
Purported images of the Nokia C1 Android smartphone, date 07/09/2015, via CNMO.com
CNMO.com
The rear is similarly tidy, finished in a plain white colour with a small black Nokia logo at the bottom. The circular camera and flash are small and unobtrusive, adding detail to the otherwise plain design.
The handset has smooth, rounded corners and a base-mounted main speaker. The phone appears to be very thin with the chassis rising only a fraction above the USB Type-C charging port. Overall, the design is similar to that of Nokia’s N1 Android tablet.
Although all of these things are likely to appear in the finished phone, doubt has been thrown on the authenticity of these images. As Neowin points out, the C1 that consumers will be able to buy and use will not be launched until the last quarter of 2016 at the earliest when Nokia’s licensing deal with Microsoft expires.
To use Android 6.0, a Full HD display, 2GB of RAM and a current-generation Intel Atom processor in an all-new smartphone today would look conspicuously aged. In another twelve months, this hardware combination will be frowned upon, especially as it will r Nokia’s smartphone brand revival moment.
It’s possible that this handset is genuine but simply a proof of concept prototype device built to test the design with the hardware that is available today. Nokia has over a year to try out different displays, processors and storage configurations in and it’s certainly feasible that the company is focusing on design first.
Either way, we certainly won’t be knowing for sure for a very long time. It’s been less than three months since Nokia’s CEO acknowledged that the company will be returning to smartphones and it has yet to find a manufacturing partner to build the handsets with when the time comes.
