HMD Global, the home of Nokia smart devices, has announced the Nokia 8, a smartphone, designed for content creators.

The Nokia 8 is an Android smartphone and the first to support Dual-Sight video, which can be livestreamed natively and in real-time to social platforms including YouTube and Facebook.

Dual Sight, wherein the phone displays and records from both the front- and rear-facing cameras at once. The feature has been done by Samsung and LG before, but Nokia has added a livestream button into its native camera app that will let users instantly broadcast to the (compatible) social network of choice. At the moment, that includes Twitter and Facebook.

The digital cameras on both sides of the Nokia 8 have been co-developed with ZEISS optics. Content creators can broadcast their unique "Bothie" stories to social media through the Dual-Sight functionality located within the camera app.

The Nokia 8 is also the first smartphone to feature Nokia OZO Audio, placing Hollywood technology in the palm of your hand. Combining three embedded microphones, the Nokia 8 records 360-degree spatial surround sound that will be encoded binaurally, ensuring that wherever your 4K "bothie" videos go, listeners should get a more immersive experience when they listen back.

At a time when smartphones routinely boast 4K displays, Nokia's gone for a humbler 2K (2,048 x 1,080) LCD screen, while sufficient, isn't going to dazzle against the competition.

At 4.6mm thin at the edge and just 7.3mm slim on average, Nokia 8's unibody is precision milled from a single block of 6000 series aluminum and its design has been refined through a 40-stage process of machining, anodizing and polishing.

Select Nokia 8 models feature a high-gloss mirror finish. The new smartphone also features Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor platform. It is Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 compatible, meaning when your battery is running low you can get back to recording your important moments sooner.

In order to keep the device cool, engineering teams equipped it with a full-length graphite shielded copper cooling pipe that dissipates the heat generated by the system across the full length of the handset.

The new 8 works with the Nokia Active Wireless Headset - a water, sweat, and dust proof premium headset. The full portfolio of accessories for Nokia smartphones includes a range of headsets, portable speakers, in-car chargers, protective cases and screen protectors.

The Nokia 8 will be available in four colors: Polished Blue, Polished Copper, Tempered Blue and Steel and will be available at a global average retail price of €599 ($700) with roll out throughout September 2017. HMD has no immediate plans to take the phone to the US.

SPECS

SCREEN: 5.3-inch 2560x1440 IPS
OS: Android 7.1.1
CPU: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, up to 2.45GHz
RAM: 4GB
GPU: Adreno 540
STORAGE: 64GB (expandable with microSD card)
NETWORKING: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS, NFC

BANDS: GSM: 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA: 1, 2, 5, 8
TDS-CDMA: 34, 39
LTE:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41

PORTS: 1x USB 3.1 Type-C
CAMERA
Rear: 13MP (Colour + OIS) + 13MP (Mono), 1.12um, f/2.0, 76.9°, PDAF, IR, Zeiss optics.
Front: 13MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2.0, 78.4°, display flash

SIZE: 151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9mm (camera bump 0.4mm)
WEIGHT: 160g
BATTERY: 3090 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0

FEATURES: Splashproof IP54, fingerprint sensor, Dual-Sight streaming, Ozo Audio