GSMArena team, 25 April 2018

Nokia 6 (2018) review

3. Lab tests: display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality

Nokia Android HMD Dual SIM

Display

The new Nokia 6 (2018) has a screen identical in size and resolution to the previous model - it's a 5.5" IPS LCD panel with 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (403ppi). There is no notch, no unusual screen aspect.

We captured similar black levels, brightness, and contrast to the ones by the screen on last year's Nokia 6. The max brightness is alright for an LCD at 470 nits, but nothing extraordinary. The blacks are reasonably deep, and thus we calculated a great contrast ratio of 1278:1.

Display test	100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Nokia 6 (Global version)	0.364	484	1330
Nokia 6 (2018)	0.367	469	1278
Xiaomi Mi A1	0.351	551	1570
Sony Xperia XA2	0.401	532	1327
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus	0.548	555	1013
HTC U11 Life	0.357	546	1529
Motorola Moto X4	0.297	431	1451
Huawei Mate 10 Lite	0.257	476	1852
Huawei P Smart	0.356	531	1492
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)	0	413	∞
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) max auto	0	559	∞

One thing that received a massive boost since the previous version is the sunlight legibility. With a sunlight contrast ratio of 4.052, the LCD on Nokia 6 (2018) has one of the best scores we have measured so far, even beating most of the OLEDs!

Sunlight contrast ratio

Apple iPhone X
5.013
OnePlus 5T
4.789
Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768
Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658
Samsung Galaxy S9
4.63
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615
Samsung Galaxy S9+
4.537
Motorola Moto Z2 Play
4.459
Oppo R11
4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439
OnePlus 3
4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376
HTC One A9
4.274
Oppo R15 Pro
4.251
Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241
Nokia 8
4.239
Google Pixel 2 XL (pre-update)
4.234
OnePlus 3T
4.232
Google Pixel XL
4.164
ZTE Axon 7
4.154
Samsung Galaxy Note8
4.148
Meizu Pro 7 Plus
4.147
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124
Huawei Mate 10 Pro (normal)
4.096
Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09
Huawei P20 Pro
4.087
Nokia 6 (2018)
4.052
Google Pixel 2 (pre-update)
4.023
LG V30
4.022
Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro
3.998
Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983
OnePlus X
3.983
Apple iPhone 7
3.964
Oppo R7s
3.964
Apple iPhone 8 (True Tone)
3.957
Huawei P9 Plus
3.956
Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935
Lenovo Moto Z
3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918
OnePlus 5
3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911
Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
3.842
Sony Xperia XZs
3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014)
3.816
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
3.812
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802
Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798
LG V20 Max auto
3.798
Sony Xperia XZ
3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789
Apple iPhone 6s
3.783
Meizu Pro 5
3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767
Sony Xperia XZ1
3.765
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756
Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact
3.729
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (True Tone)
3.725
Oppo F1 Plus
3.709
Vivo X5Pro
3.706
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688
Huawei P20
3.683
Apple iPhone SE
3.681
Huawei Mate 9
3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
3.675
Meizu PRO 6
3.659
BlackBerry Priv
3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588
Sony Xperia XZ2
3.58
LG G6
3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523
Acer Jade Primo
3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512
Oppo R7 Plus
3.499
Nokia 7 plus
3.479
nubia Z11
3.466
Huawei P10 Plus
3.456
HTC U Ultra
3.453
Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra
3.445
Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422
Meizu MX5
3.416
LG V20
3.402
Huawei P10
3.379
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
3.378
Oppo R9s
3.352
Honor 8 Pro
3.341
Oppo R7
3.32
Lenovo P2
3.316
Archos Diamond Omega
3.305
Honor 9
3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276
Nokia 5
3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244
Nokia 6 (Global version)
3.238
Samsung Galaxy J2
3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228
Motorola Moto X Play
3.222
Oppo F3 Plus
3.218
Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206
Huawei P9
3.195
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2
3.19
ZTE Nubia Z17
3.159
Oppo R11s
3.153
Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113
HTC U11 Life
3.108
Motorola Moto X Force
3.105
LG Nexus 5X
3.092
HTC U11
3.089
Huawei Mate S
3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
3.023
Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL
3.019
Motorola Moto X4
3.012
Sony Xperia XA1
3.012
Sony Xperia L1
2.994
Sony Xperia X
2.989
LG Q6
2.987
Huawei P10 Lite
2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97
Xiaomi Redmi 5
2.951
Huawei Mate 8
2.949
Sony Xperia XA2
2.938
Xiaomi Redmi 4
2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906
LG G5
2.905
HTC One S
2.901
Huawei Honor View 10
2.896
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877
Sony Xperia Z5
2.876
Nokia 3
2.871
Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851
Lenovo Moto M
2.813
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784
Nokia 2
2.752
Meizu MX6
2.751
LG V10
2.744
Huawei Mate 10 (normal)
2.742
Motorola Moto G5S Plus
2.737
Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735
Huawei Honor 7X
2.734
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714
Meizu M5
2.71
Sony Xperia M5
2.69
Xiaomi Mi A1
2.689
Huawei P9 Lite
2.679
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679
vivo V7+
2.671
Vivo V3Max
2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658
Huawei Mate 10 Lite
2.654
Oppo F5
2.653
Doogee Mix
2.642
Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Standard)
2.616
Sony Xperia XA
2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582
Meizu M5s
2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574
LeEco Le Max 2
2.567
Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563
Huawei P Smart
2.563
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563
Xiaomi Mi Max 2
2.561
HTC U11+
2.556
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5A (Y1)
2.556
Motorola Moto G 4G
2.546
Lenovo K6 Note
2.544
Lenovo Moto G4
2.544
Oppo F1
2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503
BlackBerry Motion
2.494
Oppo F1s
2.481
Motorola Moto G
2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473
Huawei G8
2.471
Huawei nova
2.467
Sony Xperia Z
2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459
Meizu m3 max
2.447
Xiaomi Mi 4
2.424
Xiaomi Mi 5X (Auto)
2.417
HTC 10 evo
2.407
Huawei Honor 7
2.406
Vivo V7
2.404
Sony Xperia E5
2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382
HTC 10
2.378
Oppo F3
2.376
vivo V5 Plus
2.371
Meizu m1 note
2.362
Huawei nova plus
2.329
Razer Phone
2.328
HTC One E9+
2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272
Sony Xperia L2
2.266
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254
HTC U11+ (EU)
2.253
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233
LG Nexus 5
2.228
Huawei P8
2.196
Meizu M5 Note
2.189
Huawei Honor 6
2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166
OnePlus Two
2.165
HTC One X
2.158
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145
LG Aka
2.145
Archos 50 Diamond
2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119
Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095
Acer Liquid X2
2.084
Huawei P8lite
2.078
vivo V5
2.059
Moto G 3rd gen max manual
2.026
Xiaomi Mi 3
2.001
Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996
Sony Xperia E4g
1.972
OnePlus One
1.961
Sony Xperia Z2
1.944
Meizu m3 note
1.923
Meizu m2 note
1.892
BlackBerry Leap
1.892
HTC Butterfly
1.873
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759
Sony Xperia U
1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659
Jolla Jolla
1.605
Motorola Moto E
1.545
Sony Xperia M
1.473
Sony Xperia L
1.351
HTC Desire C
1.3
Meizu MX
1.221
Sony Xperia E
1.215

