INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nokia, the bruised and battered stalwart which had almost faded into obscurity, was brought back into the public consciousness last year
thanks to a small Finish company called HMD Global
The Nokia 6 was HMD Global's first foray into the Android smartphone world
Lauded for its build quality and design, the smartphone was let down by its underpowered processor and underwhelming cameras
Now, one year later, we have the new Nokia 6 (2018), which is more or less an iterative update, and improves upon its predecessor in these
key areas.With a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor under the hood, an improved camera with Zeiss optics, and a tweaked design, the Nokia 6
(2018) aims to compete with the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (Review) and the Moto G5S Plus (Review)
Our first impressions of the smartphone were quite positive, and now we've been able to spend enough time with it to bring you our full
review. Nokia 6 (2018) designLast year's Nokia 6 was lauded for its tank-like build quality and industrial design
HMD Global has stated that its biggest priority while designing the new Nokia 6 was maintaining the build quality of its predecessor
True to its word, the Nokia 6 (2018), which has been milled from a single block of 6000 series aluminium, feels incredibly solid in the
hand.During our review, we dropped the phone many times and it did not incur any damage whatsoever
In fact, to kick things up a notch and really test Nokia's durability claims, we tried to bend the smartphone
All our attempts came to naught
Just like its predecessor, the Nokia 6 (2018) is surely a contender for the most durable smartphone of the year.The solid construction comes
with its own set of caveats though
At 8.5mm, the smartphone is not the slimmest out there and it feels quite bulky in the hand
The thick borders above and below the screen do not help matters in the slightest
We felt that single-handed use over long periods was not very comfortable as the phone is a bit too wide. The Nokia 6 (2018) is available
in three different two-tone finishes
The accents around the rear camera and the frame add some much-needed flair to what is otherwise an understated industrial design.The power
and volume buttons on the right edge are ergonomically placed
The left edge of the smartphone is blank save for the hybrid dual-SIM tray, which makes you choose between a second SIM and a microSD
card.The rear camera and dual-LED flash are placed in an oval housing which has ZEISS emblazoned in bold letters
The fingerprint sensor, which is found right below the camera housing, is a letdown on all fronts
Not only is is it slow and inaccurate at times, but the location is quite unergonomic
We found our fingers hitting the LED flash rather than the sensor on more than one occasion.Nokia 6 (2018) specificationsLast year's Nokia 6
was hampered by its underpowered Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor
This time around, HMD Global has equipped the Nokia 6 (2018) with a much more powerful Snapdragon 630 clocked at 2.2GHz.There are other
substantial updates as well
The outdated Micro-USB port has been replaced with a USB Type-C port, and Nokia is now committed to Android One, which hopefully means even
more frequent software updates
HMD Global has also brought over two features seen in last year's flagship Nokia 8 to the mid-range smartphone: Bothie mode and OZO
audio. While Xiaomi has a penchant for offering several variants of its smartphones, Nokia has decided to keep it nice and simple with the
At the moment, the smartphone is only offered in one variant, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which can be expanded using a
microSD card, though that is expected to change in the near future.HMD Global announced a renewed collaboration with imaging brand Carl
Zeiss last year, the fruits of which were seen in the Nokia 8
The company has now brought Zeiss optics to its mid-range offerings as well
On the imaging front, the Nokia 6 (2018) has a single 16-megapixel rear camera with ZEISS optics, a dual-tone LED flash, an f/2.0 aperture,
On the front, the smartphone has an 8-megapixel fixed focus camera with 1.12-micron pixels and an f/2.0 aperture.While the battery capacity
is unchanged at 3,000mAh, the new Nokia 6 features fast charging
Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, FM radio, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C (USB 2.0), and a 3.5mm headphone
jack.Nokia 6 (2018) performance, software, and battery lifeThe original Nokia 6 was a sleek and well-built smartphone that did not have the
With the Snapdragon 630 under its hood, the Nokia 6 (2018) is a different beast altogether
During our review period, it tackled both day-to-day tasks and intensive workloads with ease.Even the heaviest games did not exhibit any
dropped frames or stutters, which was common in last year's Nokia 6
