HMD Global, maker of Nokia phones, has announced the highly anticipated, long-discussed Nokia 9 PureView with five cameras. Yes, five — that’s not a typo.

We know: That doesn’t seem like a lot these days, especially after the release of Samsung’s quad-camera phone last year. But five is now the number to beat, and the Nokia 9 PureView looks promising enough to seriously challenge the top in-device camera systems available on the market.

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Fair warning, though: HMD Global says this is a “limited edition,” meaning it would manufacture a set number of phones and would not continue production once stocks are gone. It will be available in the United States and Europe starting March for $699 (around P36,358 converted) and €599 (P35,355), respectively.

Nokia 9 PureView product video

So, the cameras — they all have Carl Zeiss optics and 12-megapixel sensors. All are f/1.8 and use a single 28mm focal length. That said, if you were hoping for a wide or telephoto lens, you’d be disappointed. Two of the sensors capture color, while the rest are monochrome sensors that add contrast and depth to the picture. Next to the cameras is a flash and a time-of-flight sensor for 3D depth imaging.

In developing the rear cameras, HMD Global sought the help of Light, the company responsible for the 16-lens L16 camera, to make the five cameras work together as one. The Nokia 9 PureView shoots 12-megapixel photos with HDR and saves them as raw DNG files for convenient editing after the fact. With the Nokia 9, you can adjust the exposure and intensity of background blur from within the camera app.

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The camera is certainly the main attraction here, but the rest of the phone is also pretty impressive. It runs Qualcomm’s older Snapdragon 845 with 6GB RAM on near-stock Android 9.0 Pie, with the promise of future software updates and security patches. You also get a 5.99-inch, 2K OLED screen with a fingerprint reader under the glass, a 3,320mAh battery that supports 18-watt fast charging, and IP67 water resistance on its premium glass-metal-glass build.

Nokia 9 PureView specs

• 5.99-inch OLED display, 2,880 x 1,440 resolution
• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• Five 12-megapixel rear cameras with f/1.8 aperture, Carl Zeiss lens, plus time-of-flight sensor
• 20-megapixel front camera
• Fingerprint reader (in-display)
• 3,320mAh battery with 18-watt fast charging
• Android 9.0 Pie

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