Nokia 6 Review

Interface and Functionality

Nokia’s promise to keep things lightweight and clutter free is upheld on this end. As far as Android goes, tweaks in the OS are imperceptible, if they exist at all. The Amazon version, of course, has the company’s preinstalled apps and lockscreen ads, but on a regular Nokia 6, the only non-stock artifact is an app named “Support.” This does seem to be a useful addition, though. Much like the settings menu in Google’s Pixel phones, the Support app exists to provide users with a direct line to product support. Help can be obtained in the form of the user manual, warranty status, FAQs, community forums, and chat support. This aside, bone-stock Android and “regular updates” were promised, and while the former is clearly executed, we anticipate the latter will be as well.

Processor and Memory

So, what does the chipset do with this clean Android version? Well, we wish it did more. The phone never freezes or stutters much, but navigating the UI always feels just a half-step behind, and in some situations, a full step. Equipped with the octa-core Snapdragon 430, the processor is clocked at 1.4 GHz. Paired with 3 GB of RAM, the Nokia performs reliably and consistently, albeit at a mediocre pace.

App switching is smooth and prompt, though you will see a persistent stutter while cycling through larger apps in a dual-screen setup. Generally, apps open quickly but take a second or two to load. When they are open, though, they switch quickly and effortlessly, which is characteristic of the mid-range processing speeds paired with ample RAM. We don’t think users will find much fault with day-to-day performance here, but a Snapdragon 625 would definitely speed things up an appreciable notch.

Gaming could also benefit from a higher-class Snapdragon. Loading times are quite slow, and like most mid-rangers, you’ll be dropping a lot of frames.

The fingerprint sensor is a capacitive home button, and authenticates well, for the most part. It’s a quick sensor, which we found to be accurate and mostly capable of efficient authentication, though it did miss a few instances here and there that we felt other sensors would’ve picked up. We couldn’t help but feel like some of the missed authentications would have been recognized if the scanner itself were bigger – taller, specifically. The issues we encountered didn’t seem to be a result of the software or faulty hardware, but rather just not enough surface area for your finger to land on. Inexplicably, though, you cannot set the device to open from just one authentication, but rather two. Resting your finger on the scanner wakes up the device, which then forces you lift and place your finger again to authenticate and gain entry to the device – a pretty annoying and useless quirk.

Connectivity

The 6 sells as an unlocked phone, and like many sold under this moniker, the device is incompatible with Sprint and Verizon, due to the lack of CDMA support. On the plus side, we do have NFC support, enabling services like Android Pay, Beam, and others. We’re glad to see this on a mid-ranger, as these phones can often be neglected when it comes to should-be standard features like this. As we’ve come to expect in this category, though, micro-USB is the standard for charging – something else we hope won’t be the case on a flagship offering from the company.

Camera

Unlike the bevy of image controls we used to see in the camera app on Windows Phones, Nokia’s Android adaptation is rather bare. No controls exist for adjusting white balance, ISO, etc.. Nokias were known for their full-featured and capable cameras like the legendary Lumia 1020, as well as all the other Windows phones that carried their intuitive and feature-rich camera app. Fortunately, the 6 is a solid point-and-shoot performer, so the loss isn’t too significant. The only options that exist though, are a timer and toggles for HDR and flash. Other than that, you can switch to the front facing camera or select the camcorder button to record video. That’s it. For its lack of features, it sure is straightforward.

Indoor shooting in well-lit scenes will produce some of the best images we’ve seen in its class, offering solid details and excellent color reproduction. The sensor does seem to be a bit sensitive to movement, though, often creating blur in images that the 16 MP sensor is more than capable of capturing properly. Otherwise, we’re quite pleased; printing pictures taken on the 6 will surely produce satisfactory results.

Call Quality

Nothing major to report here, thankfully. Calls came through clearly and callers could hear us well on the other end. While the Dolby Atmos certified dual speakers are nice to have, we actually found them to be a little quieter than we’d hoped on the speakerphone.

Battery Life

Nokia doesn’t blow us away here, in fact we’d love to see some improvements. This 3,000-mAh battery will get you through a day’s use in most scenarios, but we worry a bit about higher-end use cases. The battery also takes just under 3 hours to recharge, making the Moto G5 Plus’s efficiency and turbo power charging sound pretty good about now.

Conclusion

Nokia’s highest end Android phone this far is a solid phone, but we shan’t forget it’s still a mid-range offering. Its premium feel, up-to-the-task screen, and capable 16-megapixel camera make it easy to forget that. But we never lose sight of this is in regard to its processing power; in more intensive usage scenarios, this will be most evident.

So, for all that it does well and all that it lacks, what are the notable alternatives? Well, we’d be remiss in not mentioning the beautiful iPhone SE, which easily tops the Nokia in processing power, but in some other categories, the race is close. There’s also the Moto G5 Plus, which comes close to the 6 in many aspects, but Nokia may just have the edge with a more capable camera – this decision may come down to taste more than anything else. If you’re feeling adventurous though, the Honor 6X is still a worthy option, with its dual-camera set up, and faster processor.

Ultimately, you can’t really go wrong between these four phones; they all have their strengths and weaknesses. If you’re an iPhone SE user, there’s no compelling reason to jump ship to a mid-range Android phone, but if you’re an Android fan then rejoice! Nokia’s back! Let’s just hope that their impending flagship irons out the few software wrinkles we’ve seen here. Since the 6’s main flaw will be replaced with the top of the line Snapdragon, we’re not anticipating any hardware missteps based on what we’ve seen from the otherwise well-equipped Nokia 6.