Nokia 6 review: Back in black

The 5.5-inch FullHD display doesn't disappoint

The Nokia 6 doesn't have a 6-inch display as the name might suggest, but we're sure you already know that if you've read this far. It's 5.5 inches instead, in 1080p FullHD variety. It's an IPS LCD panel with Gorilla Glass 3 on top, ending in 2.5D curves. The microscope shot revealed a conventional RGB subpixel arrangement, no surprises there.

Nokia claims 450nits of brightness, but we actually measured more - 522 is the number in our test. Few of its competitors in this price bracket are any brighter - only the Moto G4 Plus in auto mode and the Honor 6X. Minimum brightness on the Nokia is a respectable 1.9nits, too.

Contrast is also good - the Nokia 6's 1385:1 is practically the same as the HTC 10 evo - a decidedly more premium offering. The Honor 6X tops that, but the Redmi Notes by Xiaomi can't really match it.

The Nokia 6 also fares quite well in our sunlight legibility test as well. A value of 3.244 puts it among the better performing LCDs.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Sony Xperia X Compact
  3.694
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 6
  3.244
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  2.378
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

As for color accuracy, the Neutral mode isn't all that neutral, with whites being shifted towards blue, but it has a decent average DeltaE of 5.3. Cool mode, you guessed it, makes whites even bluer and the average DeltaE jumps to 7.5. If you want the most faithful colors, warm mode's the way to go, with an average DeltaE of 3.3 and actually truly white whites for a change.

Connectivity

The Nokia 6 is a dual-SIM device of the hybrid variety - you can have two nanoSIMs inside, but if you want to use the microSD slot, you'd have to give up the second SIM. Courtesy of the Snapdragon 430 chip, the phone supports Cat.4 LTE for theoretical maximums of 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up. That's just the one SIM though, the second card only gets 2G connectivity.

Local connectivity is well covered as well - Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth v.4.1 are present, there's GPS and GLONASS for positioning, and to top it all off - the crowd-favorite, FM radio.

The Chinese spec sheet lists NFC as well, but we didn't find it in settings, nor did it miraculously work when we attempted to put the Nokia 6 next to other phones. The phone's metal back also makes it seem like someone made a mistake in the specs. That's something we'll surely look into once we got a review unit of the global version.

The USB port on the bottom is the old one, though - the trusty but headed for obsolescence microUSB 2.0. Oldies, but goldies - the 3.5mm jack is here too.

Nokia 6 battery life

The Nokia 6 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery. In this age where 5.5-inch Redmi Notes come with 4,100mAh power packs, the 6 appears under-prepared. The Galaxy J7 (2016) and the J7 Prime each have 3,300mAh worth of juice, while the Honor 6X' specsheet says 3,340mAh. That said, the likes of the vivo V5, Moto G4 Plus, and Oppo F1s are around the 3,000mAh mark, just like the Nokia.

On to the actual tests, and the Nokia 6 does an admirable job with what it has. Twenty-two and a half hours on a 3G phone call should be plenty for all but the most talkative. Those should look in the vivo V5's direction - that one's capable of 5 more hours of voice calls, or the Oppo F1s (26h).

Video playback longevity on the Nokia 6 is 10 full hours. The Galaxy J7 (2017) does 18h, but that's an exception rather than the rule. The Honor 6X outlasts the Nokia by 3h, but those two outliers aside, the 6 is about average.

In Wi-Fi web browsing the Nokia 6 keeps reloading them sites for nine and a half hours - again, not an exceptional performance, and somewhat trailing the competition, but not too shabby on its own either. The Oppo is good for another hour, the Moto G4 Plus adds half an hour on top of that, and the Galaxy J7 (2016) posts 12:21h. The Honor 6X calls it quits after 13:41h, but it's also good to keep in mind that the vivo V5 barely made it through the 5-hour mark.

While those tests aren't really influenced by the fact that they were carried out on the Chinese version of the phone, and are very likely to be the same on the global variant, standby is inevitably affected by the lack of Google services and Google apps. That means no constant syncing of emails and background app updates. On the other hand, the Chinese app store could have taken a bigger toll on the battery - we can't know for certain. And since standby battery drain is part of the formula for overall endurance, the Endurance rating of the global Nokia 6 may be different. We'll see; this one got 75 hours.

Update (August 16): While reviewing the global version of the Nokia 6 we also retested the Chinese one - a firmware update in the months since the original review brought support for Google services and we figured using them could have an impact on battery life. Well, it did, in a way.

While the active usage tests remained uninfluenced and produced virtually the same results, standby took a substantial hit (we attribute it to the constant syncing of stuff), so the overall endurance rating dropped by 8 hours to 67h. It's still a little better than the global version's result, more on which you can read in its own review.

The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.