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Nokia 6 (2018) Review

Nokia, which was once considered the king of the mobile world, lost its shine. Then, it was revived by a small Finnish company HMD Global in early 2017. This time the Nokia brand chose the world of Android smartphones. The first handset was Nokia 6. It was praised for its build quality and design, but the weak processor and average camera disappointed many. Now after a year, the new Nokia 6 (2018) has come which is in a way an upgrade of last year’s phone. But this time the company has tried to remove the old shortcomings.

Nokia 6 (2018) with Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, cameras with Zeiss optics and a revised design
Now it will challenge smartphones like Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (Review) and Moto G5S Plus (Review). We were quite impressed with this handset at first glance. Now we have come up with its detailed review.

Nokia 6 (2018) design

Last year’s Nokia 6 received rave reviews for its body. So HMD Global has decided to stick to the old strategy. This time too, there has been no compromise on build quality. The Nokia 6 2018 is made from a single block of Series 6000 aluminum and it feels very sturdy in the hands.
During the review, we dropped the phone several times from our hands. But it did not suffer any damage. We also tested Nokia’s durability claims by trying to bend the smartphone. And we failed every time. Like the previous variant, the Nokia 6 (2018) is also leading the race for the strongest smartphone of the year.

Due to the strong build, you will have to compromise on many things. With a thickness of 8.5 mm, this smartphone is not the thinnest option. At the same time, the wide borders on the top and bottom of the display also give the phone a bulky look. Using the phone with one hand for a long time was not comfortable. Because the phone is a bit wide.

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The Nokia 6 (2018) comes in three different two-tone finishes. The accents on the rear camera and the edge of the frame add a touch of design flair.

The power and volume buttons are easy to reach. They are placed on the right edge. The left edge houses the hybrid dual SIM slot. Unfortunately, the user will have to choose between a second SIM card and a microSD card.

The rear camera and dual LED flash are present in a line in the middle of the phone. This is where the Zeiss branding is. The fingerprint sensor is placed below the camera setup. It is a bit slow and sometimes does not respond. It is also not easy to reach it. During the review, we were touching the LED flash instead of the fingerprint sensor many times.

Nokia 6 (2018) Specifications

Last year, the Nokia 6 suffered a lot due to the slightly weak Snapdragon 430 processor. This time HMD Global has decided to provide the more powerful Snapdragon 630 processor which has a maximum clock speed of 2.2 GHz.

There are other hardware upgrades as well. The micro-USB port has been replaced by a USB Type-C port. Nokia has gone Android One. This means guaranteed regular software updates. The Bothie mode and OZO audio from last year’s flagship smartphone Nokia 8 have been made a part of this midrange handset.

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While Xiaomi offers many variants of its smartphones, this time Nokia has not experimented much. Currently, only one variant of Nokia 6 (2018) has been launched. It is equipped with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. If needed, it will be possible to use microSD card as well. By the way, a new variant of this phone will also be launched in the coming time.

This time the company has decided to provide Zeiss optics in the mid-range smartphone. Talking about the camera setup, Nokia 6 (2018) has a 16-megapixel rear camera with Zeiss optics which comes with dual-tone LED flash and F/2.0 aperture. At the same time, an 8-megapixel sensor with fixed focus has been provided on the front panel. It is equipped with F/2.0 aperture.

There is no change in the battery capacity. However, the 3000mAh battery now supports fast charging. Connectivity features include 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, FM radio, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Nokia 6 (2018) performance, cameras and battery life

Nokia 6 is a sleek and beautiful looking smartphone, but its power didn’t match the looks. But with the arrival of Snapdragon 630 processor, Nokia 6 (2018) is something else altogether. During our review, we found that the phone performed every task with ease.

Nokia 6 (2018) did not face much difficulty even when playing powerful games. Powerful games like Asphalt 8 also run on the phone without any problem. The good thing is that Nokia 6 (2018) does not heat up too much even when playing powerful games or recording full-HD videos. We have done benchmark testing of Nokia 6 (2018) and it got respectable scores.

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The colours on the 5.5-inch LCD screen look punchy and the brightness is also high. However, the viewing angles could have been better.

In our experience, the call quality was also good. 4G connectivity was strong even in areas with weak network. We were disappointed to see only one speaker at the bottom. Last year’s Nokia 6 had stereo speakers. The sound quality is average and sometimes the speakers get under the palms while using the phone in landscape mode. The earphones provided with the bundle are of very average quality.

Last year, HMD Global tried to give its phone a different identity by providing stock Android in the smartphone. Now the company has joined Google’s Android One program. Because of this, there are no unwanted apps in Nokia 6 (2018). You will get a feature called Glance Screen which shows notifications of missed calls, alarms and emails or messages on the lock screen. HMD Global has promised that Nokia 6 will get the update of Android P this year and Android Q next year.

Nokia 6 (2018) comes with built-in face recognition. Face unlock works fine in adequate lighting. But it struggles in low light and sunlight.

In our HD video loop test, the Nokia 6 (2018) battery lasted for 11 hours and 45 minutes. This is commendable. In daily use, the battery lasted for more than a day. In our test, the Nokia 6 (2018) phone’s battery gets charged 40 percent in 30 minutes.

Cameras

The camera performance of Nokia 6 (2018) is like ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. Despite having Zeiss optics, the performance in low light has not improved. In low light, the pictures taken with the 16-megapixel rear camera have noise and the lack of detail is also clearly visible. Autofocus also becomes weak in adverse lighting conditions.

The camera performs well in adequate light. Most of the times it manages to get the right exposure and captures detailed images. Even indoors, images were crisp and detailed when there was adequate light. The dual-LED flash helps in capturing images. Colour reproduction is not the strongest aspect of this phone.

The good thing is that there is a powerful professional mode. With this, you will be able to control exposure, ISO, shutter speed, white balance and autofocus. By changing the settings, we were able to get accurate colors. We hope that Nokia will improve the auto mode through software updates.

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The 8-megapixel front camera performs well in adequate lighting. It is much better than the selfie sensor on last year’s Nokia 6. The quality of photos also drops in low light. And there is no front flash.

The Nokia 6 (2018) lets you capture photos or videos simultaneously using the rear and front cameras. The Bothie mode is a useful feature. Unfortunately, the quality of photos taken using both the front and rear cameras in this mode is poor.

Our verdict

The build quality of the Nokia 6 (2018) is excellent. The performance is solid and the battery life is good. The Android One OS comes with guaranteed software updates. The Nokia brand has always been known for making robust phones. The Nokia 6 (2018) is no exception. While it may not be the prettiest looking phone, it is extremely capable.

That doesn’t mean everything is good on the Nokia 6 (2018). You don’t get an 18:9 display, which is the trend these days. The rear camera performance isn’t great in low light and colour reproduction isn’t accurate in auto mode. The biggest challenger to this phone is the Redmi Note 5 Pro which starts at Rs. 14,999 and comes with an 18:9 display and better hardware. The Redmi Note 5 Pro, on the other hand, doesn’t have stock Android and isn’t as robust as the Nokia 6 (2018).

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