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Nokia is Karen Foster Archivesbetting big with its first flagship phone.

As a series of leaks previously reported, the Nokia 8, just released by Finnish startup HMD, is a seriously impressive, top-end device whose specs put it on par with other Android flagships such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the OnePlus 5.

HMD's aim is clear: leverage the Nokia brand to aggressively target millennials with an experience-oriented, social media-savvy phone.

Featuring a vertically lined-up dual-rear camera with Zeiss-branded optics, the phone has a sleek, compact style which reflects its Scandinavian roots.

And with a new feature called "Dual Sight," you can take photos simultaneously from the front and rear cameras to create a split-screen visual. Nokia dubs this not a selfie, but a "Bothie" -- wonder if the term will catch on?

The phone has a fingerprint scanner-home button combo on the front and OZO high-dynamic range audio recording.

Notably for Nokia brand fans though, there's no Snakegame to while away the time between bothies.

The Nokia 8 also has a 13-megapixel camera on the front which allows Dual-Sight video to be live-streamed natively and in real-time to social media.

The Dual Sight feature simultaneously harnesses front and rear cameras for both photos and videos.

"There are two sides to every story and the Dual-Sight feature of Nokia 8 is designed to help you create and share the full picture," says Nokia, which has created the slogan, "Be less Selfie, be more Bothie."

Built on a single block of aluminium, Nokia 8's body is 4.6mm thin at the edge and just 7.3mm slim on average.

The screen is slightly curved at the edges, but it's not one of those new ultra-wide screens that adorn most high-profile flagships these days.

"It’s a phone for everyone, but focused on the next generations -- millennials and creators -- who are sharing every day their life great moments and experiences," said Pekka Rantala, HMD CEO.

The Nokia 8 runs on a Snapdragon 835 platform, Qualcomm's top-end chip, with a 1.90GHz CPU speed, 4GB of memory, and an Adreno 540 GPU.

The 5.3-inch, super-bright display has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and a pixel density of 559.

Nokia 8 uses OZO’s 360° audio technology and allows you to shoot 4K high-quality videos.

Mashable tested the audio performance on a preset video and it's impressively clear and crisp, with well-defined highs and nuances.

“We know that fans are creating and sharing live content more than ever before, with millions of photos and videos shared every minute on social media," said Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer of HMD Global.

"People are inspired by the content they consume and are looking for new ways to create their own. It’s these people who have inspired us to craft a flagship smartphone which perfectly balances premium design, an outstanding experience and powerful performance.”

The handset will be available in four colours: Polished Blue, Tempered Blue, Steel, and a very daring Polished Copper which has attracted a lot of attention in the past few months.

It will be available at a global average retail price of €599 ($701) with rollout throughout September.