The Nokia 7.1 was showcased not so long ago, but took a couple of months to be launched in India. Priced at Rs 19,999, the new phone is largely similar to the Nokia 6.1 Plus, but does have a couple of interesting features and additions that help set it apart. Apart from that, the phone will also be available to buy at leading offline retailers across the country, once it goes on sale on December 7.
However, the price tag of the Nokia 7.1 puts it in direct competition with the Honor Play and Xiaomi Poco F1, both of which have some significant advantages on paper. How do the three devices compare? Find out below.
Design and Display
The key similarity when it comes to display is that all three devices have notched screens. However, the screen sizes are different in all cases; the Nokia 7.1 has the smallest screen here at 5.84 inches, while the Honor Play and Xiaomi Poco F1 have 6.3-inch and 6.18-inch screens respectively. All three phones have full-HD+ resolution IPS LCD screens, with wider-than-usual aspect ratios.
The small screen size has a significant advantage in making the Nokia 7.1 the most compact and easy-to-handle phone of the three. Furthermore, the Nokia 7.1 has what Nokia calls the ‘PureDisplay’, which is HDR10-compatible for viewing high dynamic range content. Watching movies and TV shows in the compatible format will be a significantly better experience on the Nokia 7.1.
In terms of design and build, all three phones take a different approach. The Nokia 7.1 has the most premium looking build, with a metal frame and glass back. The Honor Play sports a metal unibody build, while the Xiaomi Poco F1 has a plastic build and feels the least premium of the three. However, in terms of durability, the Xiaomi and Honor options score over the Nokia 7.1.
Specifications
All three phones come with widely different specifications. The Nokia 7.1 is the firm laggard in this department, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. In comparison, the Honor Play comes with a similar 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the similarly priced variant, but sports the HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC. The Xiaomi Poco F1 comes with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but has the best chipset on offer, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845.
The Nokia 7.1 also has the smallest battery, at 3,060mAh, compared to 3,750mAh on the Honor and 4,000mAh on the Xiaomi. All three phones come with fast charging at 18W, and charging speeds will be similar. All three phones also use USB Type-C connectivity. The Honor Play has an advantage in the form of GPU Turbo which is said to offer a performance boost with certain games, while face unlock on the Xiaomi Poco F1 is the best and works well even in the dark. The Nokia 7.1 sports the best software package, thanks to Android One certification. The phone has already received an update for Android 9 Pie, while the Honor and Xiaomi options are still on Android Oreo.
Camera
All three smartphones come with a dual-camera setup at the rear and a single-camera module at the front. The Nokia 7.1 and Xiaomi Poco F1 sport 12-megapixel + 5 megapixel setups, while the Honor Play uses a 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel setup at the back. At the front, the Nokia 7.1 gets an 8-megapixel camera, the Xiaomi Poco F1 has a 20-megapixel shooter and the Honor Play sports a 16-megapixel camera.
All three phones offer 4K video recording, with the chipset on the Poco F1 further enabling slow-motion video at up to 240fps. All the secondary sensors on the three phones are used for depth effects to enable portrait mode photography.
Price and Availability
At just under Rs 20,000, the Honor Play and Nokia 7.1 are identically priced. The Xiaomi Poco F1 is just a little more expensive at Rs 20,999. The Honor Play and Xiaomi Poco F1 have higher variants as well which come with superior specifications, such as more RAM or storage. On the whole, the Xiaomi Poco F1 or Honor Play might seem like better value propositions to the Nokia 7.1.
WATCH: Xiaomi Poco F1 Armored Edition First Look
However, the Nokia 7.1 does come with the benefit of wider offline availability and the reputation that goes into the Nokia brand name, which to some extent justifies the pricing of the phone. The Xiaomi Poco F1 is otherwise available to buy on Flipkart, while the Honor Play can be purchased on Amazon India.
| Features | Nokia 7.1 | Xiaomi Poco F1 | Honor Play |
| Display | 5.84-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD | 6.18-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD | 6.3-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 | HiSilicon Kirin 970 |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB / 8GB | 4GB / 6GB |
| Storage | 64GB | 64GB / 128GB / 256GB | 64GB |
| Rear Camera | 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel | 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel |
16-megapixel + 2-megapixel |
| Front Camera | 8-megapixel | 20-megapixel | 16-megapixel |
| Battery | 3,060mAh | 4,000mAh | 3,750mAh |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE, Dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | 4G LTE, Dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | 4G LTE, Dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
| OS | Android 9 Pie / Android One | Android Oreo / MIUI | Android Oreo / EMUI |
| Price | Rs 19,999 | Rs 20,999 onwards | Rs 19,990 onwards |
