Nokia 7 Plus review

This could be Nokia's 'almost there' Android phone

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Battery performance

  • 3800mAh battery lasts more than a day
  • Supports Quick Charge

The battery on the Nokia 7 Plus is a relatively large 3800mAh unit, which sounds good enough for a long battery backup. After using this phone for more than a week, we can confidently state that it has a solid battery. The phone lasts long with ample of battery remaining by the end of the day. It has an impressive standby battery life, which means it retains the charge for days if left unused.

It also supports fast charging (18W, 9V/2A). 

We kept a constant check at our Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin accounts, and  played PUBG mobile for more than an hour everyday, which, by the way, sucks tons of juice. On top of that, we did about an hour of calling and streamed music for a minimum of three hours. With all that happening, the Nokia 7 Plus still managed to cruise through the day without needing any charge.

Using a fast charger, the phone 80% for 30% battery in an hour and nine minutes. 

Camera

  • Dual camera setup (12MP+13MP)
  • 2X optical zoom
  • Works well in low-light

The company has stressed over the camera of the phone, which on paper sound like a solid hardware setup. There’s a dual camera setup on the rear including a 12MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture along with a second 13MP sensor that features telephoto lens with an f/2.0 aperture.

As it is with most dual-camera smartphones, the second lens allows it to capture portrait shots with blurred background and of course 2X optical zoom. The only thing that seems to be missing is OIS which is a bummer and is visble in the pictures. 

Image quality from the Nokia 7 Plus cannot be compared to likes of the Samsung Galaxy S9 or even the OnePlus 5T. While the shots look good in daylight, they didn't completely impress us mostly due to lack of crispness and a visible stability issue. The camera on the Nokia 7 Plus is not reliable if you are looking for something that can be pulled out of the pocket for a quick shot. 

Nokia 7 Plus can click some impressive pictures in low-light.

Nokia 7 Plus can click some impressive pictures in low-light.

In low light, it performs better than most, which should be the ideal case with a dual-lens setup. The colour reproduction and details look fine when the camera if you can hold the phone firmly. We compared it to the Redmi Note 5 Pro, Vivo V9 and Oppo F7, and it turned out to be the best in low-light conditions.

While the autofocus speed is really impressive, the camera is below par at judging and adjusting exposure. Most pictures shot against the light were overexposed. The image below is washed out due to the light coming from the window. 

Nokia 7 Plus is poor at handling exposure. (Clicked using auto mode)

Nokia 7 Plus is poor at handling exposure. (Clicked using auto mode)

With good lighting and still hands, though, the Nokia 7 Plus performs well, capturing some sharp looking shots.

Nokia 7 Plus LIve Bokeh mode.

Nokia 7 Plus LIve Bokeh mode.

HMD Global has worked on the camera app this time and has made it easier to use. It has a neat interface with all the essential settings sitting right in front of your eyes. It comes with two notable modes— Live Bokeh and Pro. The Live Bokeh is essentially Nokia’s term for the portrait mode. And the Pro mode, as the name suggests, allows you to adjust the white balance, focus, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. 

The Live Bokeh mode is a bit inconsistent. It struggles to capture sharp portrait shots and even the artificial blurring is uneven in well lit and low-light situations. Surprisingly, it impressed us in some cases with incandescent light. With that, it allows you to adjust the amount of blurring you want to add to the picture.   

There’s also a 16MP front-facing camera that can shoot nice, sharp selfies with well balanced exposure and close to source colours.

The camera also retains the ‘Bothie’ feature introduced on Nokia 8 last year. It basically uses both the cameras at once, and allows users to live stream using one various social media platforms.

For videos, the phone can record up to 4K resolution at 30fps from rear, and up to 1080p from the front camera. Another feature that comes from last year's Nokia 8 is OZO Audio, which uses three microphones alongside Nokia's own algorithms, allowing it to capture 360-degree sound when recording video.

Nokia 7 Plus camera samples

Sudhanshu Singh

Sudhanshu Singh have been working in tech journalism as a reporter, writer, editor, and reviewer for over 5 years. He has reviewed hundreds of products ranging across categories and have also written opinions, guides, feature articles, news, and analysis. Ditching the norm of armchair journalism in tech media, Sudhanshu dug deep into how emerging products and services affect actual users, and what marks they leave on our cultural landscape.
His areas of expertise along with writing and editing include content strategy, daily operations, product and team management.