Finally, the color accuracy won't impress anyone. We measured an average DeltaE of 7.3 with a maximum of 13.8 for white - white is strongly shifted towards cyan. There are no display color options on the international Nokia 6.1, so you are stuck with this presentation only.

Battery life

The Nokia 6 (2018) is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery - the same as on the previous model. The phone supports fast charging and the provided charger will fills up to 38% of the depleted battery in half an hour.

HMD chose a modern Snapdragon 630 SoC (14nm) for the second-gen Nokia 6 and we've already seen some pretty good scores on other Android One phones with the same chip - the HTC U11 Life and Moto X4. Well, the Nokia 6.1 didn't disappoint - it posted good numbers on the standalone tests, and with a slightly above average standby consumption, the final endurance rating turned out 76 hours.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Nokia 6 (2018) for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Loudspeaker

The one thing the new Nokia 6 lost in the upgrade process was the stereo speakers setup. While the first generation used the earpiece as a second speaker, the new (2018) model relies only on the bottom-firing loudspeaker.

The good news, however, is that the sound going out of that speaker on the Nokia 6.1 is much improved. It's louder, with richer sound, and it earned a Very Good mark in our loudspeaker test - only 1dB short of Excellent.

Speakerphone test	Voice, dB	Pink noise/ Music, dB	Ringing phone, dB	Overall score
Nokia 2	66.7	70.6	75.0	Good
Nokia 6 (Global version)	63.1	70.9	82.5	Good
Motorola Moto X4	67.2	71.1	80.7	Good
Huawei P Smart	65.9	70.8	85.8	Very Good
Huawei Mate 10 Lite	67.8	71.0	84.5	Very Good
Nokia 6 (2018)	67.1	74.0	85.3	Very Good
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus	71.1	72.7	87.7	Excellent
HTC U11 Life	70.9	75.3	88.0	Excellent
Xiaomi Mi A1	74.0	73.9	90.4	Excellent

Audio quality

Unfortunately, the Nokia 6 (2018) performance in the active external amplifier part of our test fell as short as that of its Nokia 7 Plus sibling. Its intermodulation distortion was too high and its signal-to-noise ratio was nowhere near what we've come to expect from modern smartphones. On the positive side, its volume was nicely high, but the overall results left a lot to be desired.

Good thing is the clarity with headphones was much better - the stereo crosstalk spike wasn't too bad and the rest of the readings were excellent. Volume went from high to just above average, but the Nokia 6 (2018) still does solidly here.

Test	Frequency response	Noise level	Dynamic range	THD	IMD + Noise	Stereo crosstalk
Nokia 6 (2018)	+0.10, -0.20	-37.5	80.4	0.0018	4.735	-93.3
Nokia 6 (2018) (headphones)	+0.05, -0.03	-94.3	90.2	0.0027	0.019	-58.6
Nokia 7 Plus	+0.02, -0.31	-38.8	81.7	0.0013	4.690	-95.9
Nokia 7 Plus (headphones)	+0.25, -0.23	-93.3	90.4	0.0045	0.227	-53.9
Honor View 10	+0.02, -0.01	-92.6	92.6	0.0021	0.012	-94.4
Honor View 10 (headphones)	+0.17, -0.03	-92.0	92.1	0.0023	0.092	-52.8
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)	+0.01, -0.03	-92.1	92.2	0.0038	0.0085	-90.0
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) (headphones)	+0.30, -0.07	-91.7	91.8	0.022	0.206	-72.4
Oppo R11s	+0.02, -0.02	-93.4	93.2	0.0025	0.012	-90.8
Oppo R11s (headphones)	+0.20, -0.37	-93.4	93.0	0.015	0.320	-55.7
OnePlus 5T	+0.01, -0.03	-94.0	94.0	0.0018	0.011	-93.7

Nokia 6 (2018) frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Next Page » 4. Software and performance

3. Lab tests: display, battery life, loudspeaker, audio quality

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