Live Q&A with Wesley Lee

WesleyLee

Hi everyone, its super excited to “text-meet” everyone here. It is a great opportunity for me to be interacting with you – to get your feedback and your ideas. It’s so great to see so many good questions and I can totally feel how passionate you all are about Nokia phones. I have gone through all your questions in detail and have tried to answer them here. It is great to have an opportunity to directly communicate with you on the product and experience design, as well as listen to you – I am super excited.

Let me introduce myself - I joined HMD last year in July and I report to CPO. I am in charge of all SW experiences, as well as some key technology areas such as camera and display – including both hardware and software planning. Throughout my career, I have been working in the telecommunication and mobile phone industry. I have more than 16 years of experience and have working with companies like HTC, TCI/Alcatel, Motorola/Lenovo, and now HMD. I have been fortunate to always be at the front-end planning include innovation planning, experience planning, and product planning  

Now, let’s answer your questions

WesleyLee

singhnsk said:

Where will the re-started Megapixel race lead us to?

It has happened, it is becoming all about megapixels (again!). And it seems HMD has had to take that train to remain competitive. My primary question is if these 48/64/108 MP sensors are really improving the smartphone imaging experience? And if they do, why do Google Pixel, iPhone and Samsung flagships still consider not to jump on this train. Even though, yes, Samsung's mid-range is also using these higher MPs. Is it just a competition thing?

And adding to it, where are we leading with this race? Especially given the fact that these higher MP counts are available for a price which is generally lesser than the flagships which do not come with these high MP ratings. What is the future now that 108MP has already happened? Is it time for somebody to once again show that a 16MP bigger sensor can outnumber the 48MP? Or is the 48MP really a better product? Do we need that high resolution? What do you see as a trend going forward?

This is very good question. Image industry indeed is still seeing two paths in parallel – one is toward combining a bigger sensor (1/2” or even bigger) with more mega-pixels, the other is to stay with 12MP, bigger pixel size (1/2.55”, 1.4um) sensor. Both these routes have their own advantage – for example - 12MP bigger pixels sensor have dual PD feature which can enable the fast focus of speed in low light scene, lens design is relatively easy than high mega pixel one, ISP and image processing can leverage what legacy has been developed and continue to improve etc, but high mega pixel sensor is a bigger size sensor (for example 48MP is 1/2”, 64MP is even bigger one), although each individual pixel size is less, but after quad-pixel binning, it actually combines as bigger pixel size than 12MP, and it naturally makes the high megapixel photo output possible. Just use the 12MP output (such as 48MP and quad pixel binning to 12MP), the effective resolution is better which allow you to preserve more details on the resulting image.

While both these routes have their own advantages, the final image deliver is also dependant on the software algorithms and the professional level of image tuning. In 2020, you will continue to see the high MP trend, but some might choose bigger pixel or a mix of both.

WesleyLee

Mizach said:

Does PureDisplay turn photos to HDR or is this just Quad Pixel sensors ability?

PureDisplay technology helps to see more details in dark and bright areas on a photograph. It can make the colours more accurate and offer a better viewing experience but it won’t change the content itself.  

In the camera’s HDR mode, camera will take multiple shots with different EV value, so as can gain the details of bright side from lower EV value’s photo, and details of darker side from higher EV value of photo and use the AI image fusion to combine a great HDR photo with better details – in both darker and brighter areas.  HDR mode is specifically great for high contrast scene photography, and in Nokia 7.2 and Nokia 6.2, we not only address this day time’s high contrast scene, especially we also address the low light high contrast scene  (for example, low light scene with a bright spotlight) by using different image fusion strategy which is specifically best for low light scene.

WesleyLee

singhnsk said:

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii @HMDLaura (hope that passes the excitement that I'm having). I never knew Wesley until this post happened, so, thank you!

And a very warm welcome to Wesley Lee to the community (I failed to find the correct username to tag). I hope you're doing great! And it is nice that such an experienced individual works at HMD. I couldn't find a lot about you, but it seems you have worked (I hope I stumbled across the right person) at HTC, TCL and Motorola before joining HMD. I'll start off with that topic first then

My questions to Wesley will be as follows. I'll try to break them one per comment to give some likes and disagrees opportunity to rank each one of them.

How is it working at/for HMD Global?

You have had a long career and that's mostly in long-established companies having higher finances to go into innovation. HMD still proudly calls itself as a startup. So, things should be different. How different is it working for a startup versus a regular corporate? Is it better? Is it more challenging? Does a tight hand in the finances (I'm assuming this one) demand for a more often rethinking before investing in an area?

Hi @singhnsk

thanks for your questions. 

Yes – while HMD is still a start-up; there are many highly experienced industry experts in the team.

That’s exactly why I love here. We have a start-up spirit - value creative ideas, are problem -solving oriented. There is open and direct communication and no hierarchy. Decision making is very fast and efficient. Unlike the very big companies, we are not too embroiled in the processes – the focus is on getting things done with you – our fans – in mind. The team here is very experienced yet very warm and friendly, so it is very nice to work here.

