First Impressions Of The Nokia 8.1: A Good Work Of HMD Global

HMD has been releasing quite a few Nokia handsets in the world. The latest addition to its mobile portfolio is the Nokia 8.1, which already launched in the Indian market with a price of Rs. 26,999. The handset is not really new as it’s a global variant of the Nokia X7 in China and HMD first released it in the Dubai market early December. I have used the Nokia 8.1 released in India for several days now, and I have some initial impressions I would like to share.

I will start with its design as it would be the first thing most of the people notice. The Nokia 8.1 gave a very premium look and feel. Its overall colour treatment, physical keys’ positioning, tapered edges, fingerprint scanner’s quality, and various ports are close to being perfect. Its 2.5D glass finish with metal-rin chassis make the Nokia handset a very well-built device. But its design also comes with a disadvantage which is its slippery and also prone to smudges and fingerprints.

In the front, the latest Nokia smartphone sports a 6.18-inch Full-HD+ PureDisplay IPS LED display with a 1080 x 2246 pixels resolution. And even though it is a global variant of the Nokia 7.1, the Nokia 8.1 actually has a much better look than the Chinese model. It has a slightly broader display in comparison with that of the Nokia 7.1 and that gives a more balance to the handset’s design. The notch on the Nokia 8.1’s screen is similar to the notch on the iPhone X’s, although the Nokia device has an extra bit of chin at the bottom, with ‘Nokia’ at the center. I would say overall, HMD did a pretty good job on this Nokia 8.1.

In the specification department, the Nokia 8.1 comes with a Snapdragon 710 SoC along with 4GB RAM/64GB internal storage. So far, I have had a good experience without any significant issue with this handset.

The Nokia handset is an Android One phone, and the Android One Program offers a stock version of Android that I prefer over other custom UI. And the Nokia 8.1 also comes with Android 9 Pie out of the box, which is still not that common as Google just released Android 9 Pie in August.

In the camera aspect, the 20MP front camera of the Nokia 8.1 may satisfy people who love to selfie. But not only the front camera but also its dual camera setup on the rear is also worth noticing as it has a 12MP main sensor and 13MP secondary sensor. Moreover, the Nokia 8.1 also has hybrid dual SIM slots which means that you can use either one Nano-SIM and a microSD card or two Nano-SIM cards. It is backed up by a 3,500 mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging and da USB Type-C port.

Nokia 8.1: First impressions

I think Nokia 8.1 is a promising smartphone that I would recommend to every who are looking to replace their old handsets, but it is still better to wait for the full review. However, I think that HMD Global could have priced the handset competitively considering that the Zenfone 5Z and Poco F1 stay in the same price range but they both have better specs. That said, the handset is really well-finished and has a premium looks. Though it may feel a bit slippery, it can be solved with a case for it. It also appears promising in the camera aspects, and so do its performance, memory, and storage as well.

As it runs the latest Android 9 Pie as a part of Android One Program, I am confident with the fact that it will provide you with a smooth experience in the long run. To sum up my impressions, I would say this is undoubtedly a very good work by HMD Global in 2018.