Up until now, HMD Global's budget device lineup hasn't been impressive so far. The company has consistently failed to match competitors on the basis of its phones' specifications, pricing, and their value proposition. The Nokia 2.1, Nokia 3.1, Nokia 5.1, and the Nokia 6.1 were all guilty of this. The budget Nokia phones did have a significant plus point of pure Android One software, but in terms of hardware, HMD Global was clearly falling behind, and there was a need for something better.
In May, the company launched the Nokia X6 in China, which was followed by the Nokia X5 in July. Then, it announced that the global versions of these phones would be named the Nokia 6.1 Plus and the Nokia 5.1 Plus respectively. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has now been officially launched in India, alongside the Nokia 5.1 Plus. The specifications of both phones are listed in the table below:
Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus - Specifications at a glance
|
Specifications |
Nokia 6.1 Plus |
Nokia 5.1 Plus |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dimensions |
147.2 x 70.98 x 7.99mm, 151g |
149.5 x 72 x 8.1 mm, 160g |
|
|
Software |
Stock Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One) |
Stock Android 8.1 Oreo (Android One) |
|
|
SoC |
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (4x 1.8GHz Kryo 260 Performance cores + 4x 1.8GHz Kro 260 Efficiency cores); Adreno 509 GPU |
Octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 MT6771 (4x 1.8GHz Arm Cortex-A73 cores + 4x 1.8GHz Arm Cortex-A53 cores); Mali-G73MP2 GPU |
|
|
RAM and storage |
4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage; microSD card slot |
3GB of RAM with 32GB of storage; microSD card slot |
|
|
Battery |
3,060mAh |
3,060mAh |
|
|
Display |
5.8-inch Full HD (2280x1080) IPS LCD with 19:9 aspect ratio, Gorilla Glass 3 |
5.86-inch HD+ (1520x720) IPS LCD with 19:9 aspect ratio |
|
|
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 |
Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2 |
|
|
Ports |
USB Type-C port (USB 2.0), dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack |
USB Type-C port (USB 2.0), dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack |
|
|
Rear camera |
16MP primary camera with 1.0um pixels, f/2.0 aperture5MP depth sensing camera with 1.12um pixels, f/2.4 aperture |
13MP primary camera with 1.1um pixels, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF)5MP depth sensing camera with f/2.4 aperture |
|
|
Front-facing camera |
16MP with 1.0um pixels, f/2.0 aperture |
8MP with f/2.2 aperture, 80-degree field-of-view |
The Nokia 6.1 Plus is placed above the Nokia 5.1 Plus in HMD Global's phone lineup. The phones have many differences in specifications ranging from display resolution (Full HD+ vs. HD+), SoC (Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 vs. MediaTek Helio P60), RAM and storage, rear cameras, to the front camera. The battery capacity is the same for both phones at 3,060mAh.
Both phones are major upgrades over the Nokia 6.1 and the Nokia 5.1 respectively. This is because they are the first Nokia budget/lower mid-range phones to use newer SoCs such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 and the MediaTek Helio P60. For example, the Snapdragon 636 in the Nokia 6.1 Plus is significantly faster (>40%) than the Snapdragon 630 in the Nokia 6.1.
In terms of software, both phones are powered by the Android One platform. Currently, they run Android 8.1 Oreo, and HMD Global states that they are "ready" for the Android Pie update.
Pricing and availability
The Nokia 6.1 Plus and the Nokia 5.1 Plus will be available in Gloss Black, Gloss White, and Gloss Midnight Blue colors. Both phones will be available exclusively online via the Nokia Shop and Flipkart. The Nokia 6.1 Plus will go on sale from August 30 in India for ₹15,999 ($229), and users can pre-book the phone on the Nokia Shop from today.
HMD Global states that the price for the Nokia 5.1 Plus will be announced closer to the sales start date, which will be sometime in September.
In terms of launch offers, Airtel customers will receive ₹1,800 instant cashback and "240B data over 12 months" on the plans of ₹199, ₹249, ₹448.