You are right, HMD might not have tons of resources at disposal like some of the big companies, but we carefully prioritize the most important task and investment area for our consumers, and we continue to listen and value our user’s feedback, and expand our resources to address feedback and market dynamic change more quickly.

WesleyLee

singhnsk said:

What's next for PureView?

Nokia has a camera legacy that cannot be forgotten by anybody who has lived in that era. Maybe newborns will have no clue what all Nokia achieved. Anyhow, the Nokia 9 PureView happened. Great product, probably with some downsides, but I will take those and focus on the primary purpose - the camera which PureView has been all about.

What is next happening with PureView? The Nokia 9 PureView was launched in Feb 2019 and a full year is a quarter away. Do we have new PureView replacement(s) coming up? Will it be about megapixels or will it be about the versatility. Or will it take a while to bring a new successor?

Also, the PureView spanned across 3 series during Lumia - the 8xx (830), 9xx (primary series) and the god - 1020. Will we see wider availability of PureView across more series? (I'm indirectly asking if a Nokia 10 will happen? and if the PureView can be seen in Nokia 8 series)?

Nokia 9 PureView is very specialized product targeted at photography enthusiasts who are interested in tapping into RAW image taking abilities of the Nokia 9 PureView and then editing them on the phone to unleash their own creativity.  This is the only product in the market which captures information from all 5 cameras into a RAW format with advanced computational image technology, so you can imagine how much original data has been preserved and how much data is available for our users to manipulate in the post editing stage. Also, as all 5 cameras shoot at the same time, we can create a HDR photo at one shot, which is a different approach than multiple photos image fusion HDR. One shot HDR can allow users to get great HDR photo even when shooting moving object such as a running kid without it being blurry.

This computational fusion approach has some trade offs - it introduces more computing resources on the phone side so it leads to more processing time and users need to wait for a while for final image output.

Imaging remains an important focus area for us and we are as passionate about it as all of you – we are carefully evaluating all possibilities to see how can deliver a really great imaging experience to our fans. For us, PureView remains the brand that represents the latest leading edge imaging technology so it will be used on products that are worthy of that name. Unfortunately, I can't share more about our future plans at this time but I can assure you we are listening to your feedback and keeping it in mind while developing our future products and experiences.

WesleyLee

Kirti Arora said:

Why Not Nokia providing PureView Camera technology (Old 48MP sensor technology) with lossless zoom to its all Flagships & Midrange & budget smartphones. Why only in Flagships ?

Hi @Kirti Arora

thanks for the question. 

At the time of launch, Nokia 808 PureView was a great innovation – bringing zoom to a smartphone camera. At that time, there were no optical tele lens, no AI super resolution algorithm. Nokia 808 PureView was the first product to bring lossless zoom experience by cutting the pixel count approach. But there was a trade off in using the pixel counts to bring the lossless zoom experience or using the pixels count for pixel binning as a result of the more sensitive virtual pixel which is better for low light photography.

Imaging technology has advanced since then, AI has had an impact on imaging quality. Today, AI algorithms can enhance zoom quality a lot more compared to a few years ago. Also, tele lens solutions are a possibility in camera modules already – although it is relatively expensive right now.

In short, there are other options available to preserve pixels for pixel binning to enhance both low light and day time image quality and use either algorithms or tele lens approach or a mix of both to deliver great quality zoom pictures.

WesleyLee

BootloaderUnlockWhen said:

Personal Opinion

What Nokia phone do you use for work/personal life? What do you like most about your current phone? What do you think about the hardware and software experiences and how it blends together? What other devices do you use and have used in the past? What are those "little things" about the phones that more people should know? And what do you think are the things/experiences that can be/you think should be improved?

Hi @BootloaderUnlockWhen

thanks for all your questions. 

Right now I am using Nokia 7.2 as my daily work and personal life companion. I really like the clean android approach (really hate been forced to use 3rd party app😊), stunning image performance delivered in Nokia 7.2, great and distinguished European design. When we talking about experiences, it always comes with hardware and software together, for example, a really great image experience needs to come with good hardware (leading sensor, great lens), and really good software execution (Easy to use UI design, advanced image algorithm, and true-to-life image tuning), same as other areas such as display (that’s why we not only have display components, but also have dedicated display IC engine built-in our products). Some experiences might be pure software based, such as the new coming Google Assistant experience, together with hardware button to super easy access it. It actually helps me a lot to get things done very quickly – find information, launch app, find direction, play music…etc.

We are seriously listening to our consumer feedback. And receive feedback on e.g. the power off alarm (also mentioned in one of the questions here) or feedback to audio area like speaker volume. We are closely looking into this and try to address both hardware and software improvements.

HMDLaura

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately, time passes quickly and Wesley has to rush to another meeting. Since there were so many questions to address we will answer the already posted questions throughout the day.

