Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus pre-orders begin: Know price, features, specs

The company has started taking pre-orders via offline and online channels, and the smartphones will go on sale starting April 30. Read all the available details here

HMD Global, the official Nokia-brand licensee, on April 4 launched the Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 7 Plus, along with Nokia 6 (2018). From April 20, the company has started taking pre-orders via offline and online channels, and the smartphones will go on sale starting April 30.

The Nokia 8, priced at Rs 49,999, will be available only in black colour, and consumers can pre-book the unit from either Nokia phones portal or home-grown e-commerce portal Flipkart. The phone can also be pre-booked through select retail outlets like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, Croma and Reliance.

To early adopters, the company is offering 10 per cent cashback on ICICI cards, along with an additional data benefit of 120GB to Airtel subscribers. Airtel customers will also get an extended free subscription to the Airtel TV app until December 31, 2018.

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is an unconventional flagship smartphone with a premium design, top-tier innards, wireless charging, water-dust resistance and the Android One promise of guaranteed future OS updates. The phone’s camera might not impress everyone, especially those who like nightlife photography. But the three omni-directional Nokia OZO microphones compensate for that by allowing crisp sound recording, even during the live jamming sessions.

On the costlier side among premium smartphones with a price tag of Rs 49,999, the Nokia 8 competes with the OnePlus 5T and LG V30+ in its segment.

While the OnePlus 5T does not have a curved screen to match with the Nokia 8 Sirocco, it has a 6-inch modern 18:9 ultra-wide display of OLED breed that is as good as the one found in the Nokia 8 Sirocco. However, the OnePlus 5T is soon going to become a generation old device as the OnePlus is gearing up to launch the OnePlus 6 sometime soon. 

In comparison with LG V30+, which is a mixed bag of small and major improvements, the Nokia 8 seems to be on-par on most of the fronts. The LG V30+ is a water and dust-resistant (IP68-certified) and has been through US MIL-STD 810G test to prove its durability and strong build quality, which we agree are top-notch. However, the Nokia 8 Sirocco is much more elegant in design aspects.

The Nokia 7 Plus, on the other hand, will be available only black/copper and white/copper colours,  and consumers can pre-book the unit from either Nokia phones portal or Amazon India. The phone, priced at Rs 25,999, can also be pre-booked through select retail outlets like Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, Croma and Reliance.

To early adopters, the company is offering 10 per cent cashback on ICICI cards, along with an additional cashback of Rs 2,000 to Airtel subscribers. The Nokia 7 Plus buyers will also be eligible for a complimentary 12-month accidental damage insurance by Servify on opening the Kotak 811 savings account and activating it.

The Nokia 7 Plus is a mid-range premium smartphone with modern looks and smooth performance. It does not have top-tier innards, but it manages to run without any lag or jitters, even during demanding tasks. At Rs 25,999, the phone is an all-rounder with powerful battery, fast charge support, good screen and the Android One update promise.

The Nokia 7 Plus competes with Oppo F7 in sub Rs 26,000 smartphone segment. The Oppo F7 might lack the overall dynamism, it still features a modern notch-based screen and features a capable camera module on front and back. The Oppo F7 is a modern-day device designed for millennials and social media enthusiasts with a knack for selfies. However, the Nokia 7 Plus build quality and remarkable battery life puts it ahead in the competition.

Along with the Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 7 Plus, HMD Global also launched the Nokia 6 (2018) in India priced at Rs 16,999. The Nokia 6 is built on the blueprint of the original Nokia 6. It is powered by Qualcomm 630 processor, paired with 32GB internal storage and 3GB RAM. The phone is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery, which supports fast charge technology. According to company’s claim, the fast charger takes 30 minutes to charge over 50 per cent battery. The phone boasts a 16MP primary camera and 8MP selfie camera.

Earlier, HMD Global also launched the budget-centric the Nokia 1 in India. The Nokia 1 runs Android Oreo (Go edition), which is a light-weight version of Android Oreo compatible with devices with limited hardware prowess, such as 1GB RAM or less, etc. The Android Oreo (Go edition) also comes with a dedicated package of Google apps, which take less space and are optimised to use less hardware resources. The phone is priced at Rs 5,499.