Generous in features, small in price
The Nokia 7 Plus is made to stand out, writes Balqis Lim
THERE are many smartphones in the market today, from budgetfriendly low-end devices to flagship ones. If you want something affordable, but with lots of high-end features, the Nokia 7 Plus is a good choice.
From its design and features to performance and price, HMD Global, the company that manufactures Nokia phones, has done a good job with the 7 Plus.
DESIGN AND BUILD
The Nokia 7 Plus is a mid-ranger, and this is evident by its specifications, but one can never tell from its design.
The phone looks premium and has a stylish bronze outline all around its sides, even at the camera.
On the black unit I was given for review the bronze lining looks even better, adding a subtle yet classy look to the phone while also making it appear sleeker.
Not only does it look great, the phone also feels great in the hand. Although it was a bit long for my liking, I was still able to hold it comfortably using one hand.
Its unique ceramic-feel coating, achieved through a six-layer paint system, ensures improved call quality and signal as well as better grip.
If you love gaming and viewing multimedia content, you’ll love the phone’s 6-inch Full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio, but in the same width as traditional 5.5-inch display devices.
The colours are vibrant, visibility is on point, and the display is sharp enough. Watching movies on the phone does makes for an immersive experience.
The power and volume buttons are located on the right side while the SIM card tray and microSD card are located on the left.
Above the display is a 16MP front camera, and the main camera setup is located at the top in the back. With a combination of 12MP + 13MP lens, a highly sensitive ZEISS optics and Pro Camera mode, the Nokia 7 Plus captures images that are true to life.
The 3.5mm headphone socket is located on the top while at the bottom, there’s a single speaker, USB Type-C port and microphone. There’s also a fingerprint scanner below the camera setup at the back of the phone.
PERFORMANCE
Joining the Android One family, the Nokia 7 Plus offers a pure, secure and up-todate Android experience.
Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Mobile Platform, the phone runs on Android 8.0 Oreo. All this is juiced up by a large 3,800mAh battery with fast charging.
Even by the end of the day, the battery still had 20 per cent of power left.
In addition, the phone is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage — expandable using microSD card of up to 256GB.
It’s been optimised and integrated for maximum performance and battery life, for a higher quality software experience.
And because it runs pure Android, the Nokia 7 Plus comes with no unnecessary user interface changes or hidden processes that would eat up battery life or slow it down so you can enjoy the phone for longer.
As with all Nokia smartphones in the Android One programme, the phone comes with a limited number of preinstalled apps so that you’ll get more storage space.
I had no issues in terms of multi-tasking and switching between running apps, but at times the phone does gets overheated when used during the day, especially when taking pictures continuously.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Equipped with dual rear sensors ZEISS optics, the Nokia 7 Plus combines an ultra-sensitive wide-angle primary camera for impressive performance in both low-light and extra bright conditions.
The secondary sensor has a 2x optical zoom for a close-up view of things.
Besides that, the Nokia 7 Plus also has a Pro Camera mode which allows professional users quick and easy manual control over settings such as white balance, ISO, shutter speed and exposure.
What I like about this feature is that it lets you see the outcome of your adjustments in real time before you snap the picture.
As for the image quality, the Nokia 7 Plus is an amazing phone for photography, better than other mid-range devices.
Photos taken in good light are detailed, compared to taken during low-light conditions. Overall, night photography is pleasing enough and better than expected.
For selfies, Nokia has also introduced an artificial intelligence led imaging features with more filters added.
A “bothie” camera is still available on this phone. This feature lets the phone capture photos from the front and rear cameras at the same time and combines them into a single image.
CONCLUSION
Not every phone is perfect and for the Nokia 7 Plus, not having a dual speaker setup was a bit of a let-down.
I would also like it more if it is waterresistant. Though this phone is on the lower range device, it is nice to have that extra security.
But what I like most is the sleek design and long-lasting battery power. I think the Nokia 7 Plus offers what everyone at least expects and a bit extra, that is, the aboveaverage camera and good battery life. The phone is priced at RM1,600.