Nokia 7.1 unveiled with flagship features at a palatable price

 

Price when reviewed 299inc VAT

Nokia pulls back the curtains on the Nokia 7.1, a mid-range smartphone that seeks to outclass the OnePlus 6

Nokia’s big re-do may only be in its second year, but its phone lineup already covers every possible price bracket. From feature phones that cost peanuts to the flashy Nokia 8 Sirocco flagship, the firm is making itself comfortable in every nook and cranny of the smartphone space.

Cut to the latter portion of the year and, as the winter nights begin to creep in, yet another Nokia smartphone will make an appearance in phone shops across the land. Greetings Nokia 7.1, welcome to the (ever-increasing) Nokia smartphone family.

Nokia 7.1: UK price, release date and specifications

  • 5.84in 2,244 x 1,080 IPS LCD screen
  • Octa-core 1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear cameras
  • 8-megapixel front camera
  • 32GB of storage, expandable via microSD
  • Android One Pie
  • UK price: £299
  • UK release date: 17 October 2018

Nokia 7.1: Design, key features and first impressions

Nokia is quite clearly suffering from an announcement problem. By my calculations, HMD Global – the Swedish firm pulling Nokia’s strings – has released a total of eight phones this year, not to mention the countless others launched in 2017 during Nokia’s revival following a brief hiatus.

What’s so special about Nokia’s ninth phone to launch in 2018? Well, this is a mid-range smartphone with its sights set on the phone aficionado that isn’t lucky enough to have iPhone Xs levels of cash to burn on the latest upgrade.

Like the rest of Nokia’s fleet of smartphones, the 7.1’s chassis is crafted from a single block of aluminium. Everyone loves a nicely chamfered edge, and these are quite plainly some of the finest chamfers you’ll encounter on a smartphone.

It doesn’t just look good, though: the curved sides ensure that the handset sits snugly in the hand, and make it easy to use the rear-mounted fingerprint reader without adjusting your grip or shuffling the phone about too much in your palm.

Front and centre is the phone’s 5.84in, 2,244 x 1,080 IPS display, with a rather chunky bezel underneath and a narrow notch digging into the top of the screen. Rest assured, it looks lovely on first impressions; it’s bright and clear, which is precisely what you want from any aspiring flagship-beater.

Powering the phone is Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 636 chipset, which is clocked at 1.8GHz and works alongside 3GB of RAM. This is the same internal setup as the Moto Z3 Play and Asus ZenFone 5 so, if either of those devices is any indication as to how well the 7.1 will perform come launch, this should be a rather speedy phone indeed.

As for the 7.1’s photographic capabilities, you’ll find a dual-camera arrangement on the rear of the phone. One is a regular 12-megapixel wide-angle sensor, while the other is a 5-megapixel depth-sensing lens, for those fancy bokeh-effect portrait shots. On the front of the phone is an 8-megapixel selfie snapper.

The best thing about the Nokia 7.1 is its launch price. Arriving in UK shops for a mere £299 on 17 October, Nokia’s latest flagship-killing phone successfully undercuts a significant chunk of its mid-range competitors. Throw in top-end specs, a fancy design and a lovely-looking screen, and it looks like we’re in for a winner as 2018 draws to a close.

Keep your eyes peeled for our full Nokia 7.1 review shortly.

 

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