The
Nokia 6 was the first Nokia-branded Android smartphone unveiled by HMD
Global, the new owners of the iconic Nokia brand, earlier this year. It
was initially unveiled in China, and was exclusive there for a few
months before being made available in other markets. For HMD Global, the
Nokia 6 launch was its first step into the Android smartphone space.
The
Nokia 6 is said to be in high demand in India already, as Amazon India
claims that it received over one million registrations
for the first sale. Of all three Nokia-branded Android smartphones,
this is the one that is truly considered Nokia's comeback device. It
offers some familiar design cues associated with the Finnish brand, and
now we also get stock Android with the promise of quick updates.
However, its age is a problem. The Nokia 6 is essentially a mid-range smartphone,
one that was originally launched seven months ago and its
specifications are behind today's standards. It might have a tough time
keeping up with the current competition at its price point.
Is this really a comeback for the the Nokia brand, or is it just media buzz? Let's find out in our in-depth review of the Device
Nokia 6 design
Much
like the Nokia 3, the Nokia 6 ships in a playful retail box designed to
remind you of the old Nokia days. The phone feels solid when you hold
it in your hands, and the company says it has been milled from a single
piece of 6000 series aluminium.
This gives the phone sturdiness
which could help it survive minor drops. During our review, we
accidentally dropped the Nokia 6 a couple of times and it suffered no
damage whatsoever. The metallic back means that the phone is slippery
and we would recommend using a back cover with the Nokia 6.
This Nokia 6 review also exposes us to a
7.85mm, the Nokia 6 isn't the slimmest out there, but its 169g weight is
reasonable for a phone with a 5.5-inch screen. We felt using the phone
with only one hand can be a little stressful over time as this phone is
a little too wide, and the chamfered edges can be uncomfortable. We
prefer phones with rounded edges when it comes to the grip. There's
Corning Gorilla Glass on the front, but it doesn't extend right to the
edges and corners.
The
power and volume buttons are on the right and feel decent enough.
Antenna bands can be seen running across the top and bottom of the
phone's back and cutting through the frame, but they are quite discreet.
There's a 3.5mm audio jack at the top, while the charging port and dual
speakers are on the bottom of the Nokia 6.
The hybrid dual-SIM
tray can fit two Nano-SIM but you have to choose between using a second
SIM and a microSD card. The fingerprint scanner at the front is
touch-sensitive and doesn't need to be pressed. It also doubles up as a
home button. Compared to other phones in the same price range, the Nokia
6's fingerprint scanner doesn't unlock the device as fast but is good
enough for everyday use.
The primary camera is placed in an oval
Chrome housing that is reminiscent of Nokia's Lumia days.
The single
sensor is accompanied by a dual-tone flash. The camera
projects slightly, which is another reason to consider using a back cover. As
seen on other Nokia devices, there's one brand logo in the front and
another at the back.
The 5.5-inch screen has decent brightness,
and colours are crisp as well. We had no issues with viewing angles or
sunlight legibility. Unfortunately, there's no LED indicator for
notifications, which the company has claimed was a conscious decision due to market research.
Overall,
the Nokia 6 shouldn't disappoint anyone in terms of design, as it
stands out from the competition which all tend to look the same.
Its build quality will give you confidence in everyday use.
In the
retail box, you will find a power adaptor, a charging c
able, earphones,
the standard documentation, a SIM ejector tool, and, of course, the
phone itself.
Nokia 6 specifications and software
The
Nokia 6 review reveal features a 5.5-inch full-HD 403ppi IPS LCD screen. It is
powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor coupled with 3GB RAM
The Snapdragon 430 SoC is common in phones at lower prices
The
Nokia 6 packs 32GB of storage and supports microSD cards of up to
128GB. It also has a 3000mAh battery. On the camera front, there's a
16-megapixel rear camera while the front camera's resolution is 8
megapixels, and both have f/2.0 apertures. There's a Micro-USB port for
charging and data transfers, and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos audio
enhancement. There's 4G with VoLTE as well. Other connectivity options
include USB-OTG, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.1.
HMD Global
promised
that it will ship stock Android on all Nokia-branded phones. This should
make it relatively easy to roll out Android updates. The Nokia 6 runs
on Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, and our review unit received the
August security update over-the-air, in line with the company's promise
of timely updates. HMD has also promised an Android O update for the
Nokia 6 as well as the other phones in this series.
With
Android Nougat, the Nokia 6 gets almost all the features one can find
on Google's Pixel devices. One of our favorite features on the Nokia 6
is that you can perform actions with supported apps by simply
long-pressing their icons. Android 7.1.1 also lets you have six quick
toggles in the notifications shade as opposed to five in earlier
versions.
You can quickly launch the camera app by pressing the
power button twice. The Nokia 6 comes with has very few third-party apps
such as the Amazon app, which is there in part because this phone is
exclusive to Amazon India. There are all the usual Google apps including
Photos, which is the default Gallery app.
