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

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.

Nokia 6.1 Plus design Design wise, the Nokia 6.1 Plus looks plush in its glossy outlook. It features a glassmetal-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 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.Nokia 6.1 Plus 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.

Nokia 6.1 Plus camera The phone sports a dual camera module on the back, featuring a 16-megapixel primary sensor mated with a 5MP depth-sensing lens, and a 16MP selfie unit on the front.

Imaging is the only area where the phone does not stand true to the specifications on paper. Both, the rear and front cameras work optimally in day light conditions. However, in lowlight, they struggle to fix focus and to capture details.Nokia 6.1 Plus Considering the price segment, the overall camera output is satisfactory. However, with the addition of bothie mode, which allows both the front and back cameras to work simultaneously to capture or record, portrait mode and HDR mode leaves a lot to explore and experiment.

Nokia 6.1 Plus battery The phone is powered by 3,060 mAh battery, which keeps the show going for almost a day. The phone also supports quick charging. However, it still takes almost two hours to fill up a completely exhausted battery to 100 per cent.

Nokia 6.1 Plus review verdict 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. The phone’s stock Android user interface, coupled with dual camera module on the back loaded with different modes and premium glass design in a compact form factor makes it a feature rich proposition in a midrange sub-Rs 16,000 segment.