Since then, Nokia 3 (Review) and Nokia 5 have been introduced in India and now Nokia 6 is also here. This phone was introduced in India in June and Amazon India But on Wednesday this phone will be made available in the sale for the first time.
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Nokia 6 is said to be in huge demand in India already, and Amazon India claims that there have been over one million registrations for the first sale. Talking about the three Android smartphones of Nokia brand, it is believed that Nokia has made a comeback especially with Nokia 6 device. The phone has the same design as the Finnish brand, and will have a stock Android experience with the promise of quick updates.
This phone has the best specifications among the three variants available in India. But, aging of the phone is a problem. The Nokia 6 is a mid-range smartphone that was first launched seven months ago and has outdated specifications by today’s standards. If we look at the price, the phone may face competition from existing competitors.
Is this a successful comeback for a popular brand or is it just a matter of big talk? Find out in our detailed review of Nokia 6.
nokia 6 design
Similar to the design of Nokia 3, Nokia 6 comes in a colorful retail box that will remind you of the old Nokia days. The phone feels sturdy when held in the hand and the company says that the phone is made from a single piece of 6000 series aluminium.
This makes the phone stronger and the occasional fall will not cause any harm to the phone. During our review, the Nokia 6 was accidentally dropped a few times but it did not suffer any damage. The metallic rear means the phone is prone to slipping and we recommend using the Nokia 6 with a rear cover.
The Nokia 6 is not the thinnest phone at 7.85 millimeters thick, but the weight of 169 grams is decent for a phone with a 5.5-inch screen. We feel that it was not convenient to use the Pho with one hand for a long time as this phone is a bit wide and due to the absence of curved edges, the phone starts to prick after some time. When it comes to good grip, we recommend phones with rounded edges. Corning Gorilla Glass is provided on the front, but this protection will not be available on the edges.
The phone has power and volume buttons on the right side which can be used easily. Antenna bands are provided at the top and bottom on the rear of the phone. Nokia 6 has a 3.5 mm audio jack at the top, while Nokia 6 has a charging port and dual speakers at the bottom.
Hybrid dual-SIM can use two Nano SIMs in the tray but the user will have to choose between a second SIM or a microSD card. The fingerprint scanner given on the front works only by touch and there is no need to press it. It also works as a home button. Compared to other phones in the same price range, the fingerprint scanner on the Nokia 6 isn’t very fast at unlocking the device but it’s good for everyday use.
The primary camera of the phone is oval, which will remind you of Nokia’s Lumia days. The single rear sensor comes with a dual-tone flash. The camera is slightly protruding and this is another reason why you will need a rear cover. Like other Nokia devices, there is a brand logo on the front and back.
The 5.5-inch screen is bright and colors are exceptionally crisp. We did not face any problem in viewing angle or using the phone in sunlight. But there is no LED indicator for notifications in the phone, regarding which the company claims that this decision has been taken after research on the market.
Overall, Nokia 6 will not disappoint you in terms of design. And the phone competes with all other phones in terms of looks. You will like the build quality of the phone for everyday use.
In the retail box, you will get a power adapter, a charging cable, an earphone, standard instruction manual, a SIM ejector tool and the phone itself.
nokia 6 specifications and software
The Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch Full HD 403 ppi IPS LCD screen. This phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor and 3 GB RAM. The use of Snapdragon 430 processor is common in low-cost phones. These include Lenovo K6 Note (Review), Lenovo K6 Power (Review), Vivo Y55L, Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime (Review), Panasonic Eluga Ray Max and Motorola Moto G5.
Nokia 6 has 32 GB storage and support for microSD card up to 128 GB. The phone has a 3000 mAh battery. Talking about the camera, this phone has a 16 megapixel rear camera and 8 megapixel front camera. Both phones come with aperture F/2.0. This phone has a micro-USB port which will come with charging and data transfer. Apart from this, there are also stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos audio enhancement. The phone also has 4G VoLTE support. For connectivity, there are also features like USB-OTG, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1.
HMD Global had promised that all Nokia brand phones will come with stock Android. This will make it easier to roll out Android updates to the phone. The Nokia 6 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, and our unit received the over-the-air security update in August. HMD has also promised to get Android O update for Nokia 6 as well as other phones in this series.
