Nokia 3.1 Plus – The Most Affordable Smartphone with Dual-Camera

HMD Global unveiled its entry-level smartphone phone for masses – Nokia 3.1 Plus. It’s the phone with all your basic but smart needs that come with some elements from a mid-range in an affordable price.

The new Nokia 3.1 Plus has an aluminium body that comes in three colors – Blue, White and Baltic/Charcoal. The phone features a large 6-inch IPS LCD display with only HD+ resolution. It comes with an 18:9 aspect ratio, with a fingerprint scanner at the back.

Seriously I sometime wonder why they even make these large displays with low-resolution. Only to attract large scale of low budget customers with large displays? That’s really bad and I won’t recommend buying a phone with large displays but low-resolution.

Interesting is that the phone has a fingerprint sensor on the back and in-fact a dual-camera module on the back. This is probably the very first budget smartphone with these two features. Let’s see if you fall for it.

Related: Infinix Note 5 Stylus set to launch in Pakistan – Availability and Price enclosed

Platform, Memory, Camera and Battery

The Nokia 3.1 Plus indeed has a mid-range level processor – Helio P22 one. HMD made a good decision to go for a MediaTek chip instead of Qualcomm’s as it wouldn’t be that cheaper to house Snapdragon 63x series chip. So that’s a good thing.

In addition the phone comes in two variants featuring 2GB RAM with 16GB internal storage or 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage.

The phone features a dual-camera on the back – 13MP main camera with a secondary 5MP depth sensor. On the front, there is an 8MP camera.

It is powered by a 3500 mAh battery capacity and does not support fast-charging.

Software and Other Features

Nokia 3.1 Plus is part of the Android One program and runs Android 8 Oreo out-of-the-box. Expect Android 9 Pie via OTA in future.

Other features include, 3G/4G connectivity and Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The phone also features a microUSB, audio-jack and other basic sensors including GPS.

Pricing and Availability

Available in Blue, White and Baltic/Charcoal, Nokia 3.1 Plus 2GB/16GB variant is priced around $156 in India. HMD Global has suggested average global prices as €159 and €169 respectively for 2GB and 3GB variant which are pretty much higher than the price in India.

The phone should be available in Pakistan in the coming weeks and pricing could be similar to the neighbouring country.  Expect Nokia 3.1 to be priced at PKR 20,500/- for 2GB model and PKR 22,500/- for 3GB model.

Nokia 3.1 Plus Specifications

• Chipset: MediaTek Helio P22
  • CPU: Octa-core Cortex-A53 2.0GHz
  • GPU: MG PowerVR GE8320
• OS: Android 8 Oreo (Pure)
  • Android 9 Pie will be available via OTA in future
• Display: 6″ IPS LCD display, HD+ (720 x 1440) resolution
  • 18:9 aspect ratio
  • 268 ppi pixel density
  • 78% screen-to-body ratio
• Memory
  • Model 1: 2GB RAM + 16GB storage
  • Model 2: 3GB RAM + 32GB storage
  • microSD card slot – expandable up to 400GB
• Camera:
  • Rear: Dual-Camera 13MP, f/2.0 + 5MP, f/2.4, LED flash
  • Front: 8MP, f/2.2 aperture lens
• Connectivity:
  • Networks: Dual-SIM – 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
  • Other: VoLTE, microUSB, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth 4.1, 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
• Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, E-compass, Gyroscope
  • Fingerprint scanner (rear-mounted)
  • NFC (only in some markets)
• Battery: 3500 mAh
• Estimated Price: $156