Nokia 7.1 review

Alternatives

The Nokia 7.1 is shaping as one of the better Android One smartphones with a great display, snappy performance, and an attractive camera. HMD's portrait claims are rather nice, too, but the all-round package still matters more than just one shooting mode.

Luckily, the Nokia 7.1 has it figured all figured out and has one comprehensive specs sheet. It isn't the most powerful smartphone in this price bracket, but balances this with great design and camera.

Xiaomi Pocophone F1 • Huawei Honor Play • Huawei Mate 20 lite

Quite expectedly, the first competitor worth mentioning is the Pocophone F1. It has a rather limited reach, but if available in your region, the F1 is currently one of the sweetest deals on the market with that large display, cutting-edge Snapdragon 845, and great camera package.

Then there is the gaming-oriented Honor Play. It has a large and notched display (no HDR though), powerful Kirin 970 chip, and a larger battery. The camera quality also turned out to be quite nice, so if it's performance you are after and you don't mind a custom ROM, then the Honor Play is worth checking out. Or you can exchange some of the Play's performance punch for better selfie experience with the Huawei Mate 20 Lite.

Xiaomi Mi 8 SE • Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)

Xiaomi's Mi 8 SE is as compact as the Nokia 7.1 but boasts an HDR AMOLED screen with a notch that houses a 20MP selfie snapper. The Mi 8 SE has a more powerful Snapdragon 710 chip, while its main camera is very similar to the Nokia 7.1's. The Xiaomi runs on MIUI, which may be a bummer for the vanilla Android fans. And it's not as widely available as the Nokia. Still, it's worth considering as it does quite a few things better than the 7.1.

Finally, the most recent Samsung Galaxy A8 costs as much as the Nokia 7.1 but is IP68-rated for water-resistance. It has a better Super AMOLED screen, similar performance, but its dual-camera handles selfies. If you aren't against Samsung's UI, you should give it a try.

The Verdict

Here is the deal - the Nokia 7.1 is far from the best bang for the buck phone on the market. Its strengths lie elsewhere.

The 7.1 is one of the cheapest yet widespread smartphones with an HDR display. Then there is the ZEISS-enhanced dual-camera on the back. Finally, Android One is another thing that can be a major decision-maker. These three are the key features of the Nokia 7.1 wrapped into one beautiful dual-glass presentation.

So, if you are keen on having one of the best Android One phones on the market, go and test the Nokia 7.1 for yourself. You may find it surprisingly fitting if blazing-fast performance isn't a must.

Pros

• Great HDR display
• Dependable battery with fast charging
• Lightweight glass design
• Very good all-round camera experience
• Class-leading portraits

Cons

• No 60fps video recording
• The selfies aren't that great
• Water, or at least splash resistance would have been nice to have