Summary of the Q&A session with Miika Mahonen – designer of Nokia 7.2

Nokia Mobile did a nice ting with bringing its employees assigned to the development of Nokia phones closer to the users by simple Q&A sessions on the community forum. Miika Mahonen, who is the principal designer behind the Nokia 7.2 and 6.2, opened this new form of communication for Nokia Mobile and answered the question about the devices.
Miika said that Nokia 7.2 and 6.2 both belong to the same design family of devices, but the major differences between them, besides the hardware specs, are in the final product finish. Nokia 6.2 is glossy, but 7.2 looks more stylish with the matte finish of the glass. At the back of 7.2 is a new satin glass which even prevents fingerprints. Well, truly it doesn’t, but fingerprints don’t look as bad as on the shiny glass.

He was also speaking of the reasons behind the usage of composite polymer material on the devices. When I first held the 7.2, I notice it isn’t cold as older devices like Nokia 6.2, or 7 Plus, which frames were molded from the single piece of aluminum. Nokia 7 Plus got the ceramic paint layers to feel soft and warm, but the cold metal was still being there on the sides. Nokia 7.2 feels warm, but the polymer material, which is a mixture of polymer thermoplastic and fiber improves also the phone’s structure.

There was a question about the possibility to remap the Google button, which is possible to do on 2720 Flip, but to me, that isn’t the issue. The biggest issue is the direct opposite position of that button to the power button which also acts as a shortcut when double pressed to quickly launch of the camera app. What happens to me is that when I want to quickly take a shot of something and grab the phone automatically, I start double-pressing the power button and then realize that it is the Google one. It is like the classic USB jack, where you get a 50% chance to plug it correctly without looking at it. Maybe that Google button should be moved a bit to the bottom of the device, or made longer/narrower, so folks wouldn’t wrong press it.

Miika also revealed that the Cyan Green is a color that represents Nokia’s nordic heritage, or Finland for that matter. He didn’t reply on weather they have planned some other colors since I think that the time still isn’t right for the Lumia 920 era of the phones come back :). But, Miika mentioned that live colors might become popular once again.

Also, the reason to go with these colors that dominate the market is probably that the first design of 7.2/6.2 came to life a year ago. The development cycle, from the idea to the final product, now lasts about a year, which is astonishing since several teams need to be coordinated.

Miika also revealed that the charming Nokia 2720 Flip was designed by HMD’s industrial designer Jonathan Lister.

This is a summary of the Q&A, but if you want to check it, head here.