The Nokia 6 series holds special value for HMD Global. The Nokia 6 was the first Android device to feature Nokia branding, and it was one of the manufacturer’s best-selling devices last year. Nokia did a magnificent job optimizing the software to run on under-powered hardware during its Windows Phone days, which is why budget Lumia phones weren’t laggy. That system doesn’t work on Android though, and to its credit, HMD fixed a lot of the performance issues with the 2018 refresh of the Nokia 6, the Nokia 6.1 2018. The Nokia 6.1 2018 retained a similar design aesthetic but offered much more powerful hardware in the form of a Snapdragon 630. The Nokia 6.1 Plus sits snug in the mid-range segment with respectable specifications and the Android One badge.

Just like many flagships and premium mid-range smartphones in the market, the phone is extremely slippery. The company has used over 90 per cent glass on the surface area of the Nokia 6.1 Plus but the element that gives it elegance also sacrifices grip. You might end up using a case. However, the phone does come with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection which can deal with minor falls and scratches well.

The tall display comes with an aspect ratio of 19:9, thanks to the notch. The pocketability of the Nokia 6.1 Plus is one of the best we’ve experienced lately. Despite the 5.8-inch display, the smartphone is compact in comparison to the bulky smartphones with the same screen size. The mid-range segment is now dominated by phones with large screens and a bigger overall footprint but Nokia 6.1 Plus can easily be managed single-handedly. In terms of quality, the screen is bright and colors are accurate. One can also hide the notch by opting for it in the settings.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 636, and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage as standard. In short, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is HMD’s most ambitious effort yet in the budget category. Even though the Nokia 6.1 Plus has a screen that’s 0.3 inches larger than the Nokia 6.1, it is more compact than the standard model. Coming in at 147.2 x 71 x 8mm, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is shorter, narrower, and thinner than the Nokia 6.1 (148.8 x 75.8 x 8.2mm), a fact that’s immediately noticeable once you start using the device. It is almost as compact as the Pixel 2, making it the perfect device for one-handed usage.