Nokia 6 Review: Best Budget Smartphone?

A few weeks ago, HMD Global introduced three new smartphones, the Nokia 3, 5 and 6. Nokia 6 on Thursday finally hit the sale and was sold out in less than a minute. The smartphone is available exclusively via Amazon India and is priced at Rs. 14,999. Since, the launch of the smartphone, there are many people out there looking forward to getting their hands on the device. Here is our review on the Nokia 6 which might help you make a decision regarding the smartphone.

Specifications

Nokia 6 packs in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. The internal storage on the device is expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and a pixel density of 403ppi. All of this is backed by a 3,000mAh battery. The phone runs on stock Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Performance

Nokia 6 is surely not the smartphone for performance hungry applications and games. With the Snapdragon 430 chipset coupled with Adreno 505, it is not a smartphone for heavy games like the Asphalt 8 and the Injustice 2. However, the 3GB of RAM does help in delivering some fair multitasking experience. During our review, we did notice minor lags here and there.

Software

Software on the Nokia 6 is something which impressed us. The stock Android experience on the phone felt very much like Pixel or the Nexus devices. When we booted up the device, we were greeted by a bunch of Amazon apps like the Amazon Shopping, Amazon Prime Videos and the Amazon Kindle.

Except for the Amazon applications pre-installed, there was no bloatware what so-ever. Instead of a separate gallery app, we had the Google Photos app. Everything was very much stock and the experience was great. Also, not to forget, Nokia has promised that the Nokia 6 will be soon updated to Android 8.0 Oreo.

Also Read: Nokia 8 launched: Price, Specifications and Everything you need to know

Camera

The camera on the Nokia 6 is not something great but gets the job done. The camera is good enough but some of its competitors deliver better photographs. However, the details we get from the shots taken by the Nokia 6 camera are pretty accurate and nice to look at. The front camera on the Nokia 6 was good in outdoor conditions.

Pros

• Build Quality
• Stock Android

Cons

• Lacks Fast-charging
• Minor Lags
• A bit overpriced

Verdict

HMD Global did a great job with the comeback of Nokia smartphones and one of the first smartphones since the comeback is the Nokia 6. The Nokia 6 has a great design and a build quality that speaks for itself. The build quality does give a lot of confidence to the user and can bear a few drops easily. The performance was a let down for the device at the price. Going with stock Android was an appreciable move by Nokia and the software experience did impress us. The fingerprint scanner on the Nokia 6 is not the fastest but is pretty accurate. Also, not to forget, every time we boot up the Nokia 6, we are greeted by the old Nokia sound which reminds us of the company's old mobile phones. Even the default ringtone and the message tune on the Nokia 6 are from the old days. People who have the love for Nokia and want great build quality will love this device. But if you are a power user, who likes to play a lot of games, this phone might not be a right choice for you.