With the 2020 Mobile World Congress (MWC) officially called off due to the Coronavirus pandemic, manufacturers have shifted their scheduled reveals online. While this alternative cannot compare to the experience of being able to physically hold the unit, it apparently gets the job done anyway. So far, consumers and journalists have seen high-profile announcements from brands such as Oppo, Xiaomi, Samsung, and ZTE among others. The latest one to tease its upcoming offering is Nokia with its 8.3 handset.

While this model is not exactly what others would call a flagship device, it marks HMD Global's intent to compete in the 5G space. Just before 2019 ended, Qualcomm hosted its Snapdragon Tech Summit to showcase their plans for this year.

The key takeaway from the event is the company's commitment to pushing for 5G connectivity adoption. Leading this crusade will be two of its latest chipsets: Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765. Nokia is releasing the 8.3 with the latter, which is understandable, given it is not the brand's flagship series for 2020.

Nevertheless, unlike the 865, which is sold as a bundle with a separate Snapdragon X55 5G modem, the 765 silicon ships with one built-in. While this might not seem like anything notable, Ars Technica points out that it will be the first global smartphone to have one.

While every other flagship Android handset launching in 2020 is compatible with 5G courtesy of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865, most mid-range units with the 765 are surprisingly limited to certain territories only. Therefore, the Nokia 8.3 will likely change that as it becomes available in markets other than Asia.

So far, the only caveat is similar to other mobile phones in its range, which is a lack of support for the mmWave band. Others might consider this a dealbreaker, but only select 5G mobile services support it right now.

Nokia 8.3 offers affordable 5G connectivity
The Nokia 8.3 sports a 6.8-inch 2400 x 1080 display with a forward-facing camera housed within a hole-punch cutout on the upper-left corner. Photo: Nokia

The Nokia 8.3 sports a 6.8-inch 2400 x 1080 display with a forward-facing camera housed within a hole-punch cutout on the upper-left corner. Meanwhile, the main imaging module flaunts a four-sensor configuration with Zeiss optics. RAM ranges from 6 GB to 8 GB depending on the internal storage which is available in 64 GB and 128 GB options. Battery capacity is listed at 4,500 mAh while its fingerprint reader is integrated with the power button on the right side of its frame.

Nokia