Just when you were getting used to the idea Nokia is back on the New Zealand market with the very reliable and good-value Nokia 6.1 - they've released another option...
The Nokia 7 plus is even more striking than the 6.1 with the same copper highlights but a much wider copper band right round the edge of the device. It's probably a matter of personal preference, but I find this a real touch of class and it certainly makes the phone stand out beside other boring-black or all-gold competitors.
Like the 6.1, the 7 plus is molded from a solid block of aluminum and it also has that heritage feel of durability we've all associated with Nokia devices over the years. I haven't dropped it on a snowy European road like they do in the promotional video on the Nokia website, but it certainly feels like it would survive a little bit of rough treatment.
What's more, there's a clear case included in the box. Normally I wouldn't make to much of this, but it's actually a very well-designed case that still manages to show off the Nokia 7 plus' unique copper accents.
One thing accented in copper is the camera, which, as you can see from the image above, is actually two things. Yes, the 7 plus boasts a Zeiss dual-lens rear camera configuration which takes great photos inside and out. The camera setup is designed to achieve a better low-light result, and also offers an effect called "Live Bokeh", which lets you adjust the amount of blur on the parts of your picture you're not focused on.
Once focused on your subject, you also have the option to adjust the brightness of the shot - this worked well enough, although I didn't find the on-screen slider control very responsive. I took some really good pics with this camera and the bokeh is both easy and fun to use, as demonstrated below...
The selfie camera is a significant upgrade over the 6.1 too - twice the MegaPixels and it seemed to perform better in low light too. The beauty effect didn't make me unnaturally beautiful, even when wound all the way up. This is a relief because it's a feature that can be overly aggressive on many other handsets. "Live Bokeh" is available on this camera too, along with the "Bothie" option the Nokia 6.1 introduced us to - a side by side picture or video featuring shots from both forward and rear-facing cameras at once. The major photographic limitation here is zoom quality - neither of those dual-lenses are telescopic, so once you get past 3X or so, your close-ups start to lose quality.
Again, as the 7 plus also runs on the androidone operating system, the Google virtual assistant seems ready and waiting at all times. Today I've asked it for the opening hours at the local Farmers and what the Warriors score was - I got an instant and correct response both times. I've also found the Google virtual assistant invaluable this week as a text scanner - there have been several times when I needed to send or print a document I only had in hard copy. Not a problem for the virtual assistant. It recognised the text in photos and screen shots so I could copy it and distribute accordingly. I've used Samsung's Bixby Vision the same way, but my impression is Google is faster and more accurate.
The speaker on the bottom edge is far more powerful than the one on the Nokia 6.1, and I'm actually quite enjoying Charlie Puth's new album through it as I write this - it's pretty loud and seems to have a reasonably wide frequency response.
As you'd expect, you get more processing power with the 7 plus, and while the 6.1 ran smoothly enough (probably due in part to the stripped back androidone OS) there's a noticeable increase in sheer grunt with this one. The whole phone is bigger, of course - it's a 6" display with the more modern 18:9 aspect ratio. It doesn't feel bulky though, as the edges are more rounded than on the 6.1. You get twice the storage with the 7 plus too - 64GB plus whatever you want to add into the microSD slot.
What really blew me away was the battery life. Due to some complicated work commitments, I was up at 2am yesterday and when I hit the hay at around 10pm, I noticed the battery percentage was still at 55%. That's after being connected to a smart watch all day, not to mention several hours playing bluetooth audio via my car stereo and earbuds. That's up there with some of the best performing handsets I've reviewed.
In fact, everything about the Nokia 7 plus stacks up with the high-end big name phones; it looks good, it's powerful and runs smoothly, has plenty of storage and amazing battery life. No, the camera is not the absolute best on the market, but it still takes great pics. Meanwhile, the Google virtual assistant may well be the most useful I've tried.
Sadly, unlike early Nokia smart phones, there's no wireless charging option and there's no IP rating listed on the spec sheet, so it's probably not very waterproof.
Taking those minor pitfalls into account, this is still a $1200 phone, no question. The good news is; it's only $699.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Nokia 7 plus...
