After a rough couple of years, 2017 seems like a fresh start for the once largest smartphone manufacturer Nokia. After releasing a line of low end to flagship phones, it was only a matter of time for Nokia to cover the higher midrange market. Enter the Nokia 7. Priced at roughly Rs. 43,000, the Nokia 7 is not a bad alternative to all those Galaxies.

Aluminum all round

Not compromising anywhere, Nokia has crafted the Nokia 7 from 7000 series aluminum, which is used in aircrafts as well, and glass. The phone definitely gives off a premium feel when the rest of the competition uses metal bodies. Measuring in at 7.9mm, the Nokia 7 should be slim enough to feel nice in your hands without slipping out of it.

The front of the phone is where the 5.2-inch 1080p screen is present with a 5 MP camera on the front. No home button here, instead there are 3 capacitive buttons to access the home screen, most used apps and one for the back button.

On the backside of the phone you get a 16MP main camera and a fingerprint sensor below it. This is a welcomed update after the Nokia 6’s home button/fingerprint scanner design.

Nothing to see here normal screen

The Nokia 7 comes with a smaller screen than the Nokia 6, maxing out at 5.2-inches versus the 5.5-inch one on the Nokia 6, but both are IPS LCD ones so Nokia doesn’t seem to have bumped it up to an AMOLED screen. The resolution is also the same so you’ll get a relatively crisper screen on the Nokia 7 than on the 6 due to the higher pixel density. Speaking of pixel density, the Nokia 7’s accumulates to 424ppi.

Bothie enters the midrange fray

Initially thought to be a feature reserved for Nokia’s higher end offerings, the Nokia 7 also has the “bothie” feature that lets you record via the front and back cameras simultaneously.  Coupled with direct livestreaming to youtube and facebook right from the camera app, the bothie feature will make sure you’re never not in your own livestream.

Now, as mentioned earlier, the main camera on the Nokia 7 is a 16MP shooter. But that’s not all. It’s a 16MP shooter equipped with a Zeiss lens that has an f/1.8 aperture, phase detection auto-focus and a dual tone LED flash. With each pixel 1.12µm in size, the Nokia 7 can capture much more light than most mid-range smartphones. Additionally, the Nokia 7 can record all the way up to 4k resolution.

The front camera is a 5MP one with pixel size even larger than the main camera, each pixel measuring at 1.4µm in size. Now your selfies will look brighter than ever.

Good Hardware = Great Software Experience

Even for an upper mid-range device, the Nokia 7 is packing some serious power underneath the glass body. The Snapdragon 630 is found on board, providing the speed you need for fluid responses and a smooth experience. The Nokia 7 will hit the market in 2 versions with different amounts of RAM. One with 4GB and the other with 6GB, both models having 64GB of internal storage. With Android 7.1 Nougat pre-installed on a minimally customized skin, and a confirmed upgrade to Oreo waiting, the Nokia 7 will give you the best user experience one could ask for in terms of software.

Keeping the lights on is a 3000mAh battery that should see you through a day with moderate usage.

Nokia 7 Pros:

• The glass and aluminum body is very appealing
• It comes in two variants, both with lots of RAM
• Price is good with regards to its features
• 4k video recording

Nokia 7 Cons:

• Could’ve used the Snapdragon 660 instead of the 630
• It has an IPS LCD screen just like the Nokia 6