Nokia launched the Nokia 7 Plus at MWC 2018 back near the end of February. It was unveiled alongside the Android Go packing budget Nokia 1, a revamped Nokia 6, the Nokia 8 Sirocco, and the Nokia 8110 'banana phone'. For many, the Nokia 7 Plus will be the 'Goldilocks' device with enough high-end style attractions to appeal, without the high-end pricing to overwhelm their purchasing desires.
The Nokia 7 Plus does indeed look nicely crafted; its build is dominated by a handsome 6-inch FHD+ IPS screen (2160 x 1080) with minimal bezels, and the black, or white, base colour with ceramic feel aluminium unibody and subtle diamond cut copper edge highlights look rather high end.
Inside, this smartphone doesn't boast the highest end components but they are still competent. For example, the Nokia 7 Plus is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 rather than an 800 series SoC. It has a dual rear camera setup with Zeiss optics (normal and 2x zoom) but they would ideally feature OIS. As mentioned above, this smartphone sports an IPS panel but an OLED one would be preferable. Furthermore, this smartphone comes with 4GB of RAM which is often exceeded by flagships nowadays.
If all the above concessions made to bring this smartphone down to the mid-range are acceptable, you will likely be pleased with the Nokia 7 Plus minimum of 64GB storage (with microSD expandability), the Zeiss optics on the 16MP selfie camera, Nokia special audio recording (3 mic OZO Audio), and the fact that this is an Android One device (shipping with Oreo).
With Android One you get the stock Google Android experience and the promise of speedy updates for features and security. Another benefit of Android One is said to be its lower demands on the hardware compared to various third party skinned alternatives, so this Snapdragon 660 device with 4GB of RAM might feel fleeter of foot than you would otherwise expect, and provide better battery life too.
Other features worth highlighting are support for; LTE Cat 6, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm audio jack, single speaker, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, USB Type-C connector, 3800mAh battery, single speaker. The Nokia 7 Plus measures 158.38 x 75.64 x 7.99 mm (with camera bump adding 1.56mm) and will be made available in Black / Copper, White / Copper.
Pre-order price in Europe is €399, and here in the UK it is £349. For the first month here in the UK, a Google Home Mini will be offered in selected retailers as a redemption offer. I found it for pre-order on Amazon UK today but there is no mention of the free Google Home Mini on the page, so it might be worth waiting for the description to update or check other retailers. In Nokia's email to HEXUS it says the Google Home Mini offer runs from 2nd May 2018 for one calendar month, via select retailers.
