HMD Global has launched its Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco edition smartphones in the Indian market. The phones have been priced starting from Rs 16,999 with the 7 Plus costing Rs 25,999 and the 8 Sirocco getting a price tag of Rs 49,999.
All three phones will be available in the country by end of this month, and after spending some time with these devices, here’s our first impressions.
Nokia 7 Plus is an interesting addition to the HMD Global’s lineup for the Indian market. The phone gets mid-range pricing, but it seems the brand is betting on the quality factor rather than banking on the hardware.
The 7 Plus is also their first 6-inch phone in the market, with dual rear cameras from Zeiss Optics, which didn’t impress us much on the Nokia 8 last year. In terms of the design, the 7 Plus epitomises a Nokia device, with its textured body finish, which gives it a rugged outlook. The size of the phone does get a bit overwhelming while holding on to it, but you’ll get used to that.
It comes with Snapdragon 660 processor, paired with 4GB RAM and offering storage up to 128GB. The 6-inch 18:9 ratio screen produces 2160x1080 full-HD resolution which offers a crisp and bright colour contrast.
We haven’t tried out the cameras yet, so we’ll reserve our judgement for review and comparison stories. At this price point, the Nokia 7 Plus will compete with the Vivo V9 and to some extent the Oppo F7 as well.
Nokia 8 Sirocco – Design for Elite
No, that’s not the tagline for the phone chosen by HMD Global, but our general understanding of the device. The Nokia 8 Sirocco borrows nothing from the Nokia 8 and that’s a good thing. This phone gets a 5.5-inch edge screen with slim bezels on the side, making it compact to use.
The moment I laid my hands on this device, it was hard to ignore its similarities with the Galaxy Note from Samsung. The edge screen has been nicely crafted into the Nokia 8 Sirocco (still not sure about that name), and it’s as slim as anything we’ve seen till date. However, that sleekness comes with sharp edges, which can be discomfiting, at least for a while.
My only grievance with the 8 Sirocco is the hardware that HMD Global feels contend with. They’ve packed this sub 50K phone with Snapdragon 835 and 6GB of RAM in 2018, when you’re getting sub 40K devices with Snapdragon 845 in tow. Again, I am not saying that could make a huge dent to the performance of Nokia 8 Sirocco but the buyer will always have it top of mind.
And then, you’re getting the same 12 and 13-megapixel dual rear camera unit with f/1.7 and f/2.6 aperture respectively, from the 7 Plus on the higher-end Nokia 8 Sirocco.
Stay tuned for our detailed review of both these phones in the coming weeks.
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