I’ll leave the thread open so you can still ask your follow-up questions which I will then forward to Wesley to get a good answer.  

Best regards,
Laura

SirFaceFone

Thanks for giving out detailed answers. I don't really have much to say right now (I'll wait for the rest of the answers). I'm not sure how accurate these were/are but there were a handful of negative reviews about working at HMD around a year ago so I'm glad to hear the work culture in the company has improved.

singhnsk

WesleyLee said:

singhnsk said:

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii @HMDLaura (hope that passes the excitement that I'm having). I never knew Wesley until this post happened, so, thank you!

And a very warm welcome to Wesley Lee to the community (I failed to find the correct username to tag). I hope you're doing great! And it is nice that such an experienced individual works at HMD. I couldn't find a lot about you, but it seems you have worked (I hope I stumbled across the right person) at HTC, TCL and Motorola before joining HMD. I'll start off with that topic first then

My questions to Wesley will be as follows. I'll try to break them one per comment to give some likes and disagrees opportunity to rank each one of them.

How is it working at/for HMD Global?

You have had a long career and that's mostly in long-established companies having higher finances to go into innovation. HMD still proudly calls itself as a startup. So, things should be different. How different is it working for a startup versus a regular corporate? Is it better? Is it more challenging? Does a tight hand in the finances (I'm assuming this one) demand for a more often rethinking before investing in an area?

Hi @singhnsk

thanks for your questions. 

Yes – while HMD is still a start-up; there are many highly experienced industry experts in the team.

That’s exactly why I love here. We have a start-up spirit - value creative ideas, are problem -solving oriented. There is open and direct communication and no hierarchy. Decision making is very fast and efficient. Unlike the very big companies, we are not too embroiled in the processes – the focus is on getting things done with you – our fans – in mind. The team here is very experienced yet very warm and friendly, so it is very nice to work here.

You are right, HMD might not have tons of resources at disposal like some of the big companies, but we carefully prioritize the most important task and investment area for our consumers, and we continue to listen and value our user’s feedback, and expand our resources to address feedback and market dynamic change more quickly.

Thank you! I do keep forgetting that HMD does have many experienced individuals. Another reason why interactions like this are important - so that we know more about the nice guys who work all around the year to make great devices. I appreciate you finding time off your schedule to answer the questions here. I believe that communication and decision making itself becomes a lot easier in the absence of a forced hierarchy. It is nice to see HMD is keeping its startup spirit. I have had the privilege to talk to CPO (Juho) and it was a nice experience. I am sure that his ways of interaction do help in keeping things from becoming too formal.

Please continue to invest in the right areas while carefully collecting and using the feedback of the consumers. In the past few weeks, I have heard some really nice after-sales experiences from consumers in different countries. So, I am glad that things are starting to get streamlined after the necessary changes due to the discontinuation of TNS Mobile.

Keep up the great work. More power to you and all the team HMD. Hoping to see you here more often, formally or informally.

Kartik Gada

WesleyLee said:

singhnsk said:

Where will the re-started Megapixel race lead us to?

It has happened, it is becoming all about megapixels (again!). And it seems HMD has had to take that train to remain competitive. My primary question is if these 48/64/108 MP sensors are really improving the smartphone imaging experience? And if they do, why do Google Pixel, iPhone and Samsung flagships still consider not to jump on this train. Even though, yes, Samsung's mid-range is also using these higher MPs. Is it just a competition thing?

And adding to it, where are we leading with this race? Especially given the fact that these higher MP counts are available for a price which is generally lesser than the flagships which do not come with these high MP ratings. What is the future now that 108MP has already happened? Is it time for somebody to once again show that a 16MP bigger sensor can outnumber the 48MP? Or is the 48MP really a better product? Do we need that high resolution? What do you see as a trend going forward?

This is very good question. Image industry indeed is still seeing two paths in parallel – one is toward combining a bigger sensor (1/2” or even bigger) with more mega-pixels, the other is to stay with 12MP, bigger pixel size (1/2.55”, 1.4um) sensor. Both these routes have their own advantage – for example - 12MP bigger pixels sensor have dual PD feature which can enable the fast focus of speed in low light scene, lens design is relatively easy than high mega pixel one, ISP and image processing can leverage what legacy has been developed and continue to improve etc, but high mega pixel sensor is a bigger size sensor (for example 48MP is 1/2”, 64MP is even bigger one), although each individual pixel size is less, but after quad-pixel binning, it actually combines as bigger pixel size than 12MP, and it naturally makes the high megapixel photo output possible. Just use the 12MP output (such as 48MP and quad pixel binning to 12MP), the effective resolution is better which allow you to preserve more details on the resulting image.

How about using even bigger sensor but keeping the resolution between 12MP-20MP? This should increase the pixel size and would be a much easier implementation. For example: Using a sensor similar to the Lumia 1020 but with a lower resolution set to 20MP. This should increase the individual pixel size leading to more light capture.

