Development on the Nokia 9.1 PureView began earlier this year with the goal of releasing the phone by the end of summer. Unforeseen camera issues eventually delayed the flagship’s debut until Q4 2019 but one source now says it won’t arrive until next year.

Industry insider Nokia anew believes the Nokia 9.1 PureView isn’t going to debut until the second quarter of next year, which means an announcement won’t take place before April. The reason behind this lengthy delay wasn’t divulged but the most likely factor is timing and Nokia’s inability to compete with rival brands at the moment.

The likes of Samsung, Apple, Google, Huawei, and OnePlus have all released their respective flagships over the course of recent months. These will undoubtedly dominate the Christmas shopping season and, therefore, leave little room for Nokia to compete. Moreover, a Snapdragon 855-powered Nokia risks becoming quickly outdated because of the range of Snapdragon 865-powered devices that are currently due to launch in early 2020. By pushing back the premium device’s release, however, HMD Global has time to update its offering.

Delaying the phone until the April-June quarter should give HMD more than enough time to create a Snapdragon 865-powered variant of the Nokia 9.1 PureView. This will require extensive work on the cameras and other hardware elements to ensure total compatibility but the effort should be worth it in the long-run.

After all, by releasing a Snapdragon 865-powered phone in the second quarter, the company will be able to compete with the likes of the Galaxy S11 and Huawei P40 Pro in addition to the Galaxy Note 11 and other second-half flagships such as the Pixel 5.