Nokia 6 (2018) arrives with new design, more powerful internals
HMD Global today announced an upgrade to their most popular smartphone, the Nokia 6 (2018). The latest mid-range smartphone from the company was launched in China.
It comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top, powered by the Snapdragon 630 mobile platform. On the software front, you still find Android 7.1.1 (Nougat), but it is upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Things haven't changed much in the camera department, you still have a f/2.0 aperture 16-megapixel rear camera with PDAF, and an 8-megapixel f/2.0 front-facing camera for selfies. But you do get a software update to the camera, with support for Bothies. These let you capture an image with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously.
On the build front, you get a similar build with unibody design and 6000 series aluminum body. It has dual-color anodization which does make the phone feel a lot less boring.
One of the major changes in design is that the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back of the phone. The capacitive buttons in the front are no more, paving the way for on-screen buttons. But that hasn't helped in reducing the chin above and below the display. Most of us were hoping for a full-screen/bezel-less display with the Nokia 6 2018, but it wasn't meant to be.
The new Nokia 6 also shares the same 3000 mAh battery with support for fast charging. You can get from 0 - 50% charge in just 30 minutes.
Coming to connectivity options, there's a hybrid SIM card slot on the 2018 Nokia 6. You can either use two nano SIM cards, or one Nano SIM card and one microSD card. You have 4G VoLTE support, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPD, and a USB Type-C port for data-synching and charging.
And yes, there's a 3.5mm headphone jack available here as well along with support for FM Radio. The Nokia 6 (2018) measures in at 148.8 × 75.8 × 8.15-8.6 mm tapering on the sides, with a total weight of 172 grams. It isn't the thinnest nor the lightest device in the segment, but Nokia phones are known for their rigidity and built quality.
The Nokia 6 (2018) comes in gold and Silver color options. It starts at 1499 Yuan (US$ 230 / Rs. 14700 approx.) for the 32GB storage variant with 4GB RAM, and 1699 Yuan (US$ 260 / Rs. 16700 approx.) for the 64GB storage variant with 4GB RAM as well. It is now available on pre-order in China and will be going on sale January 10th. No further information on when it will be available globally.