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Nokia 7.1 vs the competition
HMD Global’s Nokia 7.1 has arrived to tempt us with another compelling affordable smartphone option. It’s been a pretty great year for more affordable markets, so the Nokia 7.1 has some real competition. Does it stand out?
Performance and camera optics are the name of the game here, so let’s stack this new phone up against its rivals — the Pocophone F1, HONOR Play, Moto Z3 Play, and the ASUS Zenfone 5Z.
Kings of performance
Historically, performance has required compromise for lower-cost handsets, but things have changed in the last couple of years. The POCOphone F1 is the most affordable smartphone ever to pack in a flagship-tier Snapdragon 845 processor, which powers the $1000 big players. The HONOR Play also boasts the flagship-tier Kirin 970 from HUAWEI’s premium smartphone range, which offers very similar performance.
Top to bottom, left to right: Nokia 7.1 – POCOphone F1 – Moto Z3 Play – HONOR Play – ASUS Zenfone 5Z
The Nokia 7.1’s Snapdragon 636 doesn’t reach quite that level, but it’s not far behind with a big.LITTLE CPU cluster with powerful Cortex-A73 cores to handle more demanding workloads. The older small octa-core CPU inside the Zenfone 5Z is definitely the slowest of the bunch.
| Nokia 7.1 | Pocophone F1 | HONOR Play | Moto Z3 Play | ASUS Zenfone 5Z | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | Nokia 7.1 5.84-inch 2,280 x 1,080 resolution (FHD+) 19:9 aspect ratio | Pocophone F1 6.18-inch IPS LCD 2,246 x 1,080 resolution (Full HD+) 18:9 aspect ratio | HONOR Play 6.3-inch IPS LCD 2,340 x 1,080 resolution (FHD+) 19.5:9 aspect ratio | Moto Z3 Play 6-inch AMOLED 2,160 x 1,080 resolution (FHD+) 18:9 screen ratio | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 6.2-inch IPS LCD 2,246 x 1,080 resolution (FHD+) 19:9 aspect ratio |
CPU | Nokia 7.1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (4x 1.8GHz A73 + 4x 1.6GHz A53) | Pocophone F1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (4x 2.8GHz A75 + 4x 1.7GHz A55) | HONOR Play HiSilicon Kirin 970 (4 x 2.4GHz A73 + 4 x 1.8GHz A53) | Moto Z3 Play Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 (4x 1.8GHz A73 + 4x 1.6GHz A53) | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Qualcommm Snapdragon 630 (4x 2.2GHz A53 + 4x 1.8GHz A53) |
GPU | Nokia 7.1 Adreno 509 | Pocophone F1 Adreno 630 | HONOR Play Mali-G72 MP12 | Moto Z3 Play Adreno 509 | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Adreno 508 |
RAM | Nokia 7.1 3GB or 4GB LPPDDR4x | Pocophone F1 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4X | HONOR Play 4GB/6GB LPDDR4X | Moto Z3 Play 4GB or 6GB | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 6GB or 8GB |
Memory | Nokia 7.1 32GB or 64GB | Pocophone F1 64GB/128GB/256GB | HONOR Play 64GB | Moto Z3 Play 64GB or 128GB | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 64GB/128GB/256GB |
MicroSD | Nokia 7.1 Yes, up to 400GB | Pocophone F1 Yes | HONOR Play Yes, up to 256GB | Moto Z3 Play Yes, up to 2TB | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Yes, up to 2TB |
Size | Nokia 7.1 149.7 x 71.18 x 7.99mm 160g | Pocophone F1 155.5 x 75.3 x 8.8mm 180g | HONOR Play 157.91 × 74.27 × 7.84mm 176g | Moto Z3 Play 156.5 x 70.5 x 6.75mm 156g | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 153 x 75.7 x 7.9mm 155g |
There’s a more noticeable performance difference in gaming applications. The flagship-class Adreno 630 and Mali-G72 Mp12 in the POCOphone F1 and HONOR Play are notably faster than the Adreno 509 inside the Nokia 7.1. That said, you’ll still be able to enjoy the latest games, just with lower graphics settings and a clunkier frame rate.
The Nokia 7.1 is also slightly behind some of its more powerful competitors.
The Nokia 7.1 is also slightly behind some of its more powerful competitors in the RAM department. Three or 4GB certainly won’t slow you down when flicking through apps, but hiccups may arise when swapping in and out of more demanding scenarios like games. The 6 and 8GB configurations offered by the Zenfone 5Z and POCOphone F1 are more typically what we’d associate with cutting-edge smartphones. Ideally, a 4GB minimum would see the Nokia 7.1 sit more comfortably against its competitors.
Nokia is similarly behind in storage capacity. A 32GB offering is small these days, and most consumers will probably want the 64GB option. Nokia’s maximum capacity is the minimum configuration offered by these rivals, while the POCOphone F1 and Zenfone 5Z supply up to 256GB should you need it. All these models include a microSD card allowing for further expansion.
