Nokia 7.1 hands-on review

Conclusion

Now that we've had our time with the Nokia 7.1, we can say that it's a great phone and it has been a long time coming. The Nokia X6 (6.1 Plus) made its debut this summer but it wasn't readily available everywhere. The Nokia 7.1 will come to more markets and at the very least, and it will even be available to US buyers on October 28 through Amazon, Best Buy and B&H.

Nokia should be able to win a better foothold in the competitive US market and has the necessary tools to do so - a promising dual camera, a handsome design, good display, fast and reliable software direct from Google and Nokia's brand name behind it. Not to mention a reasonable price tag of just $349.

And if you're residing in the EU, you'd be looking at a starting price of €320 for the 3GB/32GB model and only €20 for the 4GB/64GB upgrade.

That's not a bad deal. If you are looking at the Nokia 7.1 not as a successor to the 7 from last year and not as a better version of the Nokia 6.1 Plus, but as a standalone device - it's Nokia's best answer yet to the heated competition by Chinese midrangers.

Devices such as the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro or Huawei's slew of affordable Honor and nova devices will be gunning for the midrange market and Nokia's 7.1 is well-equipped to challenge them for it. It has the fundamental notched display and dual camera but it adds an unmistakable Nokia flair to the package that will go a long way with European buyers.

The Nokia 7.1 avoids any brash paint jobs or color gradients and it has a mature styling with grey or blue with just a dash of color accents here and there to add style without going overboard.

And more important is the use of Google's stock Android. It ensures potential buyers that the phone won't bog down with time and won't be forgotten once the first six months roll by. You'll get two years of platform updates and three years of security support, which could prove a deciding factor for potential buyers.

We liked the Nokia 7.1 and are looking forward to testing out the 3,060mAh battery, the new dual camera and give that HDR 10-compliant display a go at our scientific tests.