Why the Nokia 6, 7 Plus and 8 Sirocco work for India
More than a year after it announced its first range of Android phones, Finnish smartphone maker Nokia, on April 4, 2018, upped the ante by announcing three new devices for the Indian market. At an event in New Delhi, the HMD Global-led company showed off the Nokia 6 (2018), Nokia 7 Plus and its new flagship device, the Nokia 8 Sirocco.
While the latter is a well-rounded phone, one crafted to impress at the first sight, it is arguably the first two – and also the recently announced Android Go warrior Nokia 1 – that the company appears to be banking on to drive up sales and stand out among competitors in what could be a crucial business year.
All the three smartphones come with pure Android builds and are part of Google's Android One programme, thus ensuring they receive timely and direct updates straight from Google.
As Pranav Shroff, the director, global portfolio strategy, and planning at HMD Global explained in an interview to DailyO, the current line-up is an attempt by Nokia to cover all bases "and bring devices at every price point" to the market. But more than that, the line-up also appears to be an attempt by HMD Global to use 2017's success as a launchpad to go bigger this year and in the process bring Nokia back to what many believe is its rightful place in the smartphone industry.
But will 2018's range of Nokia smartphones be able to do that? Well, that's something only time will tell.
For now, let's take a look at the devices announced today, and see what they bring to the table.
Nokia 6
First up is the most affordable of the three smartphones announced today, the 2018 refresh of the Nokia 6. There's no denying that it is arguably the least exciting of the three phones announced, but at Rs 16,999, it will give a good fight to the competition in the segment.
The phone is adorned by a 5.5 inch Full HD LCD display with 16:9 aspect ratio on the front, while the rest of phone has been crafted out of a block of aluminium and has thin chamfered edges. The two-tone colour schemes add a touch of class to the device.
Beneath this sheen, the Indian variant of the device packs a Snapdragon 630 SoC paired with 3GB of RAM and 3GB of internal storage, expandable via a microSD card. In terms of the optics, the Nokia 6 comes with a 16-megapixel rear shooter and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter in the front. Powering the package is a 3000 mAh battery.
Though the hardware may not win the device many laurels, it is the promise of pure Android married to the company's build and design scheme that could see this phone becoming a real hit.
Nokia 7 Plus
Arguably the one phone that Nokia is focusing the most on, the Nokia 7 Plus, is the company's phone for the masses. Much like the 6, the Nokia 7 brings to the table the Finnish smartphone maker's unique design scheme married to powerful hardware and optics that it hopes will set it apart from the competition.
The device is also proof that Nokia is finally giving in to the 18:9 display rage. With a beautiful 6-inch Full HD+ bezel-less screen, the Nokia 7 Plus doesn't feel boxy and old, but a seamless, forward-looking phone that tries to strike a sweet balance between powerful specs and looks without raising the price tag too high.
The device has been machined from a solid block of 6000 series aluminum, and at the back coated with six layers of paint to give it a ceramic premium feel.
HMD Global has also chosen to equip the phone with a really powerful main camera setup, one that it also uses on the more expensive, Nokia 8 Sirocco. So, Nokia 7 sports a dual camera setup – a 12-megapixel sensor paired with a 13-megapixel telephoto sensor. There also a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front.
Under the hood, the device packs a Snapdragon 660 SoC paired with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 265GB using a MicroSD. Powering the phone is a 3800 mAh battery pack that Nokia claims can deliver up to two days of battery life.
The device has been priced at Rs 25,999. It will go up for pre-booking on April 20 and be available for sale on April 30.
Nokia 8 Sirocco
Arguably the trickiest of three is the Nokia 8 Sirocco. It features a 95 per cent glass exterior crafted with the sole intention to impress but, to an extent, is a let-down owing to its price and maybe even the choice of internals that Nokia has chosen to equip it with.
There is no denying that Nokia's new flagship for 2018, despite retaining the generation-old Snapdragon 835 SoC, is a definite upgrade on the model from 2017. It is also Nokia's best Android smartphone to date and comes with a beautiful design that sees curved glass on the front and back melting seamlessly into a steel frame, delicately sandwiched in the middle.
Though the company insists on calling this a special edition phone from the Nokia 8 line-up, in all honesty, it is a completely new phone.
The Sirocco is waterproof, comes with a refreshed design that features a bigger 5.5-inch Quad HD pOLED display that looks absolutely beautiful and a lot more premium than last year's Nokia 8. Adding to the premium feel of the phone is the lack of a physical button on the front and the addition of wireless charging.
Nokia has also bumped up the cameras on the Sirocco and equipped the device with a 12-megapixel +13-megapixel dual camera setup at the rear with 2X optical zoom and the ability to shoot images with depth of field effects.
But that's where the fun ends. Despite being a smartphone which could even give Samsung Galaxy S9 a run for its money, Nokia's decision to cut down on the front camera by 8 Megapixels – the Sirocco has 5 a Megapixel camera at the front – is bewildering, to say the least.
The new phone is also the HMD Global-led Nokia's most expensive phone to date. Unlike the more boxy Nokia 8, which came at an extremely aggressive price, the 8 Sirocco will be sold for Rs 49,999.
The pricing thus puts it extremely close to premium segment phones like the Galaxy S9 and past the reach of buyers looking for a mid-range flagship.
Will the phones work for India?
As Nokia pointed out at the launch, India is one of the three most important markets for the smartphone maker, and the Indian consumer's response to these three phones – plus the Nokia 1 – will directly impact Nokia's revival at the global stage.
And looking at the line-up, it cannot be denied that Nokia has made the much-needed headway.
The 6 and 7 Plus are brilliant phones that could easily become mass market hits because of the sum of their looks, design and price. However, its the flagship, Nokia 8 Sirocco, which, unlike the solid yet aggressively priced Nokia 8, could turn out to be a miss in terms of sales. At just 10 thousand rupees less, it could have become the king of the mid-range flagship segment in the country.
But having said that, with its silky looks, the phone will still find many takers. Unlike last year's offering, this new flagship sees Nokia upping the game in the premium flagship segment.
And that is probably Nokia's endgame with the 8 Sirocco. To be finally back, and trading punches with the big names.