At its scheduled event in Dubai, HMD Global took wraps off the mid-range smartphone- the Nokia 8.1 which is also the global version of the Nokia X7 launched back in China a couple of months ago. The Nokia 8.1 is also confirmed to make its debut in India on December 10 as the company already scheduled an event. Being a global version of the Nokia X7, the Nokia 8.1 comes with Android One certification, and at the same time, it ships with Android 9 Pie out of the box. Notably, it's the first Nokia smartphone to boot the latest iteration of Android. The Nokia 8.1 is the direct successor to the Nokia 7 Plus which saw a lot of attraction in the sub-continent. Key features of the Nokia 8.1 include Snapdragon 710 SoC, HDR display and Zeiss optics.
Nokia 8.1: Specifications and Features
The Nokia 8.1 is an excellent mid-range smartphone from the Finnish company as it sports Nokia' signature design and capable hardware. Like Nokia's recent launches such as the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 7.1, the Nokia 8.1 also features a glass back with metal frame running all around. The phone features a 6.18-inch Full HD+ display which also supports HDR titles. Introduced first with the Nokia 7.1, the Pure Display tech from HMD allows users to stream HDR titles from Netflix and other content platforms. The Nokia 7.1 also made its debut in India last week at Rs 19,999.
At the heart of the Nokia 8.1, we have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset, clubbed with 4GB/6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of internal storage. It will be interesting to see which variants comes to India next week. The phone also has a hybrid microSD card slot for storage expansion. For the unaware, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 is the latest upper mid-range chipset and the first one to be built on top of the 10nm manufacturing process.
Like it did with the Nokia 7 Plus, HMD is also touting cameras on the new Nokia 8.1 as it sports Zeiss optics. The phone sports dual rear cameras of 12MP+13MP on the back, along with a 20MP shooter on the front. The rear camera has a f/1.8 aperture, 1/2.55-inch sensor, 1.4um pixels, dual-pixel autofocus, Optical Image Stabilisation and Electronic Image Stabilisation. The camera app also comes with AI scene recognition modes baked into it.
As noted, the Nokia 8.1 is the company's first smartphone to come with Android 9 Pie out of the box. And yes, it's an Android One smartphone with guaranteed software updates going forward. Connectivity options include Dual 4G, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS and a USB Type-C port. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack. Lastly, there's a 3500mAh battery inside the handset which supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.
Nokia 8.1: Colour Options and Expected Indian Pricing
The Nokia 8.1 comes in three colour options- Blue Silver, Steel Copper and Iron Steel. As for the expected Indian pricing, the Nokia 8.1 might be launched around Rs 23,999 in the sub-continent. And at that price, it's an excellent smartphone from HMD Global and it easily beats other phones in this segment. Of course, we have the Poco F1 with Snapdragon 845 SoC at a starting price of Rs 20,999, but the Nokia 8.1 features superior camera hardware and way better design. The global price of the Nokia 8.1 is Euro 399 (approx. Rs 31,900). In Dubai, the phone retails for 1499 Dirham which rounds up for Rs 28,800.
Nokia 8.1: Competitors
HMD Global at the Dubai launch event confirmed that it would be bringing the handset to India very soon. So we'll be seeing Nokia 8.1 on December 10 in the sub-continent. The Nokia 8.1 will be the second smartphone after Oppo R17 Pro with Snapdragon 710 SoC. The R17 Pro is priced at Rs 44,990 in India, but the Nokia 8.1 will surely be priced around Rs 25,000 mark to pull an advantage over the competitors.
