First Slice of Android 9 Pie Update Comes to Nokia Smartphones

While the Nokia 6.1 Plus is not going to be released in the Philippines until Oct 29, HMD Global has already begun locally rolling out the Android 9 Pie update for the said smartphone. The company announced the update availability via Nokia phones beta labs starting today. This follows the Nokia 7 Plus, which was the first smartphone running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 to globally roll out the Android 9 Pie late September of this year.

"To further solidify our leadership and commitment to Android One and fast platform updates for our fans, we are happy to announce that the Nokia 6.1 Plus is the first smartphone globally to offer Android Pie on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Mobile Platform via our Nokia phones beta labs" said Juho Sarvikas HMD Global Chief Product Marketing Officer.

"We are truly proud to deliver this great news to all Filipino Nokia fans as we ensure a pure, secure, and up-to-date Android experience through the new generation of the Nokia smartphones. In fact, Nokia mobile is at 50% Android uptake compared with the industry rate of 10%. We would like to share with our fans that all current models in the Android One family will get the Android Pie. This is also timely as we have just launched the Nokia 6.1 Plus locally last week." said Shannon Mead, HMD Global Country Manager for the Philippines. 

This is the company's first beta version of the Android 9 Pie for the Nokia 6.1 Plus early adopters. And over the coming weeks, HMD Global will work together with the community of users who signed up for the beta test to enhance the experience even more before formally rolling out the Android Pie to the public. The company said that currently they have more than 86,000 fans who have signed up to the test and refine the latest software updates ahead of official release.

Android 9 Pie key features

• App Actions
  Helps you get things done faster by predicting your next move and displaying the right action on your phone
  
• Slices
  Identifies relevant information on your favorite apps to make them more easily accessible when you need them
  
• Adaptive Battery
  Uses deep learning to understand usage patterns and prioritize battery power on important apps
  
• Adaptive Brightness
  Automatically adapts phone brightness by learning from your interactions with different settings
  
• New System Navigation
  Features a single home button that provides intelligent predictions and suggestions (user-enabled)

Digital Wellbeing features available beginning September 2018

•  Dashboard
  Highlights screen time and phone usage, including how many times device has been unlocked and number of notifications received
  
• App Timers
  Sets time limits on app usage
  
• Wind Down and Do Not Disturb
  Set a daily schedule to get your phone ready for bed. Your screen fades to Grayscale while Do Not Disturb silences notifications for a restful sleep. You can activate Do Not Disturb anytime you want to disconnect.

If you would like to join these beta testers via Nokia phone beta labs after you purchase your Nokia 6.1 Plus (read hands-on and initial impressions here) this coming October 29, you can visit this link and sign up there.