With Android Nougat, the Nokia 6 has almost all the same features as the Google Pixel devices. Among all the features of Nokia 6, we liked the most that various actions can be performed by long pressing on the icon. With the help of Android 7.1.1, there are six quick toggles in the notification shade, earlier version had five toggles.
The camera app can be launched quickly by pressing the power button twice. The Nokia 6 comes with very few third-party apps, including Amazon apps, perhaps due to the phone being exclusively available on Amazon India. The phone has all Google apps like Photos as a default gallery app. We got the same experience from Nokia 6 as Moto G5 Plus (Review), Moto G5 Plus also comes in the same price.
nokia 6 camera performance
The 16-megapixel primary camera in Nokia 6 locks focus quickly and takes pictures with good detail in adequate light. Phase detection autofocus helps, but at times we noticed that even with the focus locked, it took time for images to be captured and saved. We felt that the colors in the pictures were muted, which may not be liked by many people. During our experience, the HDR mode didn’t help much either. Apart from this, noticeable distortion was also seen around the edges in macro and close-up shots.
The camera takes decent pictures at night but only if the lighting is good. If there is not good lighting, the pictures come out almost black. Autofocus also doesn’t work well in low light. We needed to tap the screen to focus manually and it took more than one attempt to get the right shot. Talking about night photography, detailing was lacking and it is clear that Nokia 6 lags behind in comparison to other phones in this price range.
The camera app is vanilla which means you won’t get a lot of options unless you download a third-party app. If the lighting is good then the 8 megapixel front camera produces good selfies. Selfie quality is fine for uploading on social media.
nokia 6 performance
The Snapdragon 430 processor given in the phone is being given in smartphones priced lower than Nokia 6. The phone is not useless but it is not the worst in its category either. We did not face any problem in using and loading apps on the phone and the touch response was also fine. 3 GB RAM will be fine for most people.
The performance while playing games on the phone is good and Nokia 6 did not face any problem even while playing games like Asphalt Nitro. But the phone sometimes gets hot while playing games, using the camera and during GPS navigation which is inconvenient. The good thing is that after closing the app the phone cools down immediately.
We enjoyed watching videos with the 5.5-inch screen. The quality is good, but we felt that other phones in this price range, like the Moto G5 Plus, had a better screen.
In our standard benchmark tests, the Nokia 6 performed better than other phones with Snapdragon 430 processor.
The dual speakers provided in the phone produce loud and clear sound. Dolly Atmos is sound enhancement and the difference is clearly visible when you turn it on and off. We can say that the speakers are the loudest among other phones in this price range. But, the quality of the earphones that come with the phone is average and don’t expect much from it. We recommend that you use your own earphones with the Nokia 6.
When it comes to cellular networks, the Nokia 6 will impress. The sound while calling from the phone is clear and we were able to make VoLTE calls even while using Jio SIM. Nokia 6 does not currently offer direct 4G video calls.
nokia 6 battery life
Nokia 6 has a non-removable battery of 3000 mAh and the company claims that it will last for a day. During our use, this claim did not prove false during everyday use. The phone lasted for 15-16 hours even with apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, Google Maps, Google Photos and WhatsApp open in the background. Apart from this, in our standard HD video loop test, the phone’s battery lasted for 11 hours and 30 minutes, which is not bad.
But, the lack of fast charging support in Nokia 6 is disappointing. We found that the Nokia 6 took more than two hours to charge, which is typically seen on phones with larger batteries.
our decision
After six months of wait, Nokia 6 has finally been launched in the Indian market. The phone is good for everyday use. Its brand, design and build quality are its most important features. Stock Android is a nice feature and the confirmation of Android O update is also good news. Music lovers will love the high-quality speakers. However, the phone also has some shortcomings like average camera, battery life and heating.
Nokia 6 will be available exclusively on Amazon India from Wednesday. The price of the phone is Rs 14,999. And overall, it seems more. Many other smartphones with hardware like Nokia 6 are available in the market at lower prices. Moto G5 Plus (Review) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Review) also fall in the same budget and have better specifications. But if you like a bigger screen and don’t mind using a custom UI, then Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is also an option.