The Pure Android Battle: Motorola Moto One Power or Nokia 6.1 Plus

We compare the latest phones from Nokia and Motorola that run on stock Android.

Nokia and Motorola devices are fighting it out in 2018.

(Photo: The Quint)

Nokia and Motorola battling out in the mid-range smartphone market. No, we’re not kidding, these two legendary brands are back in India and they are going up against each other with pretty decent set of devices that cost under 20K.

The Moto One Power and the Nokia 6.1 Plus are the latest contenders, carrying the Android One flag, relying on stock Android and quality hardware to hit it off with buyers. But in an era where you have so many brands like Xiaomi, Asus and Honor among others, can these long-lost giants rekindle their past dominance and prove us their worth?

We pit these two devices to find out if that’s going to be possible.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Design

The Nokia 6.1 Plus carries everything that we’ve come to expect from HMD Global. The design and construction of the phone betrays its price tag, and we’ve got no complaints whatsoever in this department from this device. It’s got a notch on the front, at the top of the display, housing the front camera.

The phone is 8.5mm thick and weighs just 151 grams, making it easier to carry and use with a single hand. It gets glass and metal body treatment, which looks elegant and premium. However, the glossy nature ensures it can catch fingerprint smudges with ease, much to our irritation.

Nokia 6.1 Plus gets a 5.8-inch screen with FHD+ resolution. (Photo: The Quint)

The One Power gains a big lead in the display department with a bezel-less design. Not a big fan of the notch. But if it sells, why not make more seems to be the mantra of phone makers these days.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus packs an octa-core Snapdragon 636 processor.(Photo: The Quint)

Unlike what we’ve seen from Motorola recently, the Moto One Power is a breath of fresh air, with a heavy chunk of metal housing the back of the device. The notch is thicker than what you get on the Nokia 6.1 Plus, and the bigger battery makes the Moto One Power bulkier for sure.

Display

The Nokia 6.1 Plus gets a 5.8-inch screen with a resolution of 2280x1080 pixels. It gets Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection according to HMD Global with a screen-to-body ratio of 93 percent mooted. We found that the display projects sharp colours, and is high on brightness with decent outdoor visibility.

Nokia 6.1 Plus gets a 5.8-inch form size, with over 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. (Photo: The Quint)

The 19:9 ratio screen ensures that content streamed via YouTube can be viewed on the screen, covered from all corners. Same is the case with the Moto One Power as well, just like almost every other phone selling in the market right now.

With the Moto One Power, you get a 6.2-inch FHD+ display that comes with a notch on the top. It pushes out more pixels than its competitors and comes in very handy while watching videos. Very little to separate between these two in terms of the screen quality, especially when they are selling at the same price.

Hardware and Software

It packs an octa-core Snapdragon 636 processor, with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, which is further expandable. There’s a single speaker unit at the bottom, 3.5mm audio jack has been retained and you get basic connectivity features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB Type C for charging and data transfers. Owing to its size and dimensions, the Nokia 6.1 Plus comes loaded with a 3060mAh battery, much smaller than its rival devices.

Nokia 6.1 Plus was first launched as the Nokia X6. (Photo: The Quint)

Motorola is selling the Moto One Power with Snapdragon 636 processor, and you can only buy the 4GB/64GB variant in India. But the standout feature of the Moto One Power is the 5000mAh battery loaded inside (resulting in the heaviness of the phone)/ Add to that, the phone supports a 15-watt fast charging feature.

Both Nokia and Motorola are offering their devices with stock Android 8.1 Oreo for now, with Pie update expected to hit the variant before end of this year. This version of Android is reliable, tried-and-tested and gets the best performance out of the hardware in tow. No complaints whatsoever.

Camera

The Nokia 6.1 Plus gets dual rear cameras with 16 and 5 megapixel sensors but we’re talking about apertures of f/2.0 and f/2.4 on each of them respectively. The contrast in quality with the competition becomes evident, and hopefully HMD Global can enhance it with future updates.

Motorola has made some improvements in the camera department with the One Power. It comes with a dual 16-megapixel and 5-megapixel rear camera setup while on the front is sports a 12-megapixel sensor.

Nokia 6.1 Plus is an interesting addition to the sub Rs 20,000 segment.(Photo: The Quint)

It’s disheartening that the One Power doesn’t offer any sort of video stabilisation, which is a big deal breaker for people who prefer using a phone to make video content. This is likely to be a measure to keep the cost of the device at an affordable level.

Which One Worth It?

Nokia or Motorola, which one should you be spending hard-earned money on? For those in the market for a reliable, compact and all-rounder kind of a phone, the Nokia 6.1 Plus will get the job done. It’ll give you decent performance, without going overboard in any aspect.

But if you need that extra cushion of longer battery life and a better snapper on board then the Moto One Power with its 5000mAh battery that support fast charging is definitely worth the shot.