Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest Android phone at this price point
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2018
I am not someone who believes that spending $750-$1000 or more on a flagship smartphone is a good investment. Sure they're got the top specs, but they don't really do much that a budget phone like a Moto G6 doesn't do for a fraction of the price. That said, I was looking for something a little higher quality and better specced than an average budget device, so this Nokia caught my attention. And my experience has been that at this price point, I'm getting 90% of the experience of a flagship for 50% of the cost. That is a GREAT value.
First, the pros/cons:
PROS:
- Build quality is FANTASTIC, this device looks and feels like a flagship quality device, and I am really stunned that they were able to accomplish this at this price point
- Android One is what an OS should be; the device upgraded to Pie (9.0) right out of the box during the setup process, and I have had absolutely none of the problems previously reported with the OS. It is butter smooth and problem-free for me
- Screen quality is very good, despite not being AMOLED. You will only notice that it's not AMOLED if you put it next to an AMOLED device and scrutinize it; in day-to-day use the screen is very crisp, and video/gaming looks great on it
- Call quality on mine is noticeably better than it was on the G6; I can hear everyone clearly and others report that they can hear me more clearly
- Signal strength (cell and wifi both) appears to be good in all of the areas that I've used it, which should be expected with a more recent SoC like the 636
- Performance is good despite what some other reviewers are saying, more on that below
- US warranty - not to be overlooked when buying a new device
- Size / form factor; this phone is the perfect size to me, with a good-sized screen yet easy to use one-handed
CONS:
- This device is VERY slippery. The glass design is beautiful, but it makes the device very slippery. I hate to cover up such a good-looking device with a case, but I'd rather do that than drop it
- No wireless charging; more of a disappointment than a con, but the device doesn't do wireless charging despite the glass backing. It charges fairly fast with USB-C though
- Other than the slipperiness and lack of wireless charging, I really haven't found any yet. I've been looking, too.
MEH:
- The battery is average in my experience. Not great, but not bad, and it gets me through the day with moderate use (a few calls, texting, some gaming). I'm typically getting home from work with over 50% battery remaining, which is good enough for me
- Camera; for me so far this is average - again, not bad, not good. I am going to play around with the camera app some more, and maybe I can improve it some, but if the camera is super-important to you then you might want to look elsewhere, this implementation is just OK in my experience
This is my first Nokia device, and I can say that I am tremendously impressed so far. I'm coming from a LG G6, and while that device may be more powerful on paper, in actual use this Nokia blows it away. Why? Well, mostly because of the software. Bad software can really put a damper on the parade even with a high-specced device, and this is the main reason that I was seeking a replacement for the G6. The skin/UI just ruins the experience, and I was looking for something that wouldn't have that problem.
Android One will keep you updated for a minimum of two years, with security patches up to three years. But beyond that, it's a very light OS - this is how Android is supposed to run, and the Nokia 7.1 runs it very well. Navigation is buttery smooth, and I haven't encountered any stuttering or lag at all. I really can't overstate what a joy it is to use an Android One phone. You don't realize how much bad software is negatively affecting your experience until suddenly it isn't anymore.
Which leads to performance. I've seen people complaining about that aspect, but I am not seeing anything at all to complain about. For starters, the Snapdragon 636 powering this device is obviously not going to be able to match an 845 device, but for a device that's half the price it's silly to expect that it would. That said, it performs very well in my experience. It easily outpaces my LG G6; that device has an older 821 that *should* still smoke the 636 on paper, but in real-world use it doesn't. Much of that is because of the OS / software, but it's also because the 636 is a newer SoC with a newer architecture. On my device it's clocked at 1.8 ghz on 4 cores, and 1.6 ghz on the other 4 cores, and while that sounds underwhelming, it's actually perfectly fine for nearly all applications.
For example, I play Rise of Civilizations, which can get VERY laggy during battles, and I am experiencing noticeably less lag than I did with my G6. I've played some PUBG as well, and despite an occasional stutter it's easily playable on the Nokia 7.1. Shadowgun Legends runs buttery smooth with no lag or stuttering. If I can run those games well on this device, then that's good enough for me and a $349 price point.Given that and the ultra-smooth Android One experience, I see absolutely no reason to complain about performance about a phone at this price point. It's actually quite good for a mid-range SoC at this price.
So where does this leave it vs the competition? In this price range, you've also got the LG G6, Moto X4, OnePlus 5/5T, Essential phone, Moto Z3 Play, and perhaps the Moto G6. For various reasons, I looked at all of these options and chose the Nokia because of its combination of build quality, modern SoC, size/form factor, price, and (most importantly to me) the Android One OS. Like I said, this was my first Nokia so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but so far this phone has blown me away.
At this price point, I really don't think you can beat it.