I have a confession to make. My first smart phone was a Nokia. That's not the confession. The confession is; I really loved that phone.
In those days, Nokia was using a Windows O.S. which actually worked really well, but made Android and iOS users laugh at me because there was very little content available in terms of apps.
A shame really, because the phone was solid, reliable and had a fantastic camera.
Things have changed. Nokia is back...
The moment I picked the Nokia 6.1 up out of its box, I was reminded of that first smart phone experience all over again. As usual, Nokia has constructed a handset that feels durable - tough even - yet looks modern and elegant.
The brushed aluminium unibody is a welcome relief from the fingerprint-fest of some of the other all-glass devices around at the moment, while the contrasting copper edges are just... styley as.
Yes, I really like the look and feel of this phone. The question is, can Nokia still come up with a device that performs as well as the other big brands in this price range?
The Nokia 6.1 boasts the latest in processing technology and 3GB of ram seems plenty to keep it ticking along nicely.
While it's essentially just another Android phone, the 6.1 comes with Android 8.1.0 straight out of the box, which is pretty much unheard of for a device in this price bracket.
The U.I. itself is called androidone, and the Nokia 6.1 is the first phone to offer it in New Zealand.
Essentially, androidone is about the most stripped-down interface you could ask for, with nothing but the basic suite of Google apps pre-installed. The phone is a veritable blank slate, waiting for you to set it up the way that suits you best, almost an anti-iPhone in a way.
For example, the default home screen, which is basically a new version of Google's Now Launcher, offers 6 different choices of icon shape alone. Obviously I chose squircles, because squircle is just the coolest word ever.
This simple but effective U.I. works smoothly and quickly - apps won't fire up with quite the lightning speed you'll experience on those $1000+ flagship phones, but the Nokia 6.1 certainly isn't far behind, and features like multi-window are only one long press away. While the 5.5" display isn't huge, it's plenty big enough to make the most of two apps at once.
There's a couple of big advantages with the Nokia 6.1 running androidone. The update policy, (Google guarantees at least two years of updates) and unlimited high quality photo storage on Google Photos - something pretty useful given there is only 32GB of built-in storage. (Although this can be expanded via micro SD)
So far I've found battery life to be good, without being great - despite Google's claims androidone works hard to keep prevent apps draining power in the background. The good news is a fast charger is included in the box and it connects via USB Type-C - more flagship features at the Nokia 6.1's midrange price.
I've also been impressed by the bluetooth connectivity - speakers, cars, watches, earbuds, everything paired easily and stayed connected reliably.
The fingerprint sensor is not as accurate or as fast as I would like, but at least it's in the right place - in the middle on the back.
The camera setup seems to be the major compromise on this handset. I really struggled to take consistently high-quality shots, with either the rear or front facing cameras. Ironically, the camera interface is perhaps too stripped back and I found I was missing easily accessible settings like selective focus and brightness controls. I was surprised because the cameras are Carl Zeiss designed and admittedly, some photos were crisp and clear, but it was a bit hit and miss.
However...
There were two photo features I hadn't encountered before - you can take "bothies" with the Nokia 6.1, a side-by side shot that uses both cameras at once. This feature is available for both stills and video, so you can capture your reaction while you capture someone else's.
The other unusual photographic trick really took me by surprise, literally as I was writing this review. I just got a notification from Google Photos telling me it had created a "Stylized Photo" for me. Apparently, the Google Photos Assistant wasn't satisfied with this photo...
So it created this one for me instead...
Definitely more Instagrammable. Thanks again Google. You're amazing... and a bit scary.
In spite of those pictorial surprises, if a high quality camera is your main priority, this is not the phone for you. On the other hand, if you're on a bit of a budget but you're looking for a handset with the processing power to run your favourite apps, that looks pretty stylish as well, Nokia is the old name in phones with a new-look Android device. The Nokia 6.1 is only $499, incredible value for what's under the hood. What's more, Spark has interest-free and complimentary headphone deals to really launch this device with a bang.
Still not convinced? The Nokia 7 plus is on the way - with a bigger screen, bigger battery, more processing power and yes, an extra camera lens. I'll be reviewing that one for you in a couple of weeks' time.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Nokia 6.1
