New Nokia Camera app reveals telephoto, wideangle camera support and more manual options

Yesterday’s Oreo Beta update, available via Nokia Beta Labs for Nokia 5, came with a surprise – an updated camera app. The new camera UI (app version 8.0200.20) is similar to the UI we saw on Nokia 7, HMD’s China exclusive device. The new camera app version comes with a simplified UI, but with no new features or a Lumia-like Pro mode we all have been waiting for. After deeper examination of the APK package in cooperation with Suomimobiili.fi, we discovered interesting “hidden” features.

Files inside the APK package show that the current version of Nokia Camera (8.0200.20) supports telephoto camera mode with 2X (2 times) optical zoom and has a wideangle mode. Additionally, icons for shutter speed (1/500-1s) and ISO (100-2000) appeared. You cannot access these features in the current app version, because of hardware limitations related to telephoto and wideangle modes, and because these features aren’t finished. Shutter speed ranging from 1/500s to 1s and ISO from 100 to 2000 could be limited to Nokia 5’s camera hardware. Other phones, like Nokia 7 or 8 (or 9 when available), could have higher (and lower) numbers, as well as new settings.

The inclusion of telephoto and wide angle camera support could suggest that HMD will be replacing the monochrome second camera sensor, with a wideangle sensor in color. It’s interesting to note that we heard a lot about Nokia 9 from rumors and leaks, including info about the processor, memory, dimensions, screen, (lack of) headphone jack, but nothing about the camera, except that the camera is similar to Nokia 8.

If we take a look at some renders and the leaked dimensions, it’s noticeable that the camera bump on Nokia 9 is significantly bigger than the one on Nokia 8. This means that HMD could potentially pack a more powerful camera hardware in the 9, which is also expected considering the 9 should be higher priced and overall better than the 8. Maybe they decided for a different dual-camera setup on the back for 9, and instead of monochrome sensor, we could see a second “telephoto” RGB sensor.

The Nokia 9 is rumored to be launched next year, first in China in January and later globally after the MWC2018 debut. If you’re interested more in this new Nokia Camera app, check our previous article where you can also find the APK for downloading the app on other devices.