Nokia 7.1 review

Pure Android Oreo

The Nokia 7.1 is part of the Android One program - meaning it gets pure Android as seen on the Pixels but on the cheap. The unit we got for review, while running on Android 8.1, already received the latest security patch. Android Pie should around in the upcoming weeks, though.

Android as Google intended shows up when you wake up the phone - clock, notification cards, two shortcuts on the bottom. Ambient display will show you a clock and notifications when you pick up the phone even without waking it up but be sure to enable this feature first.

Fingerprint enrollment uses the standard Oreo interface. Unlocking works as advertised and is quick and reliable.

Past that is the standard Android 8 homescreen with a pull-up app drawer.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Widgets • App drawer

The quick toggles and notifications shade changes color depending on the wallpaper - white for lighter ones, black for darker ones. The task switcher is the usual rolodex, and wouldn't it be great if Google put the 'clear all' button on the bottom instead of up top? Anyway, multi-window is supported natively since Nougat.

Quick toggles • Notifications • Task switcher • Multi-window

As for multimedia, it's all in the hands of Google's default apps. Photos is in charge of gallery-related tasks and video playback, while Google Play Music is the audio player. There's a file manager with batch actions and Google Drive sync, and Google's Calendar is Nokia's calendar of choice.

FM radio isn't available, though.

Google Photos • Google Play Music • Equalizer • File manager

Performance and benchmarks

The Nokia 7.1 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset coupled with 3GB or 4GB of RAM. Our review unit has 3 gigs of RAM and 32GB storage.

The processor in charge of the Snapdragon 636 is an octa-core Kryo 260 CPU clocked at 1.8GHz, while there is an Adreno 509 to handle graphics.

Starting with some pure CPU tests, a.k.a. GeekBench, we see the Snapdragon 636 has plenty of potential. It can pretty-much chew through any every-day task you throw at it. The Snapdragon 660-powered Nokia 8 Plus and Realme 2 Pro run on the same Kryo 260 cores, but with a higher clock frequency and thus post better scores.

GeekBench 4.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  5893
• Realme 1
  5741
• Huawei Mate 20 Lite
  5574
• Realme 2 Pro
  5531
• Nokia 7.1
  4975
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  4933
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  4625
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  4418
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  4388
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  4292
• Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
  3905
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  3718

A single Kryo 260 is one very capable thingy and anyone should be happy with its performance, especially when handling vanilla Android.

GeekBench 4.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  1634
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  1617
• Huawei Mate 20 Lite
  1595
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  1532
• Realme 1
  1511
• Realme 2 Pro
  1462
• Nokia 7.1
  1344
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  1342
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  881
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  877
• Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
  755
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  733

The Adreno 509 GPU as part of the Snapdragon 636 is intended to work smoothly under 1080p screens. And the benchmark scores below show it as one very balanced GPU - not the best one, but one that will serve well for the task at hand.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Nokia 5.1 Plus
  20
• Nokia 7 plus
  14
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  14
• Huawei Mate 20 Lite
  13
• Realme 2 Pro
  12
• Realme 1
  12
• Nokia 7.1
  9.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  9.7
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  8.7
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  6.7
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  6.3
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  6.1
• Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
  5.6

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  8.6
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  8.6
• Realme 1
  7.5
• Nokia 5.1 Plus
  7.4
• Realme 2 Pro
  7.2
• Huawei Mate 20 Lite
  6.7
• Nokia 7.1
  5.9
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  5.9
• Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018)
  5.2
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  3.9
• Xiaomi Mi A1
  3.5
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  3.4
• Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
  3.1

AnTuTu has always been the one place for all-round performance comparison. The Nokia 7.1 isn't a top-scoring device, but it sure stacks rather well next to the competition. No one can beat Realme's bang for the buck, but the Nokia 7.1 is still delivering enough for its class.

AnTuTu 7

Higher is better

• Nokia 7 plus
  140820
• Realme 1
  138524
• Huawei Mate 20 Lite
  136583
• Realme 2 Pro
  132958
• Xiaomi Mi A2
  130927
• Nokia 5.1 Plus
  119428
• Nokia 7.1
  117175
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
  115605
• Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite (Redmi 6 Pro)
  77964
• Samsung Galaxy A6+ (2018)
  69899
• Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018)
  63632

The Snapdragon 636 performs excellent for the class. Its processor has more than enough oomph, while the balanced Adreno 509 does fine under a 1080p+ display. Other benefits are the 14nm manufacturing process, which makes the silicon quite power-efficient and it keeps it cool under peak load.