Nokia 8.1 vs Nokia 7 Plus: What’s New and Different in the Nokia 8.1?

Nokia 8.1 is HMD Global's latest smartphone, which was launched at the company's event in Dubai on Wednesday. Placed in the premium mid-range segment, the Nokia 8.1 comes with features such as a 6.18-inch display panel with HDR10 support, a dual rear camera setup with Zeiss optics, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC, Android 9.0 Pie, and 18W fast charging support. This phone is the success to HMD's Nokia 7 Plus, which launched back in February at MWC 2018. Both phones are part of Google's Android One programme and will get regular Android updates for the near future. Let's check out what the similarities and differences are between the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7 Plus.

Nokia 8.1 vs Nokia 7 Plus price

Nokia 8.1 price has been set at EUR 399 (roughly Rs. 32,200) in European and Middle Eastern markets. The phone will go on sale in the mentioned markets from “mid-December”. Additionally, HMD has confirmed a launch event in India on December 10 where the Nokia 8.1 is expected to see an unveiling. At the event, Nokia 8.1 price in India will likely be announced. The phone is available in Blue/ Silver, Iron/ Steel, and Steel/ Copper dual-tone colour options.

Nokia 7 Plus, on the other hand, was launched in India at a price of Rs. 25,999 back in April this year. At launch, the phone was made available across online platforms like Amazon.in and Nokia Mobile Shop, and offline outlets including Croma, Sangeetha, Reliance Digital, and more. Colour options include Black/ Copper and White/ Copper dual-tone variants. Notably, the Nokia 7 Plus is currently out of stock in India and is not expected to be made available anytime soon.

Nokia 8.1 vs Nokia 7 Plus specifications

Both the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7 Plus support two Nano SIM cards and run a stock version of the latest Android 9.0 Pie. The Nokia 7 Plus sports a 6-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) IPS LCD panel with an 18:9 aspect ratio, and the Nokia 8.1 has a larger 6.18-inch full-HD+ (1080x2244 pixels) panel with a taller 18.7:9 aspect ratio and HDR10 support.

At its core, the Nokia 8.1 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 SoC, coupled with 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage. Storage on the handset is expandable via microSD card (up to 400GB). On the other hand, the Nokia 7 Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC, paired with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. Storage on the Nokia 7 Plus is also expandable via microSD card but only up to another 256GB.

In the camera department, both the Nokia 8.1 and Nokia 7 Plus sport dual rear camera setups with Zeiss optics. The rear camera setup on the Nokia 8.1 consists of a 12-megapixel primary sensor, with a 1/2.55-inch sensor, 1.4-micron pixels, EIS, OIS, 2PD tech, and dual-LED flash; and a 13-megapixel secondary sensor for depth sensing. The Nokia 7 Plus' rear camera module gets a 12-megapixel primary wide-angle sensor, with f/1.75 aperture and 1.4-micron pixels; and a 13-megapixel secondary sensor with f/2.6 aperture and 1-micron pixel.

On the front, the Nokia 8.1 sports a 20-megapixel fixed focus selfie camera with 0.9 micron pixels and 4-in-1 pixel tech for improved low light photography. The Nokia 7 Plus has a 16-megapixel fixed focus selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, 1-micron pixels, and Zeiss optics.

Connectivity options on the Nokia 8.1 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac with VoWiFi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Nokia 7 Plus has 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, a USB Type-C (2.0) port, and a 3.5mm audio jack as connectivity options. The Nokia 8.1 has a 3,500mAh battery under the hood with support for 18W fast charging. The Nokia 7 Plus gets a 3,800mAh battery under the hood with support for fast charging.

Sensors onboard the Nokia 8.1 include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. The Nokia 7 Plus gets an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. Both phones sport rear-facing fingerprint sensors and software-based face unlock sensors.

Dimensions of the Nokia 8.1 are 154.8x75.76x7.97mm, and weighs in at 178 grams. The Nokia 7 Plus measures 158.38x75.64x7.99mm.