Good budget phones are getting better and better every month. And with every improved handset comes higher expectations and never bars set. This is the Nokia 6.1 and it aims to be THE phone to beat in the budget space. Does it succeed? We’ll find out right now.Aesthetically, you’ll be hard pressed to find much to call this a cheap phone. It’s a sleek slab of black aluminum with bronze accents that HMD Global has really made a staple in their design language for Nokia’s return. Fingerprints don’t blatantly stand out on this back and although a bit wide by 2018 standards, the cold slick material feels nice to hold in your hand.There is a rear fingerprint scanner that is oddly placed for a device of this size. Similar to the Xperia XZ2’s, the Nokia 6.1’s fingerprint scanner is too low to be comfortable. It’s awkwardly placed slightly above the center of the back, thus forcing you to bend your finger at an inconvenient angle to hit it. I tapped the flash more often than the scanner the first few days with this was with me. The scanner itself is average for this price point in speed and accuracy.Now what makes this phone beat is a low mid-tier Snapdragon 630 processor with 4 GB of ram. This is the same chip we saw in the Xperia XA2. The big difference between the 6.1 and the XA2 is that the Nokia runs Android One which is essentially a stock Android experience. Theoretically that means quicker updates and usually a speedier less bloated user experience. There isn’t any fluff dragging you down.I am surprised to tell you that the Nokia 6.1 disappointed me with it’s performance. It isn’t that the phone is unacceptable to use, I just legitimately expected it perform better because of the aforementioned Android One benefits. In live use, I experienced noticeable lag and slowdowns doing everyday tasks that I know this processor can handle due to our reviewing of other phones with the Snapdragon 630. The Nokia 6.1 can’t keep up with something like the Xperia XA2 even though it has an additional GB of ram over the Sony competitor. The 6.1 also runs rather hot when playing games or exhibiting a video. I noticed other Snapdragon 630 phones get warmer than they should, but this phone in particular felt unbearable to hold at times due to the build. That’s a double edged sword because I really do like the look and feel of the build, but as a result of that, it amplifies the heat.This phone is also a pretty heavy thing. You got a 3,000mah battery powering it which doesn’t seem like much, but battery life was terrific. About 16 to 18 hours a day and I would say about 4 to 4 and half hours of screen on time. If I get those numbers with my heavy usage, a majority of normal people can get twice that.Now let’s talk a little bit about the display. This is a 5.5 inch 1080p IPS panel which uses a 16:9 aspect ratio. That obviously means this will feel like a fat screen from yesteryear especially if you’ve laid eyes on an 18:9 or higher aspect ratio display. Colors reproduction felt a little off to me. The reproduction of colors that are supposed to pop at you like Red felt dull and dreary on this IPS display. I’ve been using a Thor wallpaper for last month and I swear the red cape looks much better on some of the other phones I’ve looked at recently including that of it’s rival the XA2.There is a single bottom firing speaker with audio that isn't necessarily too great. It's a bit muffly although it does get decently loud, there isn't good substance behind it.And lastly the the 16 MP f/2.0 Zeiss optic rear camera. The interface is simple to use without too many additional modes and features. This does shoot 4K at 30 FPS which is nice to have at this price point. This camera is the same story I tell so often in reviews. In optimal lighting shots are usable. Nothing special, but acceptable. In low light, it falls apart to the point where I have to say it is an abomination at times. You lose so much detail and it brings in focal issues to the mix. I can’t even use budget as an excuse here. We’ll do a Versus video with the XA2 so come back for that to see what I’m talking about.So to basically wrap up the story of the Nokia 6.1. It isn’t the go to guy in this budget space and it isn’t the flashiest girl at prom. What the 6.1 is, is like the cousin to the prince. It looks nice and it’ll get interest, but it doesn’t outperform or out outshine its competitors. And that ultimately is what the fate of the Nokia 6.1 will be, unless there are software updates to alter it’s life. And that can always be a possibility, but for now, it plays second fiddle.