Review of smartphone model Nokia 7 Plus

In the first half of 2018, several new products were presented under the Nokia brand, including the Nokia 7 Plus. It is positioned by the manufacturer as a flagship model for everyone. In this article, we will talk in detail about this smartphone, considering its pros and cons.

But first, let's say a few words about what to look for when choosing a “smart phone”.

How to choose a smartphone

• Determine if you need a device with similar functionality at all. If yes, then highlight those options that are necessary so as not to overpay for unnecessary ones. High-quality photographs, the ability to watch movies and play games for a long time, fast Internet or all of this together?
• Create a purchase budget. Today, a great variety of smartphones are produced in the world, the price range is from 9 to 200 thousand rubles. Knowing how much you can spend on a new phone will help you draw a range of models from which to choose.
• Where is it profitable to buy a device? Consumers actually have two options. The first is to go to large stores selling various equipment or specialized salons. This makes it possible to talk to a consultant and ask for his advice, hold the device in your hands and test it. The risk is to succumb to the persuasion of the seller and purchase a model with a set of options you do not need. True, at the checkout you will receive a check and a warranty card. The second way is to buy online, including through the manufacturer's official stores or popular Chinese trading platforms. In this case, you can win in price, but not all the models presented are suitable for operation in our country.

Main selection criteria

• Operating system. Defines the functionality and capabilities of the device. Three undoubted leaders today are Android, Windows Phone, iOS. The first one is the most popular and is installed on most flagships from leading manufacturers. Therefore, the undoubted plus of this OS is a great opportunity to choose among many models. Another advantage is the presence of a huge number of applications in the Google Play store, the main ones are free. Also, all Google services are embedded in the OS. Of the minuses - "gluttony", which, however, is little felt on a good device. IOS is installed only on smartphones from Apple, with a huge selection of applications, paid and free. The choice of models based on Windows Phone is still small. It has fewer applications than its competitors, but the advantages are the presence of the Microsoft Office suite, good performance and multitasking.
• Screen. Ideal if its resolution is FullHD. The diagonal is not less than 4.5 inches and not higher than 6, the optimal size is 5.2 inches.
• CPU. The most suitable one is Qualcomm's Snapdragon. Chipset indices tell you which one is better to buy. So, 2xx is very weak, 4xx will allow you to "hang out" on the Internet and social networks, but not play games, 6xx are capable of providing work in almost all directions, 8xx are installed on top-end expensive models.
• The amount of RAM. Determined by the needs of the user. If they are minimal - calls, photographing, checking mail and notifications in social networks - 2-3 GB is enough.But for the smartphone to successfully perform all media functions, the recommended amount of memory is 3-4 GB.
• Camera. A tip that helps those who plan to shoot a lot on the phone and are picky about photo quality is to pay attention to models with two main cameras. At the same time, various characteristics, including the number of megapixels, do not yet speak about the capabilities of this important application. It is best to read reviews with specific examples of pictures and videos captured.
• Battery. Its capacity should be at least 3000 mAh, so as not to run to recharge several times a day. It's good when the fast charging option is provided.
• Body material. Metal is the most common and optimal option. Glass looks beautiful and impressive, but it is easier to get dirty and break. If you prefer plastic, then choose a matte finish so that the model doesn't look too cheap.

What options you shouldn't overpay for

• Water resistant. On the one hand, it is not superfluous, but on the other, users have long been accustomed to the fact that gadgets should be kept away from any liquid.
• Face recognition system. A trendy feature that doesn't work very well in Android smartphones yet.
• Wireless charger.

Models and manufacturers

Which company is the best smartphone to buy? This is an important question when looking for a new device. The choice of devices on the modern market is great: from status models to relatively inexpensive ones. The popularity of models from well-known Chinese brands operating on the basis of the Android OS is high.

Popular models in 2018:

• Huawei Nova 2;
• HTC U11;
• Lenovo K6 Note;
• Xiaomi Mi 6;
• Samsung Galaxy S8;
• Sony Xperia X Compact;
• Huawei Honor 9;
• Apple iPhone 8.

Top manufacturers and brands

• Xiaomi (PRC);
• Meizu (PRC);
• Huawei (PRC);
• ASUS (Taiwan);
• LG (South Korea);
• Lenovo (Hong Kong);
• Apple (USA);
• Nokia (Finland);
• Sony (Japan);
• Samsung S series (South Korea).

Nokia 7 Plus Smartphone

• Produced as part of the Android One program.
• Development and brand: Nokia (HDM Global).
• Manufacturer: China.
• Weight: 186 g.
• Dimensions: 158.38x75, 64 mm.
• Case thickness: 7.99 mm.
• Average price: 28,000 rubles. (135 435 tenge).

What is included

• Smartphone;
• Charger;
• USB cable;
• Wired headphones;
• A clip to open the tray with SIM cards;
• Silicone protective cover;
• Instruction.

Appearance and ergonomics

The material of the model case is made of aluminum alloy. Then a special ceramic coating is applied to the surface. The smartphone can be purchased in two colors - black and white, and the difference is only in the color of the back cover. An interesting detail is the use of copper in the design of the case. This design makes the device stylish and solid.

On the front panel of the device there is a protective glass 2.5 D Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Above the screen there are a front camera lens, a speaker, light and proximity sensors. At the bottom are the Home, Back and Recent Apps control buttons.

On the right edge of the case there are buttons for adjusting the volume level and turning off or blocking the device. A closed tray can be found on the left edge. One of its slots holds a nano-sim, the other holds another sim card or a micro SD memory card. The package includes a special key to open the tray.

At the top there is a headphone jack, at the bottom there is a USB jack, a microphone, and a music speaker.

