HMD Global, the company that’s making Nokia-branded smartphones now, has developed a bit of a reputation for sending out fast Android updates. That’s certainly not a bad reputation to have as customers often want to receive the latest updates as soon as possible which can be wishful thinking on a platform as fragmented as Android. Those who own a Nokia 5 or Nokia 6 (2017) should keep an eye out for an update notification today because HMD Global has released Android 8.1 for the aforementioned devices.
It has only been two months since the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 6 (2017) were updated to Android 8.0 Oreo. HMD Global didn’t conduct a beta test for this update like it did for the Android 8.1 firmware meant for Nokia 8.
Many customers who have picked up these Nokia-branded devices really appreciate the pace at which HMD Global has been rolling out firmware updates. Multiple Reddit users are now reporting that the Android 8.1 Oreo update is being rolled out for the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 6 (2017).
The firmware files weigh in at under 900MB and bring some minor improvements which include a new settings and power menu, battery saving navigation buttons, and the ability to see battery percentage for connected Bluetooth devices. The latest security patch for the month of March from Google is also included in this update.