Nokia 6.1 Plus first impressions: Nokia’s promising hardware and Google’s stock software

Display: Nokia’s first handset with a notch display

Nokia 6.1 Plus sports a 5.8" Full HD display with an aspect ratio of 19:9. The screen has a notch, first for a Nokia smartphone and offers a screen resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. On the top, the device features a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for screen protection. The display is bright and responsive. The colors produced by the display are balanced and it appears that the device will effectively take care of all graphics rich contents. The display no doubt is impressive and will surely attract some eyes at first glance. However, we couldn't get to test the device in direct sunlight as of now hence it will be hard to comment on the sunlight visibility of the device. By the looks of it, it appears that users will have no issues with the display under direct sunlight.

 

Design: Robust build quality and compact form-factor

Coming to the design of the Nokia 6.1 Plus, the smartphone measures at 147.2 x 70.98 x 7.99 and weighs 151g. Nokia 6.1 Plus feels quite compact and offers the Nokia's trusted build quality. The notch of the display houses the front camera and a speaker. As the device has an aspect ratio of 19:9, the bezels around the display are thin making the display occupy maximum space. This helps in an immersive media playback experience on the device. The volume rockers along with the power key are placed at the right panel of the device while the left panel houses the SIM card tray.

The bottom panel of the device features a Type C USB port for charging and data transfers along with the speaker grille. Notably, the speaker grill is quite small in size yet it produces a decent audio quality. The rear panel of the device adorns the dual-rear camera setup which is stacked vertically and is accompanied by a dual-tone flash. The fingerprint scanner is placed just below the camera and has the same metallic linings as present on the camera, the volume and power keys. These metallic linings give the device a style statement of its own. However, if the company used the metallic linings on the borders of the device then it would have made the device more appealing.

Glass real panel is prone to smudges

The glass-finish rear of the smartphone is quite appealing; however, it seems that the rear panel is prone to smudges and fingerprints. The device has a screen to body ratio of 81.4% makes it easy to operate the device with one hand. Overall Nokia has done a decent job in designing the Nokia 6.1 Plus, the compact form factor and robust design not only makes the design comfortable to hold but also makes the device quite appealing.

Camera: Dual rear camera setup with a 16MP front camera

In the imaging department, the Nokia 6.1 Plus features a dual-rear camera setup with a dual-tone LED flash. The rear camera comprises of a 16MP primary sensor with AF lens and f/2.0 aperture while the secondary lens is of 5MP with a f/2.4 aperture and 1-micron pixel. We tested the camera for a while and the device captured some decent shots which didn't get pixilated much upon zooming the image. We will test the camera in our comprehensive review of the device and will share the feedback for the same.

The front camera on the Nokia 6.1 Plus is a 16MP FF shooter with a f/2.0 aperture. The front camera is accompanied by a dual tone flash. The images output of the front camera is also of decent quality.

Both the front and the rear camera come with the support for AI features such as optimized color contrast, depth of field and portrait lighting effects. The front camera also supports facial recognition and has HDR support to capture some good quality of images. The Nokia 6.1 Plus also features the Nokia's Bothie mode, which utilizes both the front and rear cameras simultaneously. Users will also be able to Live stream their bothies in real time by utilizing the masks and filters to Facebook and YouTube directly from the camera app.

Hardware and Software: Snapdragon 636 CPU with Stock Android

Under the hood, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is backed by an octa-core Snapdragon 636 SoC which is paired with 4GB RAM. The device comes with an internal storage of 64GB which is further expandable up to 400GB via microSD card. This combination of hardware and software should make the device perform some heavy tasks without any lag; however, we are yet to run strenuous tasks to check the processing power and multitasking abilities of this mid-range device.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus runs on pure Android 8.1 Oreo and is under the Android One program. The stock UI is the highlight of the device. As mentioned earlier that the device comes under the Android One program, this means that the device will receive software updates and security patches faster than the non-Android One smartphones. This surely adds to the positive aspects of the device.

Battery and Connectivity:

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is powered by a 3,060mAh battery and comes with a support for Quick charge technology. It is being expected that the device will charge from 0 percent to 50 percent within half an hour which is impressive.

The connectivity aspects of the Nokia 6.1 Plus include support for 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth v5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and more. For charging and data transfers the device uses a Type C USB port. For audio output, the device also has a 3.5mm audio jack.

Verdict:

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is one of the highly anticipated mid-range smartphones by the Finnish smartphone maker. The device packs some decent specs and features at an affordable price range. At this price range, the Nokia 6.1 Plus will have to compete with Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, and the recently launched Xiaomi Mi A2. It will be a fight worth waiting for and that's why you should stay tuned on Gizbot for our comprehensive review of the device.