18 Jul
Even though Nokia still sells feature phones, a leak from 9to5Google earlier today revealed what could be an Android-powered Nokia feature phone.
Based on a leaked image from an anonymous tipster, the phone looks remarkably similar to the Nokia 220. Because we’re supposedly looking at a feature phone, we see the familiar trappings of one: a four-directional d-pad, call and call end buttons opposite of each other, two additional buttons above the call and call end buttons, and a T9 keyboard.
9to5Google
The image also gives us a look at the software. The status bar features indicators for the connection type, signal strength, battery, and time. In the middle is Google’s microphone icon, which could bring up Google Assistant when selected. It could also be used for standard voice searches.
There’s also a Change speaking language indicator. It may or may not be related to the microphone icon.
Near the bottom is a row of five icons, with what looks to be an app drawer icon in the middle. We recognize the Camera, Chrome, and YouTube icons, though the green icon with opposite-facing arrows is new to us. This could be some version of Google Translate, since the arrows appear similar to those used by the translation app.
Lastly, there’s a row of options at the bottom. The options include Alerts, Select, and Settings.
We don’t know much else about the software. However, 9to5Google learned the software on Android feature phones is different from Android Go. The traditional Android app switcher will reportedly be unavailable if there isn’t a dedicated button for it.
Since this is unconfirmed, take it with a grain of salt. If Nokia’s Android-powered feature phone is real, it could be the company’s first proper competitor to the burgeoning KaiOS and KaiOS-powered phones.
