Nokia 7 Launched: Price, Specifications And Review

Nokia 7, the final and the missing link between HMD Global’s journey of resurrecting the Nokia brand, has been launched in China in two variants, 4GB and 6GB RAM options. The smartphone is going to fill the gap between Nokia 6 and Nokia 8, two of the hottest selling Stock Android smartphones in their respective segments.

For starters, Nokia 7 comes with Corning Gorilla glass protection both at the front and rear panel. HMD Global is calling this process a ‘3D Glass Thermoforming technology’, which is touted to bring smoother touch as well as feel when using the device. And going by our past experiences with HMD Global’s Nokia devices, Nokia 7 will put its money where its mouth is.

The smartphone has also undergone some rigorous processes for a dependable built and comes with a 7000 series aluminum alloy frame with diamond cut edges. Nokia 7 retains the Zeiss Certified Image Technology which has been a sort of USP for Nokia smartphones, enabling excellent low-lighting performance of the cameras.

What Nokia 7 doesn’t have is the dual-camera setup which has seen a great demand in this segment, however, the device perfectly covers it up with the Bothie Mode and OZO Audio, borrowed from the flagship.

Buy how well does the Nokia 7 balance itself against the competition posed by Honor 8 Pro, Oppo F3 Plus, Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro and Moto Z2 Play? Let’s see!!

Nokia 7 Specifications

• Seamless precision-milled aluminum built with curved edges.
• 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080) 2.5D curved glass display with 16:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, offering 424 PPI.
• 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 630 14nm SoC coupled with Adreno 508 GPU.
• 4GB/6GB LPPDDR4 RAM and 64GB (eMMC 5.1) of internal storage, expandable up to 128GB via microSD.
• Android 7.1.1 Nougat, upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo.
• 16MP rear camera with PDAF, ZEISS optics, f/1.8 aperture, 1.12um sensor, dual-tone LED flash and 80-degree wide angle.
• 5MP front-facing camera with 1.12um sensor, f/2.0 aperture, and 84˚ wide-angle lens.
• IP54 splash-proof certification (but not water-proof).
• 3000mAh non-removable battery with fast charging (9V/2A).
• Fingerprint sensor at the rear and Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD).
• 3.5mm audio jack, dual microphones and Nokia OZO Audio.
• Nokia 7 measures 141.2 x 71.45 x 7.92mm.
• 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), GPS, NFC and USB Type-C.

Nokia 7 Price And Availability

The Nokia 7 will be available in Gloss Black and Matt White colors, priced at 2,499 yuan (Rs. 24,520 approx.) for the 4GB RAM variant and 2,699 yuan (Rs. 26,480 approx.) for the 6GB RAM variant. The smartphone is available for pre-order on JD.com, Suning, and Tmall in China while it goes on sale from October 24th.

As far as Nokia 7’s availability outside Chione is concerned, there has been no official announcement from HMD Global in that context, however, we do expect it global launch by the end of this year or in the first quarter of 2018, considering that Nokia 9 is also on the cards of the Finnish company.

Nokia 7 Review (First Impressions)

While there are no stand-alone features in the Nokia 7, the smartphone does offer a great package for those, who were looking for a more powerful Nokia 6 and less costly Nokia 8. That being said, although ZEISS optics does give Nokia 7 an edge over its single-camera competitors, we do miss a dual-lens shooter at the rear.

That said, just like Google Pixel 2 is leaving its dual-camera competitors behind with an exceptional fully-utilized single lens, Nokia 7 too has the prowess to take on its competitors with great low-lighting performance and sharp pictures under exposed conditions.

On the performance front, SD630 is the successor of a tried and tested SD 625, and is rated to support heavy duty gaming as well as multitasking with burdensome apps. This coupled with the Stock Android experience, makes Nokia 7 one hell of a performance-oriented device in this segment.

While the smartphone fits perfectly into an average person’s hands, we do miss the IP67 water-proof certification, however, the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on both sides does endow some confidence.

The deal breaker, at least by HMD Global’s beliefs, is the Bothie camera and OZO Audio (360-degree sound recording) which lets users hear captured recordings from the three microphones on multimedia files just as how they were in real life.

To sum up, Nokia 7 is a great package that has enough performance credentials as well as multimedia prowess for the age of today, but the specs-sheet does seem a bit on the lighter side, when compared to the competition.

Having said that, it’s the actual in-hand performance that always matters in case of Nokia devices.