WesleyLee said:

While both these routes have their own advantages, the final image deliver is also dependant on the software algorithms and the professional level of image tuning. In 2020, you will continue to see the high MP trend, but some might choose bigger pixel or a mix of both.

A hint that Nokia Mobile might be working on a 64MP OR 108MP camera phone. 😁 It is fine to follow the trend but we want something that's different.

A big camera sensor should perform better than the modern technique of combining the big sensor with so many pixels just to get a 12MP/16MP image by binning 4 pixels into 1. When something can be achieved in a simple setup, why to make it complex? Will we get to see a true successor of the Nokia 808 PureView and the Nokia Lumia 1020? Maybe with multiple cameras such as a Wide Angle and a Telephoto lens. 

singhnsk

WesleyLee said:

singhnsk said:

What's next for PureView?

Nokia has a camera legacy that cannot be forgotten by anybody who has lived in that era. Maybe newborns will have no clue what all Nokia achieved. Anyhow, the Nokia 9 PureView happened. Great product, probably with some downsides, but I will take those and focus on the primary purpose - the camera which PureView has been all about.

What is next happening with PureView? The Nokia 9 PureView was launched in Feb 2019 and a full year is a quarter away. Do we have new PureView replacement(s) coming up? Will it be about megapixels or will it be about the versatility. Or will it take a while to bring a new successor?

Also, the PureView spanned across 3 series during Lumia - the 8xx (830), 9xx (primary series) and the god - 1020. Will we see wider availability of PureView across more series? (I'm indirectly asking if a Nokia 10 will happen? and if the PureView can be seen in Nokia 8 series)?

Nokia 9 PureView is very specialized product targeted at photography enthusiasts who are interested in tapping into RAW image taking abilities of the Nokia 9 PureView and then editing them on the phone to unleash their own creativity.  This is the only product in the market which captures information from all 5 cameras into a RAW format with advanced computational image technology, so you can imagine how much original data has been preserved and how much data is available for our users to manipulate in the post editing stage. Also, as all 5 cameras shoot at the same time, we can create a HDR photo at one shot, which is a different approach than multiple photos image fusion HDR. One shot HDR can allow users to get great HDR photo even when shooting moving object such as a running kid without it being blurry.

This computational fusion approach has some trade offs - it introduces more computing resources on the phone side so it leads to more processing time and users need to wait for a while for final image output.

Imaging remains an important focus area for us and we are as passionate about it as all of you – we are carefully evaluating all possibilities to see how can deliver a really great imaging experience to our fans. For us, PureView remains the brand that represents the latest leading edge imaging technology so it will be used on products that are worthy of that name. Unfortunately, I can't share more about our future plans at this time but I can assure you we are listening to your feedback and keeping it in mind while developing our future products and experiences.

Thank you! I was debating with @Kartik Gada quite recently about the use of multiple sensors on the 9 vs capturing multiple images from the same sensor like what the Night mode on the Nokia 7.2 does. I have had my answer now about how the simultaneous shot from the multiple sensors can give much more data and a more accurate image.

I am looking forward to more imaging-centered products sporting the Nokia brand. I know that there are several users who consider a Nokia for their portable imaging needs. Nokia has a legacy of producing some of the best camera phones on the planet. So, here's hoping that the next Pureview is not too far away.

And for the next Pureview, please consider making some camera accessories as well which can suit the needs of the photographer. For example, let's look at how the camera grip for the Nokia Lumia 1020 could give the user more battery as well as a bigger shutter button and a camera mount point while still acting as a case and protecting the phone.

Meanwhile, I need to learn from you guys about how to secure the secrets until they are ready to be revealed 🙊

Kartik Gada

singhnsk said:

WesleyLee said:

singhnsk said:

What's next for PureView?

Nokia has a camera legacy that cannot be forgotten by anybody who has lived in that era. Maybe newborns will have no clue what all Nokia achieved. Anyhow, the Nokia 9 PureView happened. Great product, probably with some downsides, but I will take those and focus on the primary purpose - the camera which PureView has been all about.

What is next happening with PureView? The Nokia 9 PureView was launched in Feb 2019 and a full year is a quarter away. Do we have new PureView replacement(s) coming up? Will it be about megapixels or will it be about the versatility. Or will it take a while to bring a new successor?

Also, the PureView spanned across 3 series during Lumia - the 8xx (830), 9xx (primary series) and the god - 1020. Will we see wider availability of PureView across more series? (I'm indirectly asking if a Nokia 10 will happen? and if the PureView can be seen in Nokia 8 series)?

Nokia 9 PureView is very specialized product targeted at photography enthusiasts who are interested in tapping into RAW image taking abilities of the Nokia 9 PureView and then editing them on the phone to unleash their own creativity.  This is the only product in the market which captures information from all 5 cameras into a RAW format with advanced computational image technology, so you can imagine how much original data has been preserved and how much data is available for our users to manipulate in the post editing stage. Also, as all 5 cameras shoot at the same time, we can create a HDR photo at one shot, which is a different approach than multiple photos image fusion HDR. One shot HDR can allow users to get great HDR photo even when shooting moving object such as a running kid without it being blurry.

