HMD Global has finally announced the Nokia 7.1 smartphone as a successor to the Nokia 7 that was launched last year with Snapdragon 630 chipset. The Nokia 7.1 is the first smartphone under HMD's portfolio to offer a PureDisplay with HDR 10 support. Other highlight features inside the smartphone include Snapdragon 636 chipset, dual rear cameras with Zeiss optics and of course, it's part of Android One programme, which means faster software updates. HMD promised that the Nokia 7.1 would receive Android 9 Pie update in November this year. Right now, the phone has been launched in European markets, but the company could launch the Nokia 7.1 at its scheduled event in India on October 11.
Nokia 7.1: Specifications and Features
The Nokia 7.1 features a similar design as the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus. The phone has a glass back and has a 6000-series aluminium frame constructed out of a single aluminium block. The phone weighs 159 grams which is largely due to the smaller battery of 3060mAh battery we get inside the phone. The Nokia 7.1 rocks a 5.84-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD display with 19:9 aspect ratio and 2280x1080p resolution.
The display on the Nokia 7.1 takes a special mention as it's the first smartphone under HMD's portfolio to come with PureDisplay screen technology. This essentially means that the Nokia 7.1 supports HDR content. With YouTube now supporting HDR content as well, this move from HMD will appeal to a lot of consumers out there.
Powering the Nokia 7.1 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset, which comes paired with 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage. There's a microSD card slot as well which allows users to expand storage up to 400GB. The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, but HMD promised an upgrade to Android 9 Pie would be seeded sometime in November. Maybe, the Android 9 Pie Developer Preview programme for the Nokia 7.1 will go live later this month.
Another area where HMD worked hard is on cameras. The Nokia 7.1 rocks a primary 12MP shooter on the rear side with f/1.8 aperture, 1.28um, PDAD, and it works in tandem with a 5MP depth sensor. Frontal, the phone packs an 8MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture and 84-degree field-of-view.
Connectivity options inside the Nokia 7.1 include Dual 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX support, GPS and USB Type-C port. The fingerprint scanner is placed on the rear side of the smartphone.
Nokia 7.1: Pricing and India Launch Details
The Nokia 7.1 will be available in two colour options- Gloss Midnight Blue and Gloss Steel. During the launch event in London, HMD announced the pricing for US and European markets. The Nokia 7.1 in the US will cost $349 (approx. Rs 25,755), and it's the price of the base variant with 3GB+32GB of storage. The same variant will retail for €319, while the premium variant with 4GB+64GB storage will be available for €349. Pre-orders for the handset will begin on October 5 and HMD will start shipping the product from October 28.
Right now, we don't have any details on whether or when HMD is planning to launch the product in India. But the Finnish upstart has scheduled an event for October 11 in the country, where we could see the arrival of Nokia 7.1.
Nokia 7.1: Competitors in India
The Nokia 7.1 sports decent mid-range hardware and if HMD decides to launch the phone as an online-only model in India, we could see it landing at around Rs 17,999, marginally higher than the Nokia 6.1 Plus which also has the same Snapdragon 636 SoC.
At that price, the Nokia 7.1 will go against the likes of Realme 2 Pro, Motorola One Power and the Xiaomi Mi A2. The Realme 2 Pro and Mi A2 both sport the powerful Snapdragon 660 chipset, while the Motorola One Power comes with the Snapdragon 636 chipset.
