It appears that HMD isn’t going to dump the “.1” tag anytime soon. The Nokia 2.1 and 3.1 have been floated in the past as upgrades to Nokia 2 and 3 respectively. This time around, the Nokia 5.1 is seen as an upgrade to the Nokia 5. Apart from the name, there have been real upgrades in design and hardware too. Surprisingly, it is a budget phone considering the specs it owns.
Nokia 5.1 Key Specs
- 5-inch, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, (2160 x 1080 pixels)
- Android 8.1 Oreo
- Octa-core MediaTek Helio P18 CPU
- 2GB/3GB RAM/16GB/32GB built-in storage space, up to 256GB with a memory card
- 8MP front camera
- 6MP rear camera
- 2,970mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery
Nokia 5.1 Design and Display
While the Nokia 5.1 is a budget phone and is not expected to feature anything premium, it does not sport the plastic case in the Nokia 5. Rather, it has a metallic body. This aluminium body tends to be durable and that’s a plus for those who might own the phone. It has a big full HD+ 5.5” IPS display (definitely bigger than the former which is a 5.2 inches) with an 18:9 ratio that is good enough to watch series of videos, surf the internet and play high definition games.
Also, the side is almost bezeless but the bezels are conspicuous at both the top and the bottom of the phone’s display. It does not have the latest USB Type-C option. Rather, it owns the fast becoming outdated MicroUSB 2.0. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the rear of the device.
OS and Software
The Nokia 5.1 is powered by the Android 8.1 OS. It is certain that it shall be upgradable to the Android 9 Pie when it is made available.
The device runs on a rather modest an Octa-core MediaTek chipset while the Graphics Processing Unit is Mali-T860 MP2 which ensures a smooth video viewing and seamless gaming.
There are two variants of the phone available. The former sports a 2GB internal memory with 16GB of storage while the latter features a 3GB internal memory and 32Gb of storage. Both of them can be expanded by a MicroSD card up to 256GB.
Camera and Connectivity
The Nokia 5.1 features an 8MP front-facing camera while the rear camera is 16MP which sports a phase detection auto-focus. This means that no detail is left out. The phone is 4G-enabled and is characterized by Bluetooth 4.2
Battery
The battery is a big let down. In a world where smartphones own 4000 mAh batteries, the Nokia 5.1 sports a rather mediocre 2,970 mAh battery. That’s quite unimpressive!
NOKIA 5.1 FULL SPECS
General Features
Platform: Android 8.1 Oreo
Processor: Octa-core MediaTek Helio P18
Memory: 2GB/3GB RAM
Colours: Copper, Tempered Blue, Black
Dimension: 151.1 x 70.7 x 8.2 mm
SIM Type: Nano SIM
SIM Count: Dual SIM
Display
Display: 5.5-inch, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1080 x 2160 pixels (439 ppi)
Camera
Rear Camera: 16MP camera, 1080p Video@30fps
Rear Camera Features: Autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, panorama
Front Camera: 8MP camera, 720p Video@30fps
Storage
Built-in Storage: 16GB/32GB
Memory Card Support: Yes, up to 256GB
Network Support
2G GSM: Yes
2G CDMA 1X: –
3G WCDMA: Yes
3G CDMA EVDO: –
4G LTE: LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 17(700), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)
Internet & Connectivity
GPRS: Yes
EDGE: Yes
3G/WCDMA/HSPA: Yes
HSPA+: Yes, 42.2/5.76Mbps
4G LTE: LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct
Wi-Fi Hotspot: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes, v4.2, A2DP, LE
USB Port: MicroUSB 2.0
Messaging
SMS/MMS: Yes
Instant Messaging: Yes
Push Emails: Yes
Entertainment
Music Player: MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player
Video Player: MP4/H.264 player
FM Radio: Yes
Loudspeaker: Yes
3.5mm Jack: Yes
Navigation
Navigation: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
Maps: Yes
Sensors & Control
Digital Compass: Yes/li>
Accelerometer: Yes
Proximity Sensor: Yes
Light Sensor: Yes
Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, (rear)
Face Unlock: Yes
Other Features
Video Streaming: Yes
Active Noise Cancellation: Yes
Image Editor: Yes
Video Editor: Yes
Document Viewer: Yes
Document Editor: Yes
Battery
Battery: 2, 970mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery
Nokia 5.1 Pricing and Availability
The smartphone is available for sale already and costs about $218 for the 2GB RAM and $252 for the 3GB RAM. It sells for around N61,000 in Nigeria, see Jumia offers.
