Nokia 6.1 Plus review: Sleek design, smooth performance at affordable price

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is one of the most balanced budget midrange smartphone. It ticks almost all the right boxes and shows some strength in all areas.

HMD Global, a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer behind Nokia-branded phones, on August 21 launched the Nokia 6.1 Plus edition in India.

 The Android One smartphone is the first Nokia offering to feature notch screen, along with dual camera module on the back and premium glass design. Priced at Rs 15,999, this edition is cheaper than its predecessor, the Nokia 6.1. In comparison to the predecessor, it also offers better hardware, premium design, bigger screen estate and enhanced camera modules.

Nokia 6.1 Plus design

Design wise, the Nokia 6.1 Plus looks plush in its glossy outlook. It features a glass-metal-glass design in a compact form factor, which is easy to hold and operate. The phone is light in weight, which makes it easy to use and carry around in hand or pocket. It is among a few smartphones to have a perfect body size, which is neither big nor small. Granular detailing in design such as silver accent lining around keys and fingerprint sensor also accentuates its overall premium appeal.

Nokia 6.1 Plus display

The phone sports a 5.8-inch fullHD+ notch-based screen stretched in 19:9 aspect ratio. The screen is covered with curved Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against accidental scratches. Though the protective glass is not from Corning’s latest breed, it is still sturdy and protects the screen surface from day to day damage from coins, keys and other pointed items.

In terms of display quality, it is a bright unit that makes it legible under bright sunny conditions. However, the contrast ratio and the colour output is not up to the mark. The black looks greyish and the colours show shift in contrast when looked from angles. At times, the touch above the screen also fails to recognise input. It could be a software glitch, but the failed attempt certainly diminishes the phone’s overall utility.

Nokia 6.1 Plus performance

The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 system-on-chip (SoC), mated with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, expandable up to 400GB using microSD card slot. The phone boots Android Oreo, and being an Android One smartphone, it will get the Android Pie soon. The phone runs stock Android with minor customisations to improve the user experience.

The user interface is sleek and the phone shows no sign of lag or slowing down. It manages multiple apps in background without force closing any, showing good RAM optimisation at software levels. The phone handles day-to-day operations such as browsing internet, watching videos, accessing social media platforms, messaging and calling with ease. It, however, shows sign of weakness while managing processor and graphic intensive apps such as games, video editing tools, video recording and playback, etc..

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