HMD Global has already launched the first wave of Nokia smartphones in India, and in several other countries. In almost all the countries, the brand is selling all the three Android powered Nokia smartphones- the Nokia 3, the Nokia 5, and the Nokia 6. HMD is already selling the Nokia 3 smartphone in India via offline stores, whereas the Nokia 5 and the Nokia 6 are yet to be made available.
The Nokia 6 is confirmed to be up for the first sale on August 23 on Amazon India. But won't you think that it's already a delayed launch from HMD Global? Will the Nokia 6 worth a buy even in 2017? Let's find out.
At the launch event in India, HMD stated that the new Nokia phones are not aimed at competing with brands such as Xiaomi or Lenovo. In fact, going by the pricing of the Nokia 6, it is clearly an overpriced for the specifications it offers. The Nokia 6 costs Rs. 14,999 in India, whereas Amazon India is providing Rs. 1,000 cash back as Amazon Pay balance for Amazon Prime members.
Talking about the specifications of the Nokia 6, it has a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera, Android 7.0 Nougat, and a 3000mAh battery. That said, if you consider the chipset of the Nokia 6, the first smartphone with Snapdragon 430 to release in India was the Xiaomi Redmi 3s, which was released exactly a year ago on August 3, and went on for sale later in August.
So, what're the factors to consider the Nokia 6: the design and the stock Android. Several international blogs are claiming that the cameras of Nokia 6 are no different when compared to other budget smartphones. The Nokia 6, clearly is the best-looking budget smartphone right now.
Another factor to consider the Nokia 6 is the stock Android and timely updates. The smartphone received the July security patch update faster than the Google Pixel phones. But it will be tested in coming months.
Having said that, in the same price range, we have the Moto G5 Plus, which is a much better smartphone than the Nokia 6. It has a better camera, power efficient Moto G5 Plus, and runs the latest version of Android Nougat. Motorola recently slashed the price of the 4GB RAM version of Moto G5 Plus, which is now retailing for Rs. 15,999, down from the previous Rs. 16,999 price tag.
Then there's the Xiaomi Redmi 4 (not Redmi Note 4), which costs less than double the price of Nokia 6, and offers better specifications in the form of Snapdragon 435 chipset, and a larger 4100mAh battery. But as said earlier, HMD is not going after Xiaomi in India or any other Chinese brand.
As was the case with Nokia 3310, HMD Global is banking on the 'Nostalgia' factor for all the Nokia devices. Even though the Nokia 6 is priced aggressively and doesn't justify the asking price, people would still buy. But if you're in the market looking for a good smartphone and for the same price, get the Moto G5 Plus instead of the Nokia 6.
