Nokia 3.1 Plus Review: Good Performer On a Budget

Nokia 3.1 Plus

Nokia as a brand has been moving up by leaps after HMD Global breathed new life into it. Their new line-up of devices this year has been impressive and steadily gaining ground with the consumers. Their latest budget offering is the Nokia 3.1 Plus. I spent time with this device and here is my review of this budget phone

Its precision fit, CNC-machined rear aluminium cover delivers a seamless, pure design and combines with a die-cast metal structure for impressive solidity. Nokia 3.1 Plus’s matte, highly tactile finish with diamond cut detailing and curved 2.5D glass offers a precision crafted feel in the hand that you expect from a Nokia smartphone. The trend of glass front and rear has been bucked here and this one is a matte rear finish. You get two separate SIM slots and an SD card slot so you don’t have to juggle between additional storage and a SIM. This is convenient and makes using the device a breeze.

With the MediaTek Helio P22 octa-core processor at it’s core, the Nokia 3.1 Plus tries to balance good performance and power efficiency,  and true to that, the device delivers the performance you need when you need it most, using less power during basic tasks for optimal efficiency. The chipset also provides a boost during intensive tasks like watching videos to ensure a sustainable high performance and a consistently reliable experience. While it may not be challenging any flagships in the performance department, it performs fairly well for a budget phone and does not let you down at all. Multi-tasking was a breeze and the phone did not stutter or lag when loaded.

Nokia 3.1 Plus Rear View

Nokia 3.1 Plus delivers great viewing experiences in its category thanks to its 6-inch (15.24 cm) HD+ display and 18:9 aspect ratio, squeezing in more of your favourite news feeds, apps and videos making it ideal for content streams and social media. And yes, there is NO NOTCH! Yes, you heard that right! With its 3500mAh battery that lasted roughly a day and half on a single charge for me, the phone is pretty reliable for long hours of streaming and entertainment. For a budget phone, this one does fairly well. No complaints there at all.  So far, the Nokia 3.1 Plus is ticking all the right boxes for me.

Nokia 3.1 Plus Top View

The Nokia 3.1 Plus helps you step up your photography game with crisp images with fast and accurate focus even in low light thanks to the 13MP Phase Detection Auto Focus main camera. The rear camera also includes a 5MP sensor for rear depth sensing imaging to let you take professional studio style shots with selectable bokeh blur and allow you to adjust blur even after the image has been taken. On the front there is an 8MP camera to make your selfies stand out. With its high quality dual camera photography and AI-accelerated experiences powered by the octa-core chipset, the Nokia 3.1 Plus makes premium photography features available at an accessible price point. Here are a few pictures I took with the phone.

Nokia 3.1 Plus joins the comprehensive line-up of Nokia smartphones in the Android One family, delivering a high-quality experience endorsed by Google. Nokia smartphones with Android One offer great storage and battery life out of the box, but also comes pre-loaded with the very latest in AI-powered innovations developed by Google. Nokia 3.1 Plus will receive three years of monthly security patches and two years of OS updates, as guaranteed in the Android One programme. This ranks the Nokia 3.1 Plus among the most secure phones out there and is kept always up-to-date with the latest Google services, including the Google Assistant and Google Photos with free unlimited high-quality photo storage

Nokia 3.1 Plus Bottom View

Nokia 3.1 Plus ships with Android Oreo™ pre-loaded, so you’ll immediately be able to enjoy stock android features, including Google Lens, picture-in-picture for multitasking and Google Play. Discover and run new apps, while enjoying your phone life linger between charges thanks to Android One’s AI-powered battery-saving features that intuitively limit background usage.

Nokia 3.1 Plus Side View

In summary, the Nokia 3.1 Plus is a smartphone which goes big on content experiences thanks to its 6-inch HD+ display and a weekend busting long battery life  Nokia 3.1 Plus is the most affordable Nokia smartphone with a dual-camera and is the latest device to join the Android One family, delivering the best of Google with monthly security patches.

The Nokia 3.1 Plus comes in Blue, White and Baltic colours and is available at a recommended best buy price of INR 11,499 starting 19th October 2018 across top mobile retailers in India and on Nokia.com/phones.

Verdict

The Nokia 3.1 Plus at INR 11,499 is a very compelling budget offering from Nokia that takes on a lot of competitors and delivers good performance and great value. This is a phone that I would certainly recommend if you are looking for a good phone at a great price!

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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