This computational fusion approach has some trade offs - it introduces more computing resources on the phone side so it leads to more processing time and users need to wait for a while for final image output.

Imaging remains an important focus area for us and we are as passionate about it as all of you – we are carefully evaluating all possibilities to see how can deliver a really great imaging experience to our fans. For us, PureView remains the brand that represents the latest leading edge imaging technology so it will be used on products that are worthy of that name. Unfortunately, I can't share more about our future plans at this time but I can assure you we are listening to your feedback and keeping it in mind while developing our future products and experiences.

Thank you! I was debating with @Kartik Gada quite recently about the use of multiple sensors on the 9 vs capturing multiple images from the same sensor like what the Night mode on the Nokia 7.2 does. I have had my answer now about how the simultaneous shot from the multiple sensors can give much more data and a more accurate image.

I am looking forward to more imaging-centered products sporting the Nokia brand. I know that there are several users who consider a Nokia for their portable imaging needs. Nokia has a legacy of producing some of the best camera phones on the planet. So, here's hoping that the next Pureview is not too far away.

And for the next Pureview, please consider making some camera accessories as well which can suit the needs of the photographer. For example, let's look at how the camera grip for the Nokia Lumia 1020 could give the user more battery as well as a bigger shutter button and a camera mount point while still acting as a case and protecting the phone.

Meanwhile, I need to learn from you guys about how to secure the secrets until they are ready to be revealed 🙊

As I had told you, all five cameras click images at the same time. So, no need to stay still till the HDR capture is complete. Due to five cameras, Nokia 9 PureView captures all images in HDR by default. And that might be the reason it doesn't even have a Toggle to enable or disable the HDR function.  

Excited for the next big thing in PureView. It has to be different and bold.

I completely agree on the accessories part especially the camera grip accessory should be made for every camera-centric phone. My battery dropped from 58% to 18% in 1.5 hours of clicking images on 9 PureView. So, a camera grip with an extra battery pack and a tripod mount is a must.

Daniel G M

@WesleyLee

• Will the newly introduced camera features such as the night mode and RAW make it to older Zeiss branded devices (eg Nokia 7 plus) which are still under the software support cycle ?

• Capturing in RAW (for both cameras in case of dual rear cameras) would also add to compliment the devices capability. Of course there are 3'rd party apps (but the 2nd lens is locked). But if it is possible in the Nokia camera app itself, why making us rely on a 3rd party app ? If no further improvements are being made on an outdated device, why not unlock RAW support and let us process the image ourselves.
  

• Why was the camera app removed from the playstore and updates are provided through OTA only ? Is it to target only specific devices to get the new feature updates ? Don't you think it's a bit unfair to leave out the other capable devices (which are still under the software support) behind ?

• Also is it a camera hardware limitation that is not allowing the 7 plus with SD660 to record 4K60 FPS, 1080P 120FPS and 720P 240FPS respectively ? Would like to know more about this as the SD660 supports 4K60FPS in other phones.I am already aware that the slow motion feature that is in the app is not a true slow motion recording.

• These camera feature updates would mean a lot to users like me as it would make the phone more capable and worthwhile for using as a long term device. The device as is along with the great software it's running on is an absolute gem. But no major updates has been received to the camera department considering the fact that the phone (7 plus, 8 etc)was launched as a premium mid ranger with Zeiss lens.

Thoughts ?

Thanks a lot for taking your time to interact with users.

cooljevil

Plans with the first-gen devices for the company.

With these devices not getting Android 10, with updates now only arriving quarterly. What features can they still add? Of course, an unlocked bootloader would be fantastic so that we can customize.

My questions:
1. With the quarterly updates, can the stock camera app still be updated with added features?

2. Would they be considered obsolete from now on?

WesleyLee

dr. falcon2 said:

Hi Lee
it's Fun that you want us Nokia smart phone users to listen.

1. Is Nokia planning to implement a xenon lamp for its cameras and sapphire glass?

2. Do you have Lee plans to be the highest company that offers smartphones with mega good optics near mirror cameras?

3. I'm Missing something on Nokia models, you know what? A special camera button because I always associate it with Nokia

And finally I want to ask something, but I don't know if you know the answer 😁

a lot of people would like to return the N series because it was the future, cameras that made amazing shots, do you want to return to the N + Zess series?

