Nokia 5.1, 3.1 and 2.1 hands-on review

Nokia 2.1 hands-on review

With the trendy 2018 extra-tall look already trickling down to the lower end of the smartphone market, there seems to be a divide in approaches between manufacturers. The choice whether to go with older display proportions and chassis and invest value in other areas, or pursue the fashion crowd seems to be a major differentiator between ultra-budget models.

Many recent handsets and prime competitors to the Nokia 2.1 seem to be going with the trend, like the Oppo Realme 1, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus or the Moto G6 Play. HMD has clearly gone the other route. This has resulted in the Nokia 2.1 having a nice set of features that kind of has it challenging the Nokia 3.1 in some areas, like multimedia consumption.

The display of choice here is of the now retro 16:9 variety. However, at 5.5-inches, it is not only substantially bigger than the one on the original Nokia 2, but we would also argue, effectively bigger and more practical for videos than the one on the new Nokia 3.1.

There is a pair of front-facing stereo speakers, which are one of the defining features of the Nokia 2.1, not to mention a much better use of the wide top and bottom chins on the device.

The other headlining feature of the Nokia 2.1, HDM is pithing hard is a 2-day battery life, thanks to a big 4,000 mAh battery pack. The PR team even put in the extra effort to explain how the hardware and software are both optimized to ensure optimal battery. Also, casually emphasizing on a 10W charging rate, for "faster top-ups". As any seasoned smartphone fan will tell you, these statements are only partially true.

Starting with the hardware optimization bit. While we do appreciate the apparent upgrade from a Snapdragon 212 from the original Nokia 2, to the Snapdragon 425 in the new model, both chipsets are still quad-core and based on the same 28nm manufacturing process. The Cortex-A53 cores are a bit more efficient, but nothing to really rave about. The same goes for the "faster charging". 5V@2A is a pretty standard affair.

That being said, the bulk of the increased endurance will likely come from the massive battery capacity. Still, we need to give credit where credit is due and appreciate HMD's decision to enroll the Nokia 2.1 in Google's Android Go program. That not only ensures it access to all the Android One update and support benefits but also means a full light app package pre-load, courtesy of Google.

Maps, the Google Assistant - apps that would probably be too demanding to run properly on the Nokia 2.1 in their full version are snappy and responsive in their Go variants. The overall software experience is perfectly fluent and usable. The only part that really needs addressing seems to be the modest 8GB of storage, out of which a little over 6GB are user-accessible. Even remedial users will likely find that restrictive pretty quickly, so a microSD card is a necessity. It remains to see just how well the Nokia 2.1 handles expanding gracefully onto the extra space, once we get it in for a full review.

Nokia 2.1

For now, all we can provide are initial impressions of the budget device. So, how does it feel? Well, just like its sibling, solid as a brick, though not really premium in any way. HMD didn't spent too much effort trying to mask the plastic nature of the Nokia 2.1. No fancy CNC work or polished finishes here. Still, we can't say that we mind that all that much, especially after learning that the back of the phone is made from inherently coloured polycarbonate. What that means is that the color goes all the way through the material. So, even if you scratch the back, you won't get any black or silver shining through.

That doesn't really mean you should be careless with the phone, though, since the specs don't mention ant Gorilla Glass protection on top of the front panel. So, we can only assume that whatever is covering it does not like sharp objects.

Durability concerns and specifics aside, we have to say the Nokia 2.1 fits well in hand. Mind you, all that battery adds up to a substantial girth of 9.67mm. If you're the kind of person that likes some heft to gadgets, at 174 grams, it seems to hit a pretty good sweet-spot. Plus, the curved back helps fay that out nicely in the palm.

The Nokia 2.1 will be available in a total of three color options - Blue with Silver, Gray with Silver and Blue with Copper. HMD seems to know its way around copper accents, so, we would recommend looking at the last one for a unique appearance.

As for pricing and availability, the Nokia 2.1 is said to launch in July 2018 at a global average retail price of $115. And that dollar MSRP figure is not by accident. Unlike the Nokia 5.1 and Nokia 3.1, it's still not quite clear whether and when the Nokia 2.1 will be coming to EU markets. Initially, HMD will be trying to push it in developing countries.

Initial impressions

The 2018 budget smartphone scene is probably the toughest battlefield of them all. You have to be fast, agile and be able to think outside the box to survive. It seems HMD has successfully managed to shake things up and stay relevant with its latest offerings.

That being said, there are no real guarantees for success. We can only keep an eye out on the market to see how things go. The new Nokia trio should be available as follows:

• Nokia 5.1 will be available from July 2018 for a global average retail price of €189/$219.
• Nokia 3.1 will be available from June 2018 for a global average retail price of €139/$159.
• Nokia 2.1 will be available from July 2018 for a global average retail price of €99/$115.