Nokia 7 Plus review - A well-rounded general use mid-range Nokia smartphone with a large 6-inch display

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The Nokia 7 Plus is a mid-range smartphone priced at RM1600 and it is equipped with a large 6-inch 18:9 aspect ratio display. Sitting just below Nokia’s current flagship which is the Nokia 8 Sirocco, the Nokia 7 Plus aims to be an all-rounded phone, suitable for everyone to use. At half the price of the Nokia 8 Sirocco at ~RM2973, the Nokia 7 Plus is a smartphone to consider for users who want a general purpose phone. In this review, we’ll be taking a look at the device to give you an idea if it is worth your money.

 

Design - Eye-catching bronze outlines 

Starting off with the front of the phone, you’ll be greeted with a large 6-inch display at the front. At the top of the display is the speaker grill in the middle, the front facing selfie camera at the top right of the device along with Nokia logo and at the bottom of it, there is no physical home button as well.

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Front of the device

At the side, the phone has an eye-catching metallic copper band running along the sides of the device while at the top you’ll be pleasantly greeted with a 3.5mm jack. The left side houses the Hybrid-SIM tray which allows you to have either a SIM Card and a MicroSD Card or two SIM Cards in it while the right side houses the physical Power Button and the volume rocker. At the bottom you’ll find a USB Type-C port as well as another speaker grill to the right of it.

Behind the device you’ll find the Dual 12MP+12MP camera setup fitted with ZEISS Optics as well as an LED Flash beside it and a fingerprint sensor just below that. The rear is coated with 6 layers of ceramic-feel coat which gives the back an extremely smooth ceramic like texture which feels a bit slippery but at least doesn't attract fingerprints or smudges. However, oil from your fingers may stick to the back of the device so be sure to thoroughly wash your hands after having a meal or get a casing with the phone. 

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3.5mm audio socket at the top of the device

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Left side of the device; showcasing the Hybrid SIM Tray slot

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Hybrid-SIM Tray; capable of either a Dual SIM configuration or a single SIM and a MicroSD card

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Right of the device where the power and volume button is located

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USB Type-C and speaker grill at the bottom

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Dual Camera Sensor with ZEISS Lenses and a fingerprint scanner

 

Tech specs and features - fitted for everyday use

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  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 64GB of Internal Storage
  • 12MP + 12MP Dual Rear Camera
  • 16MP Front facing selfie camera
  • 6-inch IPS Display (18:9 aspect ratio, Full HD+, 1080 x 2160 screen resolution)
  • Google Stock Android 8.1 operating system
  • 3800mAh non-removable battery
  • Measures in at 158.4 x 75.6 x 8mm
  • Dual-SIM/Single SIM + MicroSD Card slot
  • Weighs in at 183g
  • Features a fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock, Fast Charging 9V/2A, USB Type-C connector, 3.5mm connector 

The tech specs of the device makes it great for general use thanks to the upper midrange Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset. The device has several security features such as password unlock, pin unlock, face unlock as well as fingerprint unlock. Other than that, the phone features Google Android One and also several Google apps typically found on the Play Store which is a bonus for users who prefer a stock Android experience.

The camera app that is pre-installed on the device features basic camera modes as well as a picture in picture function that allows the phone to take a picture through the front and rear camera. It also comes with a Beautify feature which softens the skin and brightens the skin tone of the subject.

The Pro mode can be easily accessed by swiping down on the shutter button giving you access to a plethora of camera settings such as exposure compensation, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance. As expected of a stock Android device, other than the basic camera settings mentioned, there are no other features such as face masks, background replacement and colour filters.

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Camera in Pro Mode

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 Resolution settings for the rear camera

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Resolution settings for the front facing selfie camera

 

Performance - decent multitasking performance and pretty good at playing games

In terms of performance, the Nokia 7 Plus has managed to score above average on the Antutu 3D Benchmark delivering pretty good upper midrange level scores. The device felt snappy during use and did not stutter while switching through different games and social apps. That being said, I could confidently multitask and switch through opened apps without worrying about the phone not being able keep up or lag.