From myself and add count on Nokia photographic models and music in solid aluminum or glass, but wood would be a beautiful addition around the camera ... Oh I dreamed, Regards Lee warmth.👍

Hi there, 

you have a lot of good questions. This will take a bit of space to answer

1) As product planning, we are always considering from consumer points of view, how to deliver the best balance of products in terms of experience, form factor, price points...etc. As you might know, the Xenon flash is actually a big component, and we don’t see the component size improving . If we add a Xenon flash, we would either have to have a much bigger sized phone or reduce the battery size – both of which might not be good compromises to make. Also given significant improvements in sensor and image technology (AI algorithm) these years, we’ve noticed that less and less consumers ask for a Xenon flash (though we know it offers a benefit when capturing a moving object in a low light scene). While we currently don’t have a plan around Xenon flash at this moment, we would be open to considering it if the component size improves over time Sapphire glass on the other hand is a very expensive component and thus its usage is extremely limited as it would have a significant impact on the price of the phone.

2) We are still a young company and are taking steps to deliver you a great imaging experience. We understand imaging is super important to you and we are investing a lot of time and effort in bringing you improvements in this area.

We are very fortunate to be working with an imaging partner like ZEISS on our imaging experience planning – including both hardware and software. You can see this in the progress we have made on our imaging experience. All the cameras on the Nokia 7.2 come with Zeiss certified lenses. We have worked with Zeiss to introduce their legendary Bokeh experience in smartphones. We are the only smartphone brand to replicate the Zeiss DSLR lens bokeh effect into Nokia 7.2 by using advanced algorithm. This is a result of extremely close collaboration between the teams at HMD and Zeiss and I am personally very proud of the bokeh experience we have delivered with the Nokia 7.2

On future experiences, let me just say that what we have been able to deliver with the Nokia 7.2 is just the beginning. Together with our friends at Zeiss, we are working on many exciting things. Stay tuned 😊

3) Thanks for the feedback, fully understand this, and we are had passionate discussions within our team on this. The button has a trade off on design and we have noticed that consumers are not using the physical button very often because of some user experiences that do not imitate the natural usage when going in for a portrait capture. It is also possible to accidentally launch camera. 

4) We are actually moving in this direction (although it isn’t not necessarily called the N series), but our Zeiss certified products aim to deliver the same experience and we are adding to that portfolio in a meaningful manner every year.

singhnsk

Okay, since you are in charge of all SW experiences, here's me speaking out again. I hope I will not be seen as the bad man here. But..

When you say "I really like the clean android approach (really hate been forced to use 3rd party app😊)", isn't the clean Android already forcing you/us to use 3rd party apps? Because we do not have enough first-party or native apps as the competition does. For example, we do not have a native voice recording app even. We do not have a proper file manager and a gallery app. We do not have a music player aimed at offline music and we do not have a video player at all (which could deliver easy seek, volume, brightness and zoom via gestures - it is common today). Also, by fair logic, aren't even Google's apps which we get are 3rd party since they are not included in the "pure" Android Open Source Project (AOSP)?

I am an ex-user of Motorola, Asus and OnePlus (both one Cyanogen and Oxygen OS) phones (while Nokia was away from the market) and I absolutely like it when the software gives me more, natively, without me having to look for solutions from the app store. I am glad that you have acknowledged things like "Power-off alarm". But here are a few which I think should be incorporated into Nokia's software experiences and I wouldn't mind if it comes at the cost of not having the Android One branding.

1. A native audio recorder app which can use OZO audio capabilities for a nice recording experience. No voice recorder from the the store can make use of OZO due to the closed APIs (I believe?)
2. More customization, starting off from the most basic one being the ability to get rid of a forced Google search bar on the homescreen. I do not mind that it exists there by default, but I should have the right to decide if I want to use Google search or Bing or DuckDuckGo; or not have the search bar at all. And moving towards advanced functionality which can range from modifying the device's ringtone vibration pattern to fonts, themes and ambiances (like those in Sailfish OS).
   I also want myself to be able to decide which icons show up on my status bar. So, similar to LineageOS, a setting to choose which of the static icons should be allowed to appear. For example, I might not want to waste my icon space for the headphones, WiFi, or the VoLTE icon.
   In fact, I'd also want the Google Assistant key to be remapable, at least for those who fully disable Google assistant, making the dedicated key do nothing. And there are enough people in this category too. As HMD usually says - there should be a Nokia for everyone.
   
3. App lock: So many people use it. Some apps natively offer locks to prevent unauthorized usage, most do not. So, just like competition, there is a need for having a native app lock which can be considered secure enough to restrict access to applications even when the device is unlocked.
4. Parallel apps: Age of Dual SIM phones and we all use social media apps. Some apps allow us to use multiple accounts, others do not. And then it becomes a need to have something in the phone to run copies of the same app, for example 2 copies of WhatsApp, one for each SIM card inserted. There are solutions available via the Play Store, but again, they are not fully compatible and often have their own share of issues.
5. Firewall for apps: Pretty self explanatory, but yeah just if I want certain apps to not have access to WiFi or Mobile Data or both, I should be able to do that. Sometimes you are roaming and on very limited data quota, you do not want apps to consume it all in a fraction. Then there are times when you do not want WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to access data. There should be a way.
6. Screen recorder: Mobile gaming is the next big thing and so is YouTube-ing and other game streaming platforms. BUT, sigh Android does not allow internal audio recording to 3rd party apps. So, the audio experiences gets ruined by background noises. Hence, there is a need of a native screen recorder which can record the internal audio for a great sound experience for the viewers. Again, competition does offer really nice solutions to take care of it.
7. Support for exFAT and other formats: As @Madbilly said it earlier, we need support for other common file system options such as exFAT for the SD Card and the USB OTG drives. I am not sure what stops Google from offering it, but you can do it while they sort their issues.
   

