Nokia 6.1 was a significant upgrade from first in the series (Nokia 6) but the new Nokia 6.1 Plus is near perfection for this segment with perfect looks, best possible software and a very capable camera.

Introduction

Nokia 6.1 was a significant upgrade from first in the series (Nokia 6) but the new Nokia 6.1 Plus is near perfection for this segment with perfect looks, best possible software and a very capable camera. Blending Nokia 6.1 Plus with Qualcomm® Kryo™ 260 CPU series chip-set gives it an edge over the previous one. With launch of Nokia 6.1 Plus(or  Nokia 6 series) mobiles, Nokia has placed itself very strongly by offering best in class hardware and build quality and the most obvious Nokia Brand’s reliability. HMD Global is doing a great job of following Nokia’s footsteps. Nokia 6.1 Plus competes in the Lower end of mid segment (usually in 15 K to 18 K Price segment) with ease.

Nokia 6.1 Plus Design, Feel and Display

First thing came up my mind after unboxing was “Wow, What a Beautiful Phone” it is.

Nokia (HMD Global) uses Aircraft Grade Aluminum for durability in the segment and Nokia 6.1 Plus is no exception. It has a sturdy Aircraft Grade Aluminum frame, which is seamlessly integrated with the Beautiful looking Glass at the Back and equally stunning Notched Screen. Notch is a significant upgrade from its previous avatar (Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 6) and it is Logical. How? Earlier the space beside Earphone/Camera/Sensors were unused, now you have notifications area on both the sides. Earlier it use to take the top place(Bar) of your screen, cropping from the top of your screen. The 19:9 form factor and minimalist bezel makes it look very handy and Premium.

It feels so silky and light that it reminds me of my Nokia N8 Mobile. Nokia 6.1 Plus is as slippery Nokia N8. The 19:9 form factor makes it look taller(not bigger) and narrower, so you can use with one hand, especially if you have medium size hand, like mine. Of all three color options Gloss White, Gloss Midnight Blue and Gloss Black, mine is the Gloss Black one. Being Black and Glossy means simply Classy. Beware of the smudges and fingerprints, especially if you are prone to sweat a lot.

The shiny lining along the buttons and camera make it look more premium and beautiful. There is only SIM tray and a pinhole through it for Hybrid(I disapprove Hybrid Sim Slots) Dual Sim/MicroSD slot on left side. Power button and volume button is on the right side at right place, just where you want it. On the front you have the Notch Screen and Nokia Logo at the Bottom. Bottom houses a USB Type C in the middle, with Mic on left and single speaker(downgrade from Nokia 6.1) on the right, the standard setup in most mobiles. Back side has Dual Camera, LED Flash and a circular conveniently placed extremely fast fingerprint scanner.

The best part of Nokia 6.1 Plus is its 5.8-inch full-HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio screen secured by dating Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top. The must have notch for this segment is present and implemented correctly. It does not interfere with Videos/ Games or other applications. There is beautiful Nokia Logo at the bottom. All right boxes are checked, like the bright display, large viewing angles, accurate Colors, outdoor readability etc. making it a perfect mobile for the segment.

Nokia 6.1 Plus AI Enabled Camera

The best part of upgraded Nokia 6.1 Plus is the AI/AR/HDR capable Camera. Features I Like the most is Bothie.  It is implemented in two different manner, half-half screen sharing and PIP(Picture in Picture) mode, where you can place front front camera picture as per your convenience. Of course you have Bokeh mode, other addition like stickers etc. AI definitely helped in taking good Portrait images.

Main camera on Nokia 6.1 Plus is with Aperture size f/2.0 and 16 Megapixel Sensor and Secondary camera has Aperture size f/2.4 with 5 Megapixel Monochrome Sensor. There is Dual LED Flash, I remember I had Real Flash in my Nokia N8 and I miss that now a days. Front Camera on Nokia 6.1 Plus is a Fixed Focus with Aperture size f/2.0 and 16 Megapixel Sensor and no flash, very disappointing.

Daytime, outdoor and indoor photography in good light condition is excellent with Nokia 6.1 Plus, but sometimes the images look overexposed / washed out. See pics below.

