Nokia 6.1 Plus review: First phone from the company with notch-style display, wide-viewing angles

Price: Rs 15,999

Rating: ****

Specifications: 5.8-inch 19:9 IPS display, 2280x1080 pixels, Snapdragon 636 octa core processor, 4GB RAM, 64 GB storage, expandable storage (up to 400 GB), hybrid dual sim slot, 16 MP + SMP rear dual camera, 16 MP front camera, 4G with VOLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, rear fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, Android 8.1. 3,060mAh battery, 151 grams


Pros: Compact design, stylish design, vibrant dislay, great battery life, excellent daylight cameras, stock Android OS

Cons: Glass finish is slippery, bokeh edge detection not up to the mark, weak low light camera performance

The Nokia 6 (2018), something we think is one of the best mid-range offerings from HMD Global, has a successor within months of launch. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has a larger display, improved hardware and a dual camera setup — all enhancements that make it more competitive in our market.

HMD global has also given in to the ‘notch’ with the Nokia 6.1 Plus. This is the company’s first phone to feature a notch style display. It has a 5.8-inch size screen in a device which is actually smaller than the Nokia 6 (2018) with a 5.5-inch screen. The screen in itself is impressive: it offers vibrant colours and wide viewing angles. We also liked the slim bezels around the screen and the fact that Nokia offers an option to hide the notch If you don’t like it. As with most other notch screen phones, the notch houses the earpiece speaker and the front camera. It also hides an LED notification light for good measure.



Since the phone is quite compact, we loved the overall size and hand feel. The front and back glass makes it look stylish and premium but the standard caveats apply (delicate, slippery, quickly picks up smudges). You’ll have to be extra careful with the slippery design, because it tends to slip off a table.

Specifications are at par with competing devices in this price segment. You get a Snapdragon 636 processor combined with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. This setup is great for basic as well as advanced users. There was no visible sluggishness when switching and multi-tasking between over 15 background apps. Battery life is a surprise — we regularly got a full day of backup (8am to 11pm) with around 15-20% charge spare. There is also support for Quick Charge 3.0 — the phone charges from 10 to 70% in just over 45 minutes of charging.

All Nokia phones comes with stock Android and the Nokia 6.1 Plus is no different. It comes out of the box with Android 8.1 and recently has also got the August security patch via OTA update.

There is no bloatware and the only custom app on the device is for the camera.

You get a 16MP + 5MP rear camera setup on the Nokia 6.1 Plus — 16MP primary sensor has an aperture of f2.0 and phase detection autofocus while the secondary 5MP is purely a depth sensor. The Live Bokeh mode is what takes advantage of the dual camera. In our usage we noticed that the camera managed to take fantastic shots in daylight but in low-light It is not up to the mark. The bokeh effect is also a hit and miss because of the edge detection. Half of the time, the edges were blurry and merged the subject with the background. It also tends to overexpose the background in bokeh mode, which ruins the overall effect. Nokia needs to pick up the slack for bokeh mode because the Mi A2 and Redmi Note 5 Pro both offer superior camera results.

The front 16MP camera has a wideangle lens and impresses in overall image quality. It also has a bokeh mode option which is software based. Much to our surprise, the front bokeh effect was excellent, delivering some great selfies. Using facial recognition, the camera manages to differentiate the background and the subject properly for edge detection. What we did not like was that the app does not show a bokeh preview for selfies — you only see the effect after the photo is taken.

So is the Nokia 6.1 Plus a good buy? If you are a Nokia fan who cares more about style and performance over camera, then yes. But if camera is an important factor for you, then the Redmi Note 5 Pro is our choice at the same price. It does not have a notch display but you get superior cameras and larger battery. If stock Android is also a must-have, you can extend your budget and consider the Mi A2 — it has a 6-inch 18:9 display but comes with a more powerful Snapdragon 660 and much better camera performance.