“The 5.1 Plus is the most affordable smartphone in the brand’s stables to come with a display notch”

When HMD Global announced the revival of yesteryear’s brand Nokia, there were whispers about whether the brand will be able to sustain amidst the cut-throat competition. More than a year later, Nokia has managed to put all the scepticism to rest and how. From a great build quality to adopting the Android One branding, the phonemaker has quickly become a budget favourite. And continuing on the same path, the company has launched the Nokia 5.1 Plus and 6.1 Plus in the subcontinent today. Considering that the 5.1 Plus is the most affordable offering from the brand that features the in-vogue notch-toting display, we decided to take a closer look and see what makes it special.

Embraces the display cut-out in style

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The latest Nokia 5.1 Plus is as a toned-down variant of the 6.1 Plus and as such retains the display notch and a taller aspect ratio of 19:9. The display on the Nokia 5.1 Plus measures 5.86-inch diagonally and offers a screen resolution of 1,520 x 720 pixels. Although it’s worth noting that the cut-out on the 5.1 Plus is slightly larger than the one its sibling. That’s not to say that the smartphone isn’t attractive. Thanks to the use of glass at the front and back, the phone is surely a looker. The 5.1 Plus is also available in premium colour options like black, blue and white. 

Dual rear cameras with advanced modes

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Coming to the imaging department, the brand has equipped the Nokia 5.1 Plus with a dual-camera setup on the rear panel. The primary 13-megapixel snapper is backed by a 5-megapixel shooter and LED flash. The combination helps in getting the depth-of-field effect with the subject in focus and blurred-out background. The smartphone also comes with professional mode and AI scene detection to deliver better output depending upon the scene being captured. On the front, the 5.1 Plus offers an 8-megapixel selfie shooter with several AI features baked in, including software-based bokeh mode. 

An AI-capable processor 

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To drive the performance, the Nokia 5.1 Plus gets MediaTek’s Helio P60 chipset. This is the same processor that powers the likes of the Realme 1 (review) and OPPO F7 (review) and is the most powerful offering from the Taiwanese chipmaker’s stables. Helio P60 is an octa-core chip, which is backed by the new Mali G72 MP3 GPU. Further, the processor has been manufactured with 12nm process, which results in a better balance between power efficiency and performance. Most importantly, the SoC comes with MediaTek’s NeuroPilot AI architecture, which has allowed the brand to integrate several AI-based features in the handset. 

Vanilla Android with the promise of regular updates

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Similar to other smartphones released by Nokia, the newly-launched 5.1 Plus is an Android One smartphone. The handset boots the Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box, and comes with assured updates to the upcoming Android P as well as the Android Q. Additionally, the smartphone will also receive regular security patches.

A battery that promises to last longer on a single charge

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Exploiting Helio P60’s capabilities, the 5.1 Plus comes with an AI-enabled intelligent power-saving technology and optimised performance management mechanism. Moreover, the 12nm fabrication process helps in getting the best out of the 3,060mAh battery. Nokia claims that the 5.1 Plus can offer up to 17.5 hours of talk time, 19.5 hours of music playback, 5.8 hours of gaming, 11 hours of video streaming and 12 hours of video playback. 

The Nokia 5.1 Plus comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and will be available to buy from Flipkart starting October 1st. The smartphone has been priced at Rs 10,999, and Airtel consumers can avail some attractive launch offers.