Right. So, Nokia is been doing well after its resurrection – at least in some parts of the world. And they only launched a new phone, the Nokia 7.1 Plus (Nokia X7 in China) in October. And they’re back with another smartphone – the Nokia 8.1. Or are they? By the name, the Nokia 8.1 should be a successor to the Nokia 7 Plus. But this is the Nokia X7 itself, being marketed to the western world.
Yes, that’s very confusing. The Nokia 8.1 is the Nokia 7.1 Plus in the eastern part of the world, except China. There, it is known as the Nokia X7. And the same phone is the Nokia 8.1 in the West. If you were confused, that’s okay. It took me a while to get it around my head. But well, let’s get it over with.
Nokia 8.1 (Nokia X7 or Nokia 7.1 Plus) Overview
The new-not-so-new Nokia 8.1 comes with a 6.18″ IPS LCD PureDisplay with Full HD+ resolution on a premium looking glass body. It features a notch on the top that houses a wide notch at the top too. While this is also pretty much similar to the Nokia 6.1 Plus, the only difference is the display is now HDR 10 compliant.
In the camera department, the phone sports dual cameras at the back. The dual camera setup comprises of a 12 MP primary lens with f/1.8 aperture. Another camera is a large sensor of 13 MP, but it is only a depth sensor. With that big depth sensor, imagine the portrait shots you will be getting! The primary camera also has OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), which is a great feature to have. The camera also supports 4K video recording at 30 fps. As for the selfie camera, it lies in the notch and is a big 20 MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture.
Inside, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, which is a good mid-range chipset. Combined with 4 GB of RAM, this should be a good performer too. Also, the phone has 64 GB of eMMC storage and is expandable up to 400 GB via microSD card. This phone packs a 3500 mAh battery along with 18W Fast Charging feature.
It has a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a dual SIM slot, with one being a Hybrid slot. And yes, the 3.5 mm headphone jack is there too. This Android One phone runs on Android 9.0 Pie. It is available in Blue / Silver, Copper / Steel, and Iron / Steel color options.
It will go on sale sometime mid-December for 400 Euros which converts to around the US $450. The phone is on pre-booking right now.
Nokia 8.1 (Nokia X7 Or Nokia 7.1 Plus) Specifications:
- Design: Glass Body, 6000 series Aluminum Frame
- Dimensions: 154.8×75.76×7.97mm; Weight: 178g
- Color Options: Night Red, Dark Blue, Magic Night Silver, Night Black
- Display: 6.18-inch (2246 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ Pure display with 18.7:9 aspect ratio, 500 nits brightness, 96% NTSC Color gamut, DCI-P3, 1500:1 Contrast ratio
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 710
- Processor: 2 X 2.2GHz Kryo 360 + 6 X 1.7GHz Kryo 360
- GPU: Adreno 616
- RAM: 4/6GB LPPDDR4x
- ROM: 64/128GB (eMMC 5.1) storage, expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD
- SIM: Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
- OS: Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie)
- Back Camera: 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4μm pixels, OIS, 13MP secondary rear camera with f/2.4 aperture
- Front Camera: 20MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
- Security: Fingerprint sensor (rear facing)
- Connectivity: 3.5mm audio jack, Dual 4G VoLTE, Dual Band WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
- Battery: 3500mAh with quick charging 3.0