Nokia notches up another rabbit – Nokia 7.1 with 5.8” HDR10 display

Nokia 7.1

I can’t keep up with it. The Nokia 7.1 makes 14 models in less than two years. I will make the joke once again about those long Finish nights and lack of things to do!

The Nokia 7.1 appears to be a spectacular performer (GadgetGuy has not reviewed it yet) with a 5.8” FHD, 19:9 notched display and HDR10 and SD to HRD upscaling for viewing movie content.

The camera is not bad either. It is 12MP RGB, dual photodiode (2PD), AF, f1.8, 1.28um pixels and Zeiss optics. It also has a 5MP mono fixed focus, f2.4 and 1.12um pixels for bokeh, extra details and better low light. That is similar to the Huawei implementation.

2PD Autofocus has been around for a while – the Samsung Galaxy S7 was first to use it. Nokia uses a 24MP separated into left and right (stereo vision) to produce a 12MP image. This enables 100% full-pixel focusing (called on-chip phase detection) that is faster and more accurate than Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) that uses about 5% of the pixels.

Other Nokia 7.1 features (Australian website here).

Nokia 7.1 GadgetGuy’s comments
5.84” FHD, 2280 x 1080, 19:9 (with Notch), 432ppi,  IPS with Gorilla Glass 3, 79.9% S-T-B-R HDR10, PureDisplay screen technology, upscale SD to HDR. 1M:1 contrast
Qualcomm 636, 14nm, eight-core 1.8Ghz This is the about mid-way of the 6XX series.
GeekBench Scores 4911/1344 multi/single core. Same as in the Motorola Z3 Paly (GadgetGuy review soon)
Adreno 509 graphics Suitable for most mid-tier games and AR
3/32 or 64GB/microSD up to 400GB (uses second sim slot) Excellent and cheap storage upgrade. 3GB may limit multitasking and games
Camera rear 12 MP RGB 2PD/AF/f1.8/1.28um + 5 MP, mono/FF/f2.4/1.12um, dual flash, Zeiss optics
HDR stills and video and AI assistance Video 4K@30fps Missing: OIS although there is EIS on 1080 video
Camera front 8 MP FF/f2.0, FOV 84° Dual-Sight and Boothies
3D personas, masks and filters Stream real-time to Facebook or YouTube
Wi-Fi AC, dual-band, MU-MIMO Top specified
Bluetooth 5, NFC and rear fingerprint reader Should support aptX high res codec and Google Pay
3060mAh battery with USB-C 2.0 fast charging An 18W (up to 9V/2A) Qualcomm 3.0 charger is standard for 50% in 30 minutes
3.5mm jack, earpiece and single down-firing mono speaker. ANC mics  
49.7 x 71.18 x 9.14mm x 160g including camera bump in Gloss Midnight Blue or Gloss Steel 6000 series aluminium frame and diamond-cut coloured (painted) chamfers. Ceramic back
LTE Cat 6 (300/50Mbps) Bands not stated. Single sim model in Australia.
Android One (Android Pie by the end of the year) Monthly security updates for three years and platform updates for two years
$499 outright at JB Hi-Fi
OR $199 on JB’s $65 monthly plan (uses Telstra)
Replaces the original Nokia 7 and 7 Plus

GadgetGuy’s take – Nokia 7.1 at $499 it is amazing

Just as I was content to say a $799 phone was amazing, the Nokia 7.1 comes along with all the features you expect at $300 less.

We were happy with the Nokia 7 Plus (review here) at $649 but the 7.1 offers more (camera and screen), and a little less (battery capacity), for $499.

Nokia is on a winner with Android One, and it keeps churning out better phones that take advantage of Moore’s Law – faster, cheaper and better.

To quote Tom’s hardware – Shockingly Good!