Nokia has come a long way with the launch of its flagship phone – the Nokia 8. The Finnish company finally took the wraps off the product yesterday showcasing its maiden Android flagship device.

The selling point of Nokia 8 is its cameras for which it has partnered with Zeiss. This gives us rear dual cameras of 13MP+13MP resolution and a 13MP selfie shooter. The rear cameras combine color and monochrome sensor shots into a single shot using “Image Fusion Technology”. Other features include optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, 1.12μm pixels, and a wide f/2.0 aperture.

To take it a notch higher, Nokia has come up with a new camera feature called ‘bothie’. This special mode allows users to click photos or record videos using footage from both the front and rear cameras (as can be seen above). This is done by splitting down the middle to show both viewpoints. That’s not all. Users can also stream the photos or videos in ‘bothie’ mode directly to Facebook Live or YouTube from the camera app.

Another unique feature which Nokia 8 sports is “Ozo Audio”. The technology for this has been borrowed from Ozo, which is Nokia’s take on a 360-degree camera for creating VR content. The three microphones in the Nokia 8 capture 360-degree surround sound which is then attached to 4K video using algorithms first developed for the Ozo.

But what keeps a flagship phone ticking is the up-to-date software. Nokia 8 comes with Android 7.1.1 OS and with Nokia promising to upgrade it to Android O, things look bright. The company has also given a word to push out security updates the same day Google releases them.

Packed in an aluminium body, the Nokia 8 is set to make its debut globally on September 6th (except US) with a price tag of 599 Euros (in UK). We have to admit, design-wise Nokia 8 has a lot of catching up to do. The thick bezels and physical buttons, which have become obsolete and found only in budget devices, have been incorporated in Nokia 8. Also without 2:1 display and IP68 rating, Nokia 8 fails to justify its place in the flagship domain.

But that is compensated by under-the-hood specifications and Nokia 8 stands a good chance of giving other flagship products a tough competition. Carrying a 5.3-inch QHD display, Nokia 8 is powered by Snapdragon 835. In terms of storage, the phone packs in 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM with microSD support. A 3,090 mAh battery keeps the lights on.