HMD Global launched the new Nokia 8.1 in India just a couple of days ago. The smartphone, like any other recent Nokia phones, comes with glass body, dual cameras and more. In India, the Nokia 8.1 goes against the Xiaomi Poco F1, which has recently seen Rs 1,000 price cut on account of achieving seven lakh user base. Xiaomi has reduced the price of all variants of Poco F1 by Rs 1000. After the price cut the Poco F1 in India is available with a starting price tag of Rs 19,999. Although as far as the price is concerned, the Poco F1 belongs to a different league altogether, as far as the offerings are concerned both the Nokia and Poco go against each other.
Let's take a quick look at the Nokia 8.1 and Poco F1 in details and how the two phones stand against each other as far as the overall specifications are concerned.
Nokia 8.1 vs Poco F1: Design and Display
There's no doubt that the Nokia phone leads in this department. Most recently launched Nokia phones are all about design and good display. Similar to other Nokia phones, the new Nokia 8.1 also comes with glass design offers a premium feel to the consumers. That, however, isn't the case with the Xiaomi's Poco F1. The Poco F1 is all about the software and the Snapdragon 845 and that's about it. As far as the design of the Poco F1 is concerned, the phone comes with a very basic design, plastic back, notched display and thick chin.
As far as the display is concerned, the Nokia 8.1 comes packed with a 6.18-inch display with a Full HD+ (2246x1080) resolution. It comes with an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. The key highlight of the Nokia 8.1 is that the smartphone comes with PureDisplay screen technology which was initially introduced with the Nokia 7.1. The Poco F1 also comes with a 6.18-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display with a 1080x2246 pixel resolution. It packs an aspect ratio of 18.7:9.
Nokia 8.1 vs Poco F1: Hardware and Software
Although Nokia 8.1 wins (sort of) in the design and display department, on the hardware front the Poco F1 leads. The Poco F1 is the first under Rs 20,000 phone to be powered by Snapdragon 845 chipset. So far we have seen the Snapdragon 845 chipset only powering the flagships like OnePlus 6T, Galaxy S9, Pixel 3 and others. The Nokia 8.1, on the other hand, is powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 710 chipset. The Poco F1 is backed by a massive 4000mAh battery paired with Qualcomm's Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Type-C support, while the Nokia 8.1 includes a 3,500mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
In India, the Nokia 8.1 comes in two variants -- 4GB RAM with 64GB storage and 6GB RAM with 128GB storage, which can be further expanded up to 400GB via microSD card. The Poco F1 comes in four variants -- 6GB/64GB, 6GB RAM/128GB, 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage and special Armoured Edition 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage with Kevlar back. On the software front, the Poco F1 was launched with Android Oreo but has now been upgraded to Pie. The Nokia 8.1 is an Android One device and ships with Android 9 Pie out-of-the-box.
Nokia 8.1 vs Poco F1: Camera
Both the Nokia the Poco phone sports dual cameras on the rear panel and single on the front. The Poco F1 features a primary sensor of 12MP with f/1.9 aperture and a secondary sensor of 5MP for depth shots. The camera of the Poco F1 comes with several AI-based features like scene recognition and others. On the front, the Poco F1 includes a 20MP selfie snapper paired with soft LED flash and some AI. In comparison, the Nokia 8.1 on the rear panel includes a camera setup of 12MP+13MP configuration. On the front, the smartphone includes a 20MP front-facing camera.