The back of the case is decorated with the company logo in copper color. It houses the lenses of two cameras - the main and the auxiliary one, as well as an additional microphone, LED flash and a fingerprint scanner.

A transparent silicone case is sold with the device to protect the case in case of possible shocks or falls.

Autonomy

The non-removable battery of the model has a capacity of 3800 mAh. The manufacturer claims that the phone can spend up to 723 hours in standby mode. The user has enough battery capacity to watch video files for 14.5 hours or 126 hours of listening to music.Autonomy can be increased by turning on the power saving mode when the critical charge level is reached.

Screen

A distinctive feature of the device is the non-standard aspect ratio of the display: 18: 9. What does such an innovation give? The "elongated" screen with thin bezels without changing the dimensions of the smartphone itself makes it more modern and attractive to the user.

Main screen features

• 6-inch diagonal;
• FULL HD + resolution (2160x1080 pixels);
• Wide viewing angle;
• Good brightness and contrast performance.

Basic options

• Mode of operation at night, which can be switched on according to a given schedule;
• Multi Touch function - up to ten simultaneous touches to the screen;
• Backlight level control - manually or automatically;
• The protective glass is covered with a high quality polarized oleophobic coating.

Software

This model is a representative of Google's Android One project, the goal of which is to release Android-based devices, but without modifications in the interface and extraneous applications. The most current version of the software is installed on it, at the moment it is Android 8.1.0.

Performance

Inside the smartphone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. According to the manufacturer, this new chip offers improved performance and speed of graphics operations compared to the previous version. The amount of RAM - 4 GB, permanent - 64 GB (type eMMC51). As mentioned above, an additional memory card (up to 256 MB) can be installed in the SIM card slot.

The main components

• Computing cores Kryo (8 pcs.), Consist of two clusters - 2.2 and 1.8 GHz.
• Adreno 512 processor, specializing in accelerating graphics operations;
• Built-in X12 LTE modem. Capable of receiving data at speeds up to 600 Mbps, and transmitting at speeds up to 150 Mbps.
• Supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB 3.1, NFC. You can connect a USB flash drive to your smartphone.

The performance tests carried out show that this parameter of the model can be described as good, but not reaching the level of the flagship. At the same time, it is possible to use graphics with maximum settings for games.

Communications

The model makes it possible to install two SIM cards. They will function in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode.

Wireless communications

• LTE. 4G networks provide support for various frequency ranges, including domestic ones - b3, b7, b20;
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac;
• Bluetooth 5.0;
• NFC. Allows you to use the Android Pay service;
• GPS, A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS - navigation systems that help determine the location;
• There is an FM radio.

Cameras

The smartphone is equipped with three cameras with Zeiss optics: one front and two rear. Their interface is based on the choice of a beautification program that allows you to visually improve the complexion and eliminate its flaws.

Rear cameras - main and sub - can be used both alternately (when shooting with different focal lengths and optical zoom), and simultaneously. Switching takes place using the optical zoom. There is no optical stabilization function.

Main camera parameters

• Pixel size: 1.4 μm;
• Resolution: 12 megapixels;
• Aperture: f / 1.75.

Autofocus works on the DualPixel principle. Each of the image elements includes its own separate focus sensor, which reduces the amount of time to calculate the desired focus.

Sub camera options

• Pixel size: 1 μm;
• Resolution: 13 megapixels;
• Aperture: f / 2.6.

Based on the review data of the model, we can say that the rear cameras do their job well enough. Photos in "Portrait" mode are very good. In the sunlight of the day, there are no complaints about the quality of the pictures, but in the evening and at night it takes pictures worse. The lack of optical stabilization in this case is a significant disadvantage.

Main features of the front camera

• Resolution: 16 megapixels;
• Pixel size: 1 μm;
• Aperture: f / 2.0.

According to users, this camera “takes pictures” of high quality both during the day, in the sun, and at night, and will delight those who like to take “selfies”.

Both cameras give the user the ability to shoot video in Full-HD resolution. The rear photo module also has options for slow and fast shooting. The generated content will be saved in the file format with the MP4 extension.

The Camera application is activated by double-pressing the power key. You can select the desired modes and set the necessary settings using the special icons located at the top of the screen.

Available photography modes:

• Photo;
• Retouch;
• Panorama;
• Pro (self-adjusting shutter speed, sensitivity, exposure level plus manual focus);
• Live bokeh (i.e. artistically blurred background).

Video shooting modes:

• Slow motion. Interval shooting, timelapse is meant.
• Slow motion. Directly slow motion.

Special icons suggest the choice of a main or front camera, as well as a two-sided shooting mode, which allows you to take photos and videos.

Sound

The sound quality from the multimedia speaker with dedicated amplifier can be described as quite good. At the same time, the model settings do not provide additional options to improve sound quality. Also, the necessary codecs are not supported for high-quality sound transmission in a wireless format. There is an option to record surround sound when shooting video using Nokia Ozo Audio technology.

Outcome

According to user reviews, the Nokia 7 Plus smartphone turned out to be quite balanced and has both strengths and weaknesses.

• Stylish design;
• Three cameras equipped with Zeiss optics;
• Decent autonomy and fast charging;
• NFC availability;
• "Pure" Android without unnecessary applications;
• Suitable for active games;
• Famous Nokia brand.

• No optical stabilization
• There are complaints about the quality of the images;
• You can insert either a second SIM card or a memory card into the tray;
• Performance does not match the flagship;
• Not a budget model for this level;
• There is no moisture protection.

This device in its segment has quite strong competitors (Asus Zen Fone 5, Honor 10, Samsung Galaxy A 8), with which it can quite adequately compete for the attention and wallet of buyers. Like any device, it is not without its drawbacks, however, some of them can be noticed only by advanced users, and significant advantages will undoubtedly please those who make standard requirements for the device.