Android Pie set to arrive on all major Nokia phones before mid-2019

When will Nokia phones get Android Pie

Are you a Nokia phone owner who hasn’t gotten a taste of Android 9 Pie yet? HMD Global has released a roadmap outlining when its handsets will get the newest version of Google’s mobile OS, and good news: the last phone will be upgraded by early Q2 2019. 

The bad news: lower-end handsets will be the last to get updated. That’s not much of a surprise given that the brand’s higher-end and mid-range phones, including the 7 Plus, 6.1, and 6.1 Plus were the first to get Android Pie. 

The 6.1 Plus, 7.1 and 5.1 Plus were all updated by the end of 2018, while the Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco should have been upgraded by now. 

In any case, here’s the roadmap: by the end of January, the Nokia 5 and Nokia 3.1 Plus should get Android Pie. At some point in Q1 2019, the OS update will come to the Nokia 6, Nokia 5.1, Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 2.1 phones. 

Finally, the Nokia 3 and Nokia 1 are slated to get Android Pie by “early Q2 2019,” per the press release.

Update before the next one comes

HMD noted that finishing its updates before the middle of 2019 should mean its lineup will be running Android Pie before its successor, Android Q, is released. 

Android phonemakers are under similar pressure to get their phones updated to Android Pie, though some are moving faster than others, and newer devices are understandably getting the upgrade first. 

Samsung, for example, started updating Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus devices in December – which itself was a slow rollout to owners in certain countries first. The rest of Samsung’s device lineup will get Android Pie throughout the year, starting with the Galaxy Note 9 in February followed by midrange phones. Samsung’s Tab devices, sadly, will be the last to get upgraded by October 2019.

David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.