As for the battery life of the phone, I was able to squeeze in at least 2 days of use such as scrolling through Imgur, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and watching Youtube videos before I had to recharge the phone which usually takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

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In terms of gaming performance, the Nokia 7 Plus performed decently while playing PUBG Mobile. The gameplay was rather smooth with very slight micro-stutters at the start of the game which gradually improved over time as the game assets start to load in. A typical PUBG Mobile game of 20 to 30 minutes would usually drain up to 10% to 14% battery, which means that you could confidently game for about 2 and a half hours before needing to recharge with the 9V/2A Fast Charging feature. On World Of Warships: Blitz on the other hand, the game ran smoothly throughout the entire play session and there were no stutters at any point during the gameplay.

It is best to note that the device did tend to get uncomfortably warm especially on the top half of the screen where the chipsets are typically located. Connection wise, I did not experience any issues such as lags and packet loss while connected to my home WIFI. The speakers are loud enough to be heard across the room and it does not sound distorted at maximum volume settings.

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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! PUBG Mobile played smoothly towards the end

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World of Warships: Blitz. Smooth gameplay with no stutters

Camera wise, the phone performed well with its 12MP + 12MP Dual Camera Setup in the rear capturing up to 12MP photos and 4k videos, not to mention up to 16MP photos as well as 1080p videos for the front facing selfie camera. The rear cameras are able to take sharp images thanks to the 12MP + 12MP dual camera at the back and the colours look accurate and well saturated depending on your subject and lighting. The front facing selfie camera also takes decent pictures as long as your subject is properly exposed.

However it does not perform as well during low light situations resulting in a lot of noise for low light shots, which also applies to the front facing selfie camera as well. In terms of video, it performs about the same as the picture performance in the sense that it captures video well in properly exposed subjects but it will start to get more visual noise in low light scenarios. Unfortunately it does not come with an AI Assistant for the camera which could help improve the overall look of the images the camera takes. 

Visually the screen of the phone is pretty bright and the colours look fairly sharp on the IPS display. Youtube and Facebook videos look sharp and decent with the 6-inch display which makes consuming multimedia content quite enjoyable for me.

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Well lit subjects

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Subjects in low light

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Well lit vs Low light selfie

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Gloomy evening Rain

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Dimly lit hallway, auto mode kicked in to brightened the image

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Low light street photography

 

Conclusion - Reliable and well-rounded, great for daily general use but just for the Nokia fans

The Nokia 7 Plus which is priced at RM1600, is quite a good phone for day to day use especially when you’re constantly multitasking and switching between apps on the fly. Not only that it is also pretty decent at playing games such as PUBG Mobile and World Of Warships: Blitz. Not only that, it also takes decent pictures provided it is in a well lit environment. I would say that this device is suitable for users who prefer a more straightforward and general use phone for gaming and watching videos on the large 6-inch display.

However, the device is placed in a peculiar spot among other phones that can offer more in terms of features and specs such as the ASUS ZenFone 5 which offers a great camera that has a DxOMark score of 90 for the price of RM1299, the Samsung Galaxy A6 Plus which is priced at RM1299, or even the Honor 10 which houses the HiSilicon Kirin 970 that has several AI features such as AI camera assistant as well as AI battery management just to name a few. The Nokia 7 Plus does offer stock Android in this range, but there are more affordable options with similar tech specs. 

Nokia 7 Plus unboxing and initial impressions

While it isn't a bad device by any measurement, the Nokia 7 Plus is probably the big screen smartphone just for Nokia Android fans. If you're not a Nokia fan, there are other options as written above. Know anyone who has bought the Nokia 7 Plus? Would you buy one yourself? Let us know in our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com.

Nokia 7 plus Specs & Price >