Nokia 7.1 first impressions: brings an HDR show to the plenty

“The Nokia 7.1 stands out as the primary telephone within the reasonably priced phase to boast an HDR show”

Model Nokia, below the aegis of HMD World, is churning out smartphone after smartphone, and within the course of, giving a much-needed fillip to Google’s Android One platform. Not that we’re complaining. The newest from the corporate comes within the type of the Nokia 7.1, which is mainly a successor to the Nokia 7 that launched in China a yr in the past. Slotted between the Nokia 6.1 Plus (evaluation) and the 7 Plus (evaluation), the brand new Nokia 7.1 truly shares fairly a number of specs with the previous, however boasts a number of fascinating new options. And the HDR10-capable show is true on the highest of that listing. Earlier than we get forward of ourselves although, let’s take a more in-depth look.

Nokia telephones are famend for his or her construct high quality, and the 7.1 takes that up a number of notches. The glass sandwich design with a sequence 6000 aluminium body makes it really feel very strong within the hand, however its accentuated particulars and diamond-cut chamfers lend a very premium really feel. No two methods about it – the gadget feels flagship-grade so far as the construct high quality and design are involved, and whereas the Gloss Blue shade (which is so darkish that it virtually appears black) is refined, it’s the Gloss Metal variant that stands out with its copper accents.

Due to the 5.84-inch show that bears a side ratio of 19:9 and a notch on high, the general dimension of the telephone is kind of compact. There’s a small chin under the display screen which bears Nokia branding, however in any other case the bezels are fairly slim. The left backbone is residence to the hybrid SIM slot, whereas the appropriate is the place you’ll discover the accentuated quantity rocker and energy key.

Nokia 7.1 design1 of 15

On the rear, you’ll see the vertically-aligned twin snappers, positioned within the centre. Beneath the digital camera module sits the round fingerprint scanner. You’ll additionally discover Nokia and Android One branding right here. The three.5mm headset socket is on high, whereas the USB Kind-C port and the speaker are positioned on the backside.

The Nokia 7.1 marks the debut of the model’s new PureDisplay display screen tech. As per Nokia, the important thing cause behind introducing this tech is the truth that over two thirds of movies are seen on the cellular, and it desires to verify its customers can get one of the best expertise. The FHD+ display screen on the gadget helps HDR10 and whereas we’ve seen this on premium flagships from the likes of Apple, Samsung, LG and Sony, it’s the primary time an HDR-capable display screen will likely be accessible within the reasonably priced smartphone phase. HDR movies remains to be arduous to return by, however you will discover content material on Netflix and Amazon Prime. HDR assist guarantees a really immersive expertise whereas viewing supported movies, because of larger distinction and higher dynamic vary. In actual fact, Nokia’s PureDisplay tech even upscales non-HDR content material in actual time, which implies that even SDR movies ought to present higher dynamic vary. Whereas we couldn’t try it out throughout our transient time with the Nokia 7.1, the promise is definitely an attractive one, particularly contemplating that the brand new smartphone ought to fall within the decrease mid-range phase.

For pictures, you get twin 12MP+5MP cameras with ZEISS optics, together with an 8MP snapper at entrance for selfies. The cameras permit for bokeh pictures, and the customized Nokia digital camera app affords a ton of options, together with a robust Professional mode for granular management. The opposite accessible options embrace EIS for video capturing, 360-degree Nokia spatial audio and the signature Bothie mode that makes use of each the entrance and rear cameras to shoot split-screen movies and stay stream to platforms like Fb and YouTube. The Bothie mode has obtained an replace that allows you to drag the vertical divider to allow you to management how a lot you need to present through the entrance or the rear cameras, and even freeze one aspect of the body in order for you.

Software program-wise, issues stay fairly normal. The Android One platform on the Nokia 7.1 comes within the type of inventory Android Oreo, with a promised improve to Pie by November. Inside sits Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 636 processor, which, frankly talking, doesn’t seem to be a lot of an improve, particularly as in comparison with the Nokia 6.1 Plus that has the identical SoC. Nonetheless, going by our transient expertise with the telephone, the 7.1 appears snappy sufficient, and we didn’t face any stutter or lag. A 3,060mAh battery with quick charging assist powers the present.

The beginning value of the Nokia 7.1 has been pegged at €299 euros. That is for the three/32 variant, although a 4/64 mannequin also needs to be within the offing. The pricing does appear fairly excessive, however we’re hoping that HMD World would have the ability to value it rather more aggressively when the gadget lands in India. No timeframe for that but, so we’ll wait and see how issues play out, and the way a lot of a differentiator that HDR-capable show seems to be. We’re fairly wanting to run the Nokia 7.1 by means of our evaluation grind and see if it could ship by way of imaging prowess and as a every day driver…

Rivals for Nokia 7.1