Pictures/Videos taken in low light is a challenge for all Pocket/Mobile Cameras unless Flagship Grade Mobile or DSLRs or you know how to use Manual mode in the Camera Software with extremely steady hands. I’ve taken few pics using Nokia 6.1 Plus.from my terrace with different settings. I’ve also take same pics in full auto mode. Manual Setting with a steady hand are the good ones.

 

Front Camera pictures are good in good light conditions but it struggles in low lighting. Why there is no Flash in the Selfie Era? It is a must have feature now a days.

Best feature of Nokia 6.1 Plus is the capability of Live Video streaming on Facebook, Youtube from within the Camera Application. It make your life easy, especially if you are fond of this feature. Rear Camera is capable of 4K Video Recording and Front is Full HD at its best.

Some random clicks

 

Nokia 6.1 Plus Specifications

The Power for Nokia 6.1 Plus comes from Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is equipped speedy and power efficient 14 nm Qualcomm® Kryo™ 260 CPU chip-set. RAM is 4 GB LPPDDR4x, Internal memory 64 GB2 e-MMC 5.1, Maximum talk time Up to 20.5 hours and Maximum standby time Up to 14.5 days with Music playback time Up to 9.5 hours and Video playback time Up to 9 hours. It has 3.5 mm headphone jack and Single speaker with smart amp. The Display is Full-HD+ 5.8’’ with screen ratio of 19:9 and Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 (Disappointment but cuts cost) for protection. Sensors are Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer (G-sensor), E-compass, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, speedy Fingerprint Sensor (on the back) and no Notification lights. Charger is  5V/2A fast charging and no Quick Charge, which is again a setback but brings price down as you have to compete with Spec-Mongers too ;).

 

Nokia 6.1 Plus Software, Performance General usage

Nokia 61. Plus being on Android One platform, comes with a promise of best possible  Android experience, with security as its main focus it promises monthly security updates for three years and two major upgrades i.e. Android Pie and Android Q. Nokia 6.1 Plus offers a clean and fluid interface and there are no bloat wares.

Nokia 6.1 Plus is an all-rounder mobile in this segment. You can open as many applications as you want and it will multitask as if it was meant for it. Sometimes I’ve infinite (100+ shows as infinite symbol) tabs opened in Firefox(Don’t as why), which is very memory consuming thing, Nokia 6.1 Plus handles it easily. With 64 GB² e-MMC 5.1 (@400mbps it is multiple times faster than average SD cards) installed as Internal memory, the Game Load time is very short, in my test PubG ran very smoothly, absolutely no jitters or stutters.

Nokia 6.1 Plus battery optimization is quite good with Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is equipped Qualcomm® Kryo™ 260 CPU chip-set. Normal surfing and a typical day to day usage will require a recharge in late evening but heavy users may need to charge it by evening. Fortunately Quick Charge 4.0 is supported but unfortunately the box comes with a standard 10W charger to save costs.

My Take

Nokia 6.1 Plus is an all rounder in its segment. It offers best possible software experience using the Pure Android interface which automatically enhances the performance. The killer looks of device is enough to die for, the 19:9 form factor makes it very handy device. Camera is not perfect but having manual mode and gaining some Camera knowledge will definitely help. I’m not disappointed with the Camera.

While comparing with the competition do check the built quality(Aluminum or Steel Frame), beauty (Glass Back and correctly implemented Notch), Nokia Brand Value (still impossible to match) in mind and beware of Spec-Mongers (Spec-Mongers=Those who show flashy specifications but supporting hardware is below par and not highlighted, e.g. build quality, brand of camera, its lens, onboard memory, RAM, motherboard, etc.).

What clicked me is the Nokia’s Brand Value, The build quality and above all it’s software and the promise of upgrade ( to Android Pie and Android Q) for two years and security updates for Three years is reason good enough to go for. On my recommendation my Family have been using Nokia 6, Nokia 6.1 as and when they were launched and we have faced no problem in both the mobiles so far. The upgrades are regular, as promised (I remember a brand which promised but eventually ignored upgrades for one of its low end mobile) and the Security updates are regular. Keeping that in mind I bought the Nokia 6.1 Plus for myself after comparing every other competition spec by spec. Apart from Flashy Specification, the competition failed at one of the most important and critical front and that is where Apple or Samsung Flagship mobiles play, That’s the user experience and their security, which comes from the upgrades and the Security updates. Always go for a mobile which promises regular Security updates is not the OS upgrade.

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