As scheduled, HMD Global finally launched the Nokia 8.1 yesterday at an event in Dubai. Going by the company’s naming scheme, the device is a direct successor to last year’s Nokia 8, but unlike the Nokia 8, it doesn’t feature the current-gen flagship SoC. In actuality, though, it’s a global variant of the Nokia X7, and if we were to follow the precedence established this year, the Nokia 8.1 would be a successor to the Nokia 7 Plus, which makes a lot more sense.
The Nokia 8.1 sports a 6.18-inch FHD+ display with HDR support. There is a rectangular notch at the top, although reports have claimed it will be the last Nokia-branded phone to feature a notch. Handling all computational tasks is a Snapdragon 710, Qualcomm’s sub-premium SoC of the year. The Nokia 8.1 features 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.
At the back of the device are two cameras: a 12 MP and a 13 MP sensor. OIS is present. Also situated at the device’s rear is a fingerprint sensor. At the front is a 20 MP sensor for selfies.
Supplying the Nokia 8.1 with power is a 3500 mAh battery, chargeable via a USB Type-C port, with the charging brick supplying 18W of fast-charge. There is only a single speaker, which is a shame. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, though. Being an Android One device, the Nokia 8.1 runs on Android Pie out of the box.
The Nokia 8.1 will retail for 399.99 Euros.