As a part of the iconic brand’s efforts to be the best in the affordable smartphone sector, and as a global launch, HMD Global has officially unveiled their latest iteration called the Nokia 8.1. The new smartphone is seen as the successor of the Nokia 7 Plus and not to be confused as the direct successor of the Nokia 8 (2017) that was announced last year due to the company’s new name scheming.
While the screen features an iPhone X-like notch, the display is 6.18-inch in size and the panel used here is the Pure Display IPS screen by Nokia. The resolution of the screen is 1080 x 2246 with an aspect ratio of 18:7:9. The display also supports HDR10 based content for solid life-like colors. It should be noted that the front camera that resides in the notch of the front screen, features a 20MP selfie sensor for clear and crisp image quality. Nokia mentions that the adaptive front camera is capable of capturing great night selfies by capturing and combining four pixels into one super pixel.
The main camera of the Nokia 8.1, consists of a dual-lens configuration. One of the sensors is a 12MP shooter with ZEISS optics, featuring 1.4-micron pixels on the sensor for detailed image quality. The F1.8 aperture clearly helps to take great low-light images and creates blur while shooting close-up images with the help of the secondary 13MP depth sensor. The device also comes loaded with the Pro Camera UI for manual controls of your shooting skills. Users will be able to take advantage of the Bothie functionality with AI-powered 3D personas and creative masks and filters. Additionally and finally, the smartphone’s primary camera comes with Optical Image Stabilization for reduced shakes and blur during video recording and clicking images.
Unlike the previous iterations of the Nokia 8 that was seen as flagship devices, the Nokia 8.1, which is classed as a high-performance budget smartphone, is powered by the Snapdragon 710 processor. The new chip offers 20% better CPU performance and 35% better gaming performance than the previous generation- the Snapdragon 660 processor. And since the smartphone falls under the Android One program, users will be getting the purest of Android experience with the Nokia 8.1 without the presence of any bloatware. The device runs with Android 9.0 Pie out of the box.
The smartphone is said to feature almost two days of battery life, thanks to the massive 3500 mAh battery with 18W of fast charge capability. There is also a microSD card slot, Bluetooth 5.0, and thankfully, a 3.5mm audio jack. The device features a USB Type-C port. The smartphone houses a beautifully designed aluminum frame that’s based on the 6000-series aluminum, with diamond-cut edges.
The Nokia 8.1 is currently available for preorders through Jumbo Electronics, Axiom Telecom, Sharaf DG and Souq.com. The new smartphone will be sold in Blue/Silver, Steel/Copper, and Iron/Steel colors. The Nokia 8.1 is officially priced at AED 1499 in the UAE.