Overall, the Nokia 7.1 offers comparable performance to other phones around this price point, but it’s clearly cut a few corners in the memory department. Hopefully, the cameras and added extras make up the difference.
Cameras and extras
Nokia has deepened its partnership with ZEISS for this phone, yet the camera specifications appear very similar to other mid-tier smartphones. A reasonable resolution primary camera, paired up with a low-resolution depth sensor is par for the course these days.
Nokia isn’t just using the secondary camera for depth sensing and software bokeh, though that’s an option. The secondary camera is a monochrome sensor, used to improve light sensitivity and detail, like in HUAWEI’s cameras. Powerful software combined with ZEISS lenses could make this a winning combination, but we’ll wait for some hands-on pictures.
The only other really interesting shooting option at this price point is the ASUS Zenfone 5Z. The rear camera configuration offers a wide angle secondary sensor with a 120-degree field of view.
| Nokia 7.1 | Pocophone F1 | HONOR Play | Moto Z3 Play | ASUS Zenfone 5Z | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Camera | Nokia 7.1 Rear: 12MP 2PD/AF/F1.8/1.28um Secondary: 5MP BW/FF/F2.4/1.12um Front: 8MP FF/F2.0/FOV 84° ZEISS Optics | Pocophone F1 Rear: Main: 12MP f/1.9, 1.4um pixels Secondary: 5MP Front: 20MP f/2.0, 1.8 micron | HONOR Play Rear: Primary: 16MP with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture, PDAF Secondary: 2MP secondary camera with f/2.4 aperture and EIS Front: 16MP, f/2.0 aperture | Moto Z3 Play Rear: Main: 12MP with 1.4 micron pixels, f/1.7 aperture Secondary: 5MP Front: 8MP sensor with 1.12-micron pixels, f/2.0 aperture | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Rear: 12MP sensor with f/1.8 aperture Secondary: 120° wide-angle camera with 6p lens Front: 8 MP AF sensor, f/2.0 aperture with 84° field of view |
IP Rating | Nokia 7.1 No | Pocophone F1 No | HONOR Play No | Moto Z3 Play No | ASUS Zenfone 5Z No |
Audio | Nokia 7.1 3.5mm headphone jack | Pocophone F1 3.5mm headphone jack | HONOR Play 3.5mm headphone jack | Moto Z3 Play USB Type-C | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 3.5mm headphone jack |
Connectivity | Nokia 7.1 WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 NFC | Pocophone F1 WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 FM Radio | HONOR Play WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n Bluetooth 4.2 | Moto Z3 Play Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 NFC FM Radio | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 NFC FM Radio |
Charging | Nokia 7.1 18W Fast Charge USB Type-C | Pocophone F1 Quick Charge 3.0 USB Type-C | HONOR Play SuperCharge USB Type-C | Moto Z3 Play 15W Fast Charge USB Type-C | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 18W Fast Charge USB Type-C |
Battery | Nokia 7.1 3,060mAh | Pocophone F1 4,000mAh | HONOR Play 3,750mAh | Moto Z3 Play 3,000mAh | ASUS Zenfone 5Z 3,300mAh |
Software | Nokia 7.1 Android 8.1 Oreo | Pocophone F1 Android 8.1 MIUI 9.6 | HONOR Play Android 8.1 Oreo EMUI 8.2 | Moto Z3 Play Android 8.1 Oreo | ASUS Zenfone 5Z Android 8.1 Oreo ZenUI 5.0 |
Mid-range smartphones have, for the most part, kept the 3.5mm headphone jack for music lovers. The notable exception in today’s comparison is the Moto Z3 Play. A single bottom firing speaker is also a common setup here, as is the inclusion of an FM Radio, in all but the Nokia 7.1 and HONOR Play.
There’s no IP rating for water and dust resistance on any of these models. On the plus side, the Nokia 7.1, Moto Z3 Play, and ASUS Zenfone 5Z all feature NFC for mobile payments.
Nokia has deepened its partnership with ZEISS for this phone, yet the camera specifications appear very similar to other mid-tier smartphones.
Fast charging speeds are also in place across all of these models. Although, I can’t imagine anyone will run the large batteries in the POCOphone F1 and HONOR Play down in a single day. The Nokia 7.1 and Moto Z3 Play batteries are on the smaller side, though 3,000mAh should be enough for a single day of heavy use, given the power-efficient nature of their processors.
Does the Nokia 7.1 do enough?
Stock Android fans now have another choice on the market in the Nokia 7.1. Its hardware doesn’t appear exceptional, but that’s partly because this year has already seen so many affordable high-performance smartphones hit the market. The Nokia 7.1 looks like a solid performer, it’s just not topping the table. Of course, that’s only a small part of the smartphone experience.
Stock Android fans now have another choice on the market in the Nokia 7.1.
The Nokia 7.1’s appeal hinges on its design and camera experience. It could well excel in those areas, but these elements are a little harder to contextualize without a full review, so stay tuned.
Do you think the Nokia 7.1 will do enough to stand out in the $350 price bracket?