If you’re looking for a no-nonsense smartphone in the mid-tier that doesn’t skimp on any aspect, then the Nokia 8.1 won’t disappoint you in any regard.
When I reviewed the Nokia 7 Plus earlier this year, I proclaimed it one of the most reliable smartphones in the mid-budget segment you could buy. However, since then the category has attracted a lot of attention with players like ASUS and POCO offering flagship-grade specs in the same league. So it was but natural for the Finnish company to launch a successor to the 7 Plus. While I’ll leave it up to the company to explain its confusing nomenclature… since the Nokia 8.1 actually succeeds the 7 Plus, yet seems to be an upgrade the Nokia 8 flagship, there’s no denying that the smartphone is a loaded handset. So can it help the phonemaker to reclaim its share in the ~Rs 30k segment? Let’s find that out together in this review.
Just like the Nokia 5.1 Plus ( review) and 6.1 Plus ( review), which are rebranded iterations of the Nokia X5 and X6 respectively, the 8.1 was launched in China as the X7. Like all the smartphones in this series, the Nokia 8.1 sports a glass-sandwich design with an aluminium frame and a display notch. As you can guess, the build quality of Nokia’s 8.1 is top-notch (pun intended). Not only does the device look classy, but it also feels solid when held in the hand. The phone utilises Series 6000 aluminium that makes it seem very robust. While the phone tips the scales at 180g, the weight has been distributed really well. The smartphone is also quite sleek, thanks to a 7.97mm waist.
Up front, you’ll get a bezel-less screen with a notch up top. Notice that I didn’t refer to it as an edge-to-edge display? Well, that’s because the 8.1 does have bezels on the left and right sides, and while there’s a notch up top (which is considerably large anyway), there’s a chin at the bottom which seem to be serving no practical purpose apart from bearing the Nokia branding.
Flip to the back, and the familiarity continues… a dual-camera module in the middle accompanied by a dual-tone LED flash with a fingerprint reader below. Sadly, the camera module juts out from the body significantly making the phone wobble on a flat surface if you press on its either side. Of course, the glass-back design also means that the Nokia 8.1 attracts fingerprints and smudges like there’s no tomorrow. That also makes the phone quite slippery, especially if your hands are sweaty. Despite its attractive design, I’d recommend you use a case with it (sadly, the device doesn’t come bundled with one).
As far as the fingerprint sensor’s unlocking speed is concerned, it works like a charm. It’s accurate, quick and works regardless of the direction you place your finger in. Of course, you might not need to use it often as the Nokia 8.1 comes with face unlock functionality (available as the Trusted Face in Security & location settings). Even though the face unlock isn’t the fastest I’ve come across, it works quite reliably in most scenarios (except in poorly-lit conditions).
Coming to the other design elements, the Nokia 8.1 follows the norm. Though it’s good to see that the phone hasn’t skimped upon the 3.5mm audio interface.
Coming to the display, the 8.1 features a 6.18-inch IPS panel with a resolution of 1,080 x 2,220 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. The screen gets plenty sharp and offers vibrant colours as well. It also gets sufficiently bright to be read outdoors, though the adaptive brightness somehow reduces the brightness levels drastically and you have to increase that manually. Similar to the recently-launched Nokia 7.1 ( first impressions), the brand’s latest also comes with PureDisplay supporting HDR10, allowing you to enjoy compatible videos with better contrast and saturation. There’s also support for Always-on display, letting you see notifications along with date and time without waking up the screen.
