We unbox the Nokia 7 Plus!

HMD Global’s mid-range stunner, the Nokia 7 Plus, is finally at Unbox HQ. The phone was announced along with a couple of other devices back in February during Mobile World Congress. And while Nokia-branded devices shipped with stock Android ever since their revival last year, HMD Global has officially made stock Android their rallying cry, pushing Android One (and Android Go) into their phones and guaranteed OS updates along with it.

Nokia 7 Plus specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor
• 4GB/6GB of RAM
• 6-inch Full HD IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 13-megapixel and 12-megapixel Carl Zeiss rear cameras (color + monochrome), f/2.0 aperture, 1.12µm pixels, with PDAF, OIS, dual-LED flash, 4K video recording
• 16-megapixel f/2.0 Carl Zeiss front camera
• 64GB of expandable storage
• Dual SIM
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, USB Type-C, fingerprint scanner, IP54 rating
• Android Oreo (Android One)
•  3800mAh battery with 18W fast charging

Packaging and contents:

HMD Global has been pretty consistent with the packaging of their phones big and small, as all of their devices feature the Nokia logo, with two hands clasped in the middle.

Inside the box you’ll find the typical smartphone accessories: headphones, USB Type-C fast  charger and cable plus a jelly case to protect the rear of the phone, not that it needs it – we’ll be going into that later.

Initial Impressions: Aluminum and notch-free design make it stand out from the pack

The current crop of Nokia smartphones (the upcoming Nokia X notwithstanding) has been largely resistant to 2018’s design bandwagon. The Nokia 7 Plus doesn’t have a glass back or a notched screen, and instead relies on good ol’ aluminum and a typical 18:9 display.

Of course HMD Global had to spruce up the Nokia 7 Plus for it to compete against rival mid-range phones in the design department. In that regard they integrated a ceramic finish into the anodization process of the phone’s aluminum unibody giving it this unique matte finish that feels a little different from your typical aluminum-backed phone.

This also means you can run the Nokia 7 Plus naked, without worrying about microscratches that mar the finish of similar all-glass phones. Of course there’s a silicone case in the package to keep your phone protected if you choose to go that route.

Another design trend that the Nokia 7 Plus bucks is the notch. The 6-inch, full HD+, 18:9 IPS display of the phone has no notch at the top, just a regular black bezel where the 16-megapixel f/2.0 Carl Zeiss branded selfie camera sits, along with the earpiece and standard array of sensors.

The Nokia 7 Plus is available in two colors: black and white, and has copper accents on the frame, camera module and fingerprint scanner to give it a bit of color.

The phone feels hefty and solid thanks to its aluminum unibody, and is re-assuringly solid. HMD Global may be only hold the legendary Finnish brand’s name, but sure do build their phones like the Nokia devices of yore.

Controls are typical for a device like this, with the power and volume buttons on the right, 3.5mm jack on the top and the hybrid SIM tray on the left. The USB Type-C port and speaker grille is located at the bottom.

Powering the phone is Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 660 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage for our review device. HMD Global has renewed their commitment to deliver a pure Android experience with their phones, and is the only manufacturer that we know of that has committed most of their phones to the Android One program.

Being part of Android One means that the phone is guaranteed to get the latest security patches and two year’s worth of OS updates.

As far as the processing power of the phone goes, Qualcomm’s mid-range SD660 chip is very capable. We’ve seen the lower-spec’d SD636 deliver excellent performance in lower priced phones, and we expect better performance from the faster processor. With an Adreno 512 GPU the chipset is more than a match for graphically taxing games and apps, though we will have to see how well it performs during our review process.

The Nokia 7 Plus is now available to buy in stores for Php 21,990.