It is worthy of mentioning that most of these features existed in the Nokia's phones sold in China. But they were deliberately trimmed in the global variants, probably to have the Android One logo.

To me, the software feels like Google and not like Nokia. And I want Nokia to feel like a Nokia and not like Google. Somebody earlier asked Google to include the ability to take a longer or a scrolling screenshot and Google proudly said that it is "infeasible". Source. This is something I have used since 3+ years on competing phones and Google still says it is just infeasible? The problem here is that this is a Nokia phone and we will ask Nokia/HMD for our desires and not Google. It will be sad if Nokia/HMD then has to wait for Google to do something before it can give a particular feature to its users.

Here's hoping that something will be considered out of it. Android One or stock Android is a good choice for lower-end devices which do not have enough hardware resources. But for devices going mid-range to flagships, you got to add some unique software experiences, if not for anything else, at least to make useful use of the hardware underneath.

WesleyLee

Marko Tomic said:

Will we be seeing a display with a 90hz refresh rate?

Currently 90Hz or even higher refresh rates work on OLED displays. This is very interesting, and we are keenly watching this space 😊

WesleyLee

petrus said:

Hi Wesley Lee,

for me it is interesting as it was with 5 cameras for Nokia 9 Preview.  How long did it take to develop 5 cameras from design to finished device?  What obstacles had to be overcome in order to achieve the required photo quality?  Are you planning to continue this set of cameras, or will the configuration change?

Thanks

Hi @petrus

The development timeline is quite long as this was the first time a smartphone was using very unique and advanced computational image technology. On top, the imaging architecture is also very new, but we delivered on this by adding additional image IC to expand the capability of 5 camera connection. At the same time we managed a breakthrough in many areas like packaging huge amount of RAW data from the cameras into a single RAW file, synchronization of 5 cameras and fusion of images from 5 cameras with advanced tuning into a final in-built HDR giving you superb details on the phone. While I can’t disclose exact timeframe, I can tell you it was a time consuming project and the teams worked relentlessly to overcome all challenges and to make it happen

WesleyLee

user1518194720872 said:

Nokia 8.1 user here. Why is it that video stabilization is subpar in 4K mode? Isn’t it possible to get EIS working for 4K?

Video stabilization on 4K will mainly depend on platform’s capability, because it needs certain level of platform processing power. In short, EIS is capable for 4K if platform capability is good enough 😊

WesleyLee

slinky trips said:

All the phones only record video in 30fps, why is there no 25fps (PAL) option for those of us who live in Europe?

Also Wesley, what was the first Nokia model you owned?

Thanks, this is great input! We hear you

Throughout my career, I have used products from different brands – this is to understand what is happening in the industry and stay up to date on the latest consumer trends. The first Nokia phone that I experienced extensively was the Lumia 1020 – it had a great imaging experience and display – both topics very close to my heart.

WesleyLee

BootloaderUnlockWhen said:

Camera Quality
How does HMD plan on improving the imaging aspect of future Nokia phones? The Nokia 7.2's camera has been receiving mediocre to negative reviews online, especially when it comes to the Night mode, the quality taken by the ultrawide sensor, and when compared to GCam and years-old Nokia Lumia phones.

Of course, this is our daily task, always pursue the best image quality in our products. The feedback we have received on Nokia 7.2’s imaging quality is very, very encouraging – most users as well as tech reviewers have loved the direction we are taking with imaging. We obviously need to improve on certain experiences and consumer feedback on that has been super valuable. We will try to fix some of these via OTA update but definitely consider this feedback while developing our new products for the future.

Gattsuh

Hello, i have a design question. Its about the lumia 925-930 beloved designs with polycarbonate backs and beatiful front display. Are there any plans to bring back some of those elements in a smaller phone ?

I still take out my old lumia 930 from the drawer and wish it would come back to life with android one..😅

WesleyLee

nitin kachare said:

Does it mean pure display is limited i.e.Support Of Wide Color Gamut and HDR same as most of sAMOLED for Video and Images?
I mean to say is it possible always on display on lock screen on Pure Display Panel Like we have it Clear Black Glance Screen which is available on Nokia X2 Dual SIM(Right now uses this on sAMOLED).
Why there is not implementation of enhanced (HDR Auto/On/Off) Color option in HDR in Camera Application?

