HMD Global recently launched the Nokia 8.1 smartphone as a successor to the Nokia 7 Plus (Review) in India. While the device arrived with 4/64GB RAM and storage configuration, the company promised to release the 6/128GB model in January. Following the same, HMD has finally released the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage model of the Nokia 8.1 smartphone in India.
Nokia 8.1 Price & Availability
The Nokia 8.1’s 6/128GB variant has been priced at Rs. 29,999 in India. It will be available in Blue/Silver and Iron/Steel colour options- same as the standard version. Notably, the 4/64GB variant was launched for Rs. 26,999 in the country is already available for purchase on Amazon.in.
That being said, the new Nokia 8.1 6GB will be sold on Amazon India, Nokia Store and major retail stores across the country starting February 6, 2019. As for now, customers can pre-book the device on Nokia.com and get notified on Amazon India starting Friday, February 1.
The company is propounding a bunch of launch offers with the device. It includes up to 1TB of Airtel 4G data on eligible prepaid packs starting from Rs. 199. Following the same, Airtel postpaid customers can avail additional 120GB data with 3 months of Netflix and a year of Amazon Prime subscription.
Furthermore, customers who buy Nokia 8.1 between February 6 and February 17 will get an additional exchange discount of Rs. 2,500 on Amazon. On the other hand, the ones ordering the device later between February 18 and February 28 will be eligible for an additional exchange discount of Rs. 1,500. Interestingly, Consumers purchasing the device from Nokia’s online store will be benefitted with a gift card worth Rs 3,000.
Moreover, one can enjoy 10% cash back from February 6 to February 17, and 5% cashback from February 18 to February 28 by using HDFC Bank credit and debit cards (through Pinelab terminals at offline retail stores) on EMI transactions.
Nokia 8.1: Specifications, Features
The Nokia 8.1 sports a 6.18-inch PureView IPS panel with a Full-HD+ resolution of 1080×2244 pixels and an 18.7:9 aspect ratio. The display further touts HDR10 support, 96 per cent colour gamut coverage while the brightness maxes out at 500nits. Thanks to the notch on top, the phone boasts an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 81.5 per cent.
Powering the phone is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC, paired with 4/6GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 64/128GB of inbuilt storage. Meanwhile, the given microSD card slot allows for storage expansion up to 400GB.
In the optics department, the Nokia 8.1 gets a dual rear camera setup with Zeiss optics. The configuration comprises an optically stabilised 12-megapixel camera with a 1/2.55-inch sensor, 1.4-micron pixels, and a dual-LED flash. The secondary sensor is a 13-megapixel fixed-focus lens which will collect depth information.
Furthermore, the phone features a 20-megapixel selfie shooter with 0.9um pixels and 4-in-1 pixel tech for enhanced low-light performance. Moreover, the camera app incorporates a full-fledged Pro mode, portrait mode and the prominent bothie feature.
On the software front, the Nokia 8.1 runs stock Android 9 Pie under Google’s Android One programme, just like its sibling Nokia 7.1. As a result, the phone will get timely security patches along with Android version updates. All of this is backed by a sufficiently large 3,500mAh battery that is rated to deliver 11 hours of video playback and supports 18W fast charging.
Other notable features include smart amp, Google AR core support, dual mics for better noise cancellation and Nokia Ozo surround capture. Lastly, the connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Vo-WiFi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C port.