We were also pleased to report that this smartphone did not get warm even when playing resource-intensive games, navigating around town with
the GPS, or recording videos in full-HD.We put the Nokia 6 through our tests where it managed a respectable 88,8869 in AnTuTu, 18fps in
GFXbench T-Rex, 10fps in GFX Bench Manhattan 3.1, and 879 and 4,931 in Geekbench's single- and multi-core tests respectively. The 5.5-inch
LCD screen is a step up from the one on last year's model, with punchier colours and higher brightness
However, the viewing angles could have been better.In our experience, calls were clear and crisp
4G connectivity was good even in areas known to have spotty network reception
While the single loudspeaker located next to the USB Type-C port delivers loud and clear audio, it is a step down from the stereo speakers
The bundled earphones are strictly average as well, which is not uncommon at this price point.Last year, HMD Global chose to differentiate
its smartphones with near-stock Android
Now, the company has taken things to the next level by embracing Google's Android One programme
As a result, the Nokia 6 (2018) has no third-party bloat whatsoever
There are a few non-intrusive value additions, such as the 'Glance screen' which shows notifications for missed calls, alarms, and
notifications without waking the phone from sleep, and a couple of motion-triggered gestures
HMD Global has promised updates to Android P as well as Android Q, when they are released.The Nokia 6 (2018) also has face recognition
While face unlock works well when lighting conditions are favourable, it struggles in dimly lit environments and in direct sunlight.In our
HD video loop battery test, the Nokia 6 (2018) lasted 11 hours, 45 minutes, which is quite good
In terms of real-world performance, we never found ourselves reaching for the charger before the wee hours of the night
The phone easily lasted us the whole day with medium to intense use, with juice left over for more
In our tests, the bundled fast charger took the Nokia 6 (2018) from an empty tank to around 40 percent in 30 minutes, which is fairly
impressive.Nokia 6 (2018) camerasThe cameras on the Nokia 6 (2018) are a bit of a mixed bag
Even with the addition of the ZEISS moniker, the 16-megapixel rear camera struggles in low light
Shots taken after dark had a fair bit of noise and lacked detail
The autofocus was also quite inaccurate and we had to manually tap the screen on several occasions.That said, the camera performs admirably
when there is adequate light
During the day, the camera managed to get the exposure right most of the time, and capture a hefty amount of detail
Even shots taken in favourable lighting indoors were crisp and detailed
The dual-LED flash does a decent job of lighting up scenes
Colour reproduction however is not the this phone's strong suit
In auto mode, the white balance was always off-kilter with colours looking slightly pale and mutedThankfully, there's a powerful
professional mode that lets you control the exposure, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, and autofocus
By tweaking the settings slightly, we managed to get accurate colours
We hope Nokia can fix this problem with a software update, as most users will stick to the auto mode which as of now has trouble rendering
colours accurately.Tap to see full-sized Nokia 6 (2018) camera samples The 8-megapixel fixed focus front camera performs well when the
lighting conditions are good, and is actually a cut above the front camera found on last year's Nokia 6
Image quality does take a dive when the light goes down, and there's no front flash to compensate for that.HMD Global has equipped the Nokia
6 (2018) with the ability to take photos/videos with the front and rear cameras at the same time
While this feature has been saddled with a truly unfortunate marketing term,-Bothie - it is actually pretty nifty
You can record your reactions while your dog is chasing its own tail or your kid is doing something endearing
Unfortunately, the quality of both cameras takes a slight dip when using this mode.Nokia 6 (2018) in pictures VerdictThe Nokia 6 (2018) has
terrific build quality, great performance, good battery life, and pure Android with the promise of regular software updates
The Nokia brand name has always been associated with solid phones, and the Nokia 6 (2018) proudly carries that flag forward
It might not be the flashiest smartphone around but is very capable nonetheless.That said, the Nokia 6 (2018) is not a home run by any means
- it does not have an 18:9 display which is fast becoming the norm
The rear camera struggles in low light, and has colour rendition issues in auto mode
Its biggest competitor is the Redmi Note 5 Pro (Review), which is priced starting at Rs 14,999, offers an 18:9 display, and has better
What the Redmi Note 5 Pro lacks though is stock Android and the same level of ruggedness as the Nokia 6 (2018).
