Nokia 3.1 Review: Making the Bargain Great Again

As was just mentioned, the Nokia 3.1 lets you stare at and tap away on a 5.2-inch display. The measurement and resolution are completely fine. Surprisingly, the LCD technology at work wasn’t too cold for my personal tastes.

However, its brightness was disappointing and quite frustrating. The Nokia 3.1 seems to be really sensitive to changes in ambient light, and often that leads to a far too dim screen. If you crank up the brightness manually, you’re bound to see it jump back down minutes later.

While the screen lacks popping colors or even defined sharpness, the Nokia 3.1 offers up a no-compromise viewing experience.

It’s refreshing to see an entry-level device do better than expected in such a dicey area. HMD Global picked a good LCD supplier. Yet again, HMD Global sets the example for its competitors to learn from.

Now, there’s no denying the Nokia 3.1 ships with a not-so-beastly chip. HMD Global tapped MediaTek for its MT6750. The chip lines up against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 series, and that should indicate what type of performance we’re looking at. It leads to a completely average speed and reliability.

The Nokia 3.1, which gets 2GB to manage its workflow, won’t frequently stall or kill apps, but you’re not flying between tasks at your own convenience. Rather than sprinting, the Nokia 3.1 behaves like it’s taking a stroll through the park and enjoying the scenery.

Considering this phone costs so little, the performance doesn’t deserve an abundance of criticism. You pay for what you get, after all. But HMD Global would still be wise to add some more memory. The Nokia 3.1 could reach another level with 3GB or 4GB. Maybe we’ll see that happen for the Nokia 3.2 in 2019.

The 2990mAh battery is small-ish on paper, but it does wonders for low-end hardware like this.

Between the power-efficient components and slimmed-down software, the Nokia 3.1 can stay alive for an entire day. During our testing, it often finished a regular workday with an ample amount of battery life left to spare. That’s the type of reward you get in return for so-so speed.

Anyone who’s using the Nokia 3.1 for basic tasks should get more than a day of use on a single charge. Even under demanding times, the phone still doesn’t burn out fast.

Lately, we’ve seen high-end and mid-range devices trot out into the spotlight with dual-camera setups. The industry believes two cameras are better than one, an appropriate line of thinking in most instances. Meanwhile, HMD Global can’t take advantage of the trend because, well, $159 doesn’t allow for that.

The Nokia 3.1 rocks a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP rear camera. HDR Mode, Beauty Mode, Panoramaroma Mode are included for the primary lens. HMD Global tossed in a Manual Mode, too.

As long as there’s enough natural light, the Nokia 3.1 will collect share-worthy photos. Then it goes downhill. Without decent lighting, your shots become grainy. None of that should be surprising, anyway.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/reviews/nokia-3-1-review/