Recently, HMD Global launched the Nokia X7 in China which is expected to be rebranded as the Nokia 8.1 for the global markets. When the phone had debuted in China, it was supposed to arrive shortly in India. Now it seems that the day is not far, when we might get to see the Nokia 8.1 in India as a new report from 91mobiles has hinted towards the launch of the Nokia 8.1 soon. To recall, the Nokia X7 had debuted in China with a mid-range price tag, dual rear camera setup and a powerful Snapdragon 710 processor.
Nokia 8.1 Launch on November 28 in India
According to the retails channels, the Nokia 8.1 will be launched on November 28, 2018. The price tag of the phone has also been supposedly revealed by the company, pegging the rate of this phone at Rs 23,999. Also, it’s notable that the company hasn’t sent out the media invites yet for the event, however, if this new update is to be believed then it must not be long before we get to see the press invite for the Nokia 8.1 launch.
Also, the recent Chinese release of the phone in October has revealed the specifications of the handset in its entirety, and there is hardly anything barred from the eye about the Nokia 8.1. We also do not expect HMD Global to make any tweaks to the phone for its release in India. As for the specifications, the Nokia 8.1 or better known as its Chinese name, the Nokia X7 fashions a 6.18-inch display rendering a Full HD+ resolution on an 18.7:9 aspect ratio screen. Also, given the form factor of the Nokia 8.1, the device averages 86.5% screen-to-body ratio. Under the hood, the device runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor combined with 4GB/6GB of RAM along with 64GB or128GB of internal storage, depending on the variant. The Nokia 8.1 also allows for memory expansion up to 400GB with the help of a microSD card.
On the camera and imaging front, the Nokia 8.1 flaunts a dual rear camera setup comprising of 12MP+13MP sensors which offer 1.4-micron pixels, dual-pixel autofocus, f/1.8 aperture, Optical Image Stabilisation, and fixed focus. The selfie snapper on this phone is a 20MP sensor which comes with f/2.0 aperture and also offers AI based features. The battery on this device is a 3,500mAh unit which also supports 18W fast charging. For connectivity, the phone offers 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac with VoWiFi, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, and FM radio. The dimensions of the phone measure 154.8×75.76×7.97 mm and it weighs 178 grams.
Nokia 8.1 Expected Pricing and Existing Competitors
When the Nokia X7 debuted in China, it came with the price tag of CNY 1,699 (approx Rs 18,000) for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant, it cost CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs 21,200) for the 6GB RAM and 64GB storage model, and lastly the high-end model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage came with a price tag of CNY 2,499 (around Rs 26,500). Also, the colour options of the phone included Dark Blue, Night Red, Night Black, and Magic Night Silver variants. However, for the Indian pricing, the phone is expected to be priced around Rs 23,999.
Although the Nokia 8.1 is definitely a very attractive offering from HMD Global, it might have a hard time in the Indian market thanks to the presence of phones like Poco F1 which is the flagship offering by Xiaomi, and it comes with the Snapdragon 845 processor and bears a meagre price tag of Rs 20,999. On top of that, other phones by Asus and Honor will also compete brutally with this upcoming new device from HMD Global.
