Design
- Excellent build quality with a well-constructed metal (6000 series aluminium) unibody design - the phone definitely feels like it is built to last, and it looks great too
- In order to make the Nokia 7 Plus look distinct, the company has also opted for some nice looking copper accents for the midframe, camera surround, fingerprint scanner, and its logo at the back
- No notification LED, The fingerprint scanner is positioned slightly too high on the back side
- A bit on the heavy side
Display
- With an 18:9 display, the new 7 Plus is the first Nokia-branded smartphone to follow the 'minimal bezel' trend - the 6-inch IPS display is immersive, has good viewing angles and gets bright enough to be visible outdoors
Software
- The phone is also enrolled into Google’s Android One programme which means is that the phone comes with stock Android and no bloatware - with no significant customisations on the Nokia 7 Plus, the UI is snappy and easy to use - and it will also get guaranteed Android updates for a minimum of 2 years
- It also comes with Project Treble supported, which should ensure faster updates
- There are a few useful gesture shortcuts added, like the ability to double-click the power button to launch the camera, use the fingerprint scanner to pull down the notification shade, and lift to wake phone, among others - you also have the option to double-tap the display to wake the device up
Performance
- The performance is great too with a a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor - it beats the likes of Moto X4, and Oppo F7 in benchmarks - the Nokia 7 Plus can handle your daily grind and deliver a smooth user experience without breaking into a sweat - heavy apps and games are handled well too, and there is no heating up
Camera
- Good set of dual rear cameras - the phone is quick to focus and gets the exposure right most of the time - colour reproduction was quite good and most images appeared crisp - the telephoto lens offers a quick 2x optical zoom which comes in handy when you want to capture distant objects - and if you like taking portraits, you will enjoy the bokeh mode
- The selfie camera is good too and captures detail quite well even when indoors
- Video recording is decent too
- While the camera does pretty well with low light photos (better than the competition), you will have to have patience and a steady hand - the phone drops the shutter speed to capture more light which means a little movement leads to blurry shots
Audio
- There are also three microphones on board along with Nokia’s OZO Audio technology which lets you capture surround audio while recording video
Battery
- Very good battery life - the phone will last you well over a day before needing to be plugged in, with moderate use - the phone manages to get the right balance of performance and efficiency - the processor is powerful, yet frugal enough
- Fast charging support - the bundled charger is capable of filling it up to 100 percent in two hours
More
- On the whole, Nokia seems to have a winner on its hands - the phone scores well all round, in design, performance and battery life - it’s beautiful, reliable and everything you’d expect from a Nokia phone - and it will give some tough competition to other phones in this price bracket