Hi @nitin kachare  

PureDisplay not only delivers wide color gamut and real time SDR to HDR conversion on video, we also deliver the accuracy of color performance across device and it can also smartly based on the environment (depends on ambient condition) and usage scenario (called dynamic mode - photo, video, reading or game) to deliver best viewing experience.

I would specifically like to highlight the importance of colour accuracy – during my recent market visit, it was super interesting to look at the displays of some of the very high end smartphones. Sometimes when you put two phones of the same model side by side and open same applications, you will find that some displays have a more yellowish tone while others have a more blue tone.

This is where our PureDisplay screen technology comes into play – in order to achieve PureDisplay’s colour accuracy, we spend a lot of effort in building a dedicated display engine, in defining the production requirements to make sure our display components are calibrated one by one in the production line. This is to ensure that we offer a consistent experience and performance across different units of the same model  Colour accuracy is also a critical important when you capture the photo and video, especially if you are photographer or videographer, you always want your master piece to be really delivered according to what you have in mind, and display color accuracy is very fundamental experience for camera.

ClearBlack – earlier the touch and display were not fully laminated (there was an air gap there). Thus there was a possibility of unexpected reflection because of the air gap. ClearBlack technology was developed to address this gap. Since, now touch and display are either fully laminated or touch is built into the display component, there is no real need for this technology

We do have HDR (auto/on/off) option in our camera app, if you are talking about the HDR’s strength/style such as more artist view of HDR photo, we don’t have that in option because we want to deliver the most natural HDR photo, adding too much option in same UI might create more complicated user experience and also many of 3d party apps can do the same thing, so we don’t focus that area for now.

WesleyLee

madbilly said:

Hi Wesley

Please can you tell us more about your scope? What exactly are you responsible for? Does "experience" include aftersales, technical support, software updates? If so, what is your impression how customer experience in these areas?

Can you also tell us how long you've been at HMD and which team and office you're based in, who do you work with on a day to day basis?

Thanks

Hi @madbilly  

I have introduced myself and scope at the beginning introduction, We have other colleagues who is in charge the after sales, technical support and software updates. But when it comes to phone’s software experience and image, display related area, our colleague will pass on your feedback to me. I have been HMD since July, 2018 .  My daily job is very exciting, I am always looking for potential innovations in technology, experience new innovative products or new experience and plan on how to bring them to our product offering. It is tons of work, teams are always over loaded but we are all extremely passionate about this job 😊

WesleyLee

madbilly said:

A useful feature which existing on Nokia phones in the past was the ability to still have alarms active if the phone is turned off. This meant there was no need to leave the phone on all night just so the the alarm was active and would wake us up in the morning for work! HMD's phone don't have this feature, can you please explain what the technical reasons for this are?

Thanks

This is great input, I hear you, let me look at this and see how to bring it to products.   

WesleyLee

madbilly said:

Apart from name the 9 PureView seems to have no association with the Lumia PureView phones. Is there some technical link you can explain? I.e. some PureView algorithms from the Lumias are used?

If not, then why not use the Lumia PureView algorithms? Advances in processing power mean that it should be trivial to achieve similar performance, and easy to achieve better. As others have pointed out, the Lumia PureView method allowed lossless zoom with a single camera. This seems like a great feature which will out-compete current solutions from your competitors, so why not use it?

Cheers

As I explained in one of the previous question, PureView more stands for advanced breakthrough image technology at that timing, Lumia Pureview has more focus on high amount of pixels to use for zoom or image quality purpose, Nokia 9 PureView focus on multiple camera’s computation image technology pack. But some basic image technology’s core elements are more or less common among two different generation such as low light enhancement, and HDR algorithm. In the future, PureView might stand for the latest advanced image technology coming to our future products.

WesleyLee

madbilly said:

When will we see a Nokia phone which uses all of the Nokia OZO Audio and Playback features, i.e. 3D, Focus, Zoom, Windscreen and Adaptive Stereo Widening? Or do you think that Oppo will succeed to do that first?

Thanks

I can’t tell much but the future is exciting 😊

WesleyLee

madbilly said:

What involvement do ZEISS have in the development of the the phone cameras? What is their contribution? As an imaging consultant or just providing lenses?

Cheers

Zeiss and HMD team have deep integration at every stage of product development. We plan the hardware and the software together, define high criterial for lens spec for Nokia phones using advanced Zeiss Labs and certification process to test and verify Nokia phone’s camera module, provide unique lens related parameters to help us develop related SW algorithm.

Kartik Gada

Hi, @WesleyLee
I hope you answer this one.:)
So, I just started using the Nokia 9 PureView and noticed an interesting thing in the camera app. There are three zoom options 1x, 2x and 5x. While capturing images with 1x and 2x zoom the output image comes in full 12MP resolution but when I switch to 5x the resolution of the image drops to just 1.9MP. Is this a bug that went unnoticed or something else? I would like to know more about this.

Thanks