Nokia 7 Plus first impressions: Affordable performer, challenger to mighty

The smartphone's first impressions suggest the Nokia 7 Plus is a capable performer that feels light in hand and looks plush from all sides

In time, when most smartphone makers are adopting iPhone X-inspired notch screen, Nokia seems to be catching up on yesteryear’s trend by launching the Nokia 7 Plus – the first smartphone with the modern 18:9 screen from the stable of HMD Global, the Finnish company behind the Nokia-branded phones.

While there is no dearth of ultra-wide aspect ratio screen devices, the Nokia 7 Plus seems to be the most polished version, at least in the Nokia portfolio. In terms of look and feel, the device's build quality seems solid, thanks to the aluminium back, copper-layered chassis and Gorilla Glass on the front.

Despite having a tall instance, the device feels comfortable in hand and is easy to operate. The ceramic-type coating on the back adds to the overall aesthetics while making it less prone to accidental falls.

Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip (SoC), coupled with 64 GB of internal storage and 4 GB of RAM, the phone seems to work smoothly and shows no signs of lag anywhere. Even the heavy processor-intensive apps such as graphic-intensive games -- Need for Speed No Limits and Asphalt Nitro – the phone manages to perform without heating up or slowing down the performance.

The phone boots Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box and supports Google Android One initiative, assuring timely updates and vanilla Android experience with no bloatware pre-installed.

Coming to the imaging part, the phone is aimed at content creators, so it boasts Nokia’s dual sight camera feature, which allows using the front camera and back camera simultaneously to capture both the ends. Talking about camera, the phone boasts dual rear-cameras with ZEISS Optics. The dual sensors use an ultra-sensitive 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 13MP telephoto lens that supports 2x optical zoom.

The rear cameras have a decent performance in low-light conditions and normal light shots seems satisfactory. That apart, the smartphone has a 16MP lens on the front that seems to fair well for selfies and video calls.

Battery seems to be the key highlight of the Nokia 7 Plus. Powered by a 3,800 mAh battery, the phone easily lasts for up to 2 days under normal usage conditions, which includes 3-4 hours of gaming or movies. The phone features a USB type-C port, which support fast-charging and replenishes the battery power from zero to 50 per cent in almost half an hour.

Overall, the Nokia 7 Plus seems to be a capable performer with an attractive price tag of Rs 25,999. The phone feels light in hand and looks plush for all sides. The 18:9 aspect ratio screen adds to the aesthetics and we appreciate it over notch-based screen – in terms of utility.

The phone is currently under review and we would reserve our final verdict until we approach all the finer aspects of the device in better detail.