Nokia 5.1

Nokia 5.1 still seems to rehash the Nokia philosophy regarding mid-range budget phones by providing limited hardware cosseted in a sturdy build. Priced at ₹11,303, it is a good budget phone, but with its competitors adding some flagship features to their budget handsets, it seems incapable of staying afloat in the market for anything other than its brand name.

Nokia 5.1 keeps within its comfort zone without trying to go for something spectacular. It delivers an average performance which is paired with a mediocre battery. It also has a passable camera. However, it can be a satisfying phone for the budget audience.

Nokia 5.1 does not look like a low mid-range phone. It is built with a Series 6000 aluminum body which has subtle details that look great. Due to its curved edges, it feels comfortable in the hand. It comes with the 18:9 aspect ratio, and thus can provide a good display without appearing unwieldy.

At 8.2mm, it does not feel bulky either. On the whole, it is a great design and looks almost like a high mid-range phone. It also arrives with a 3.5mm headphone which is an excellent addition for any average user.

The Nokia 5.1 has a 5.5 inch IPS LCD screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It has an FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2160 which is quite impressive. The display is bright and provides crisp images. However, the colors seem a bit weaker. The brightness is not as high to provide good sunlight legibility in harsh sunlight. The viewing angles are quite good, but there is a slight dimming of colors when you tilt the phone.

Nokia 5.1 arrives with a MediaTek Helio P19 chipset which is an octa-core CPU with 4 cores running at 2.0 GHz for heavy tasks while the other four are clocked at 1.2 GHz for lighter tasks. It is partnered with the Mali-T860MP2 GPU. This is a standard for most budget phones. It delivers passable performance as can be expected from this budget.

There is a slight delay while launching the apps and multitasking can get a bit frustrating. It is not the set for gaming, and so many graphics-heavy games like PUBG might result in lags. Benchmark scores put it at a multi-core score of 3255, which is easily beaten by Honor 9 Lite’s score of 3668.

The Nokia 5.1 has a rear 16MP camera which features dual-LED flash and can capture HDR videos. It presents decent snaps, but the colors may appear weak. There is a bit of noise captured and while the phone tries to cancel it, zooming in shows the noise cancellation present.

In low light situations, the noise captured is a lot more, and as a result, the noise cancellation becomes more aggressive, making the photos lose a lot of details.

The Nokia 5.1 has a non-removable 2970 mAh battery that is capable of a day’s use. Heavy tasks like gaming and video streaming will drain the battery at a fast rate resulting in a lower than one-day battery life. It is recommended to use it for heavy tasks sparingly if you do not have a charger nearby.

The Nokia 5.1 is a tempting phone. It comes with a great design, and the display with high resolution is excellent and at par with mid-range phones. However, the performance could have been improved, as it can get sluggish at times. Gaming is not passable on this phone. However, if you want a device for performing the essential functions of a mobile phone, then you are not going to be disappointed with the Nokia 5.1.