Nokia X7 Review

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The latest iteration of the Nokia’s X series, the X7 is finally here with promising upgrades over the X6. On paper, the Nokia X7 looks better than the X6 with a bigger display, bigger battery, new SoC, improved camera and still following the same Glass back design. However, to check all these features, and in-depth review is required. Hence, check out the complete in-depth review of the new Nokia X7.

Design and Build

The design of the new Nokia X7 is quite reminiscent of the Nokia X6. It also comes with a similar Glass design with aluminum frame. However, there are some aesthetic differences in the newer X7 model. The Glass on the back has the same issue of gathering fingerprint smudges and being slippery, however, these issues are very common with any Glass back device. Although, Nokia X7 doesn’t support wireless charging which makes the idea of having a glass back even a bit confusing.

Nonetheless, the device is still pretty comfortable to hold with the same level of thickness, however, the weight of the X7 is slightly more as compared to the X6. The new device has the same 8 mm thickness and but weigh 178 grams. With that being said, the device is still pretty comfortable to hold and use though it’s slippery. It comes in 3 color options — Black, Blue, and White.

Upfront, the Nokia X7 still embraces the notch, although, it’s wider than the X6. This is weird as with every generation, the notches are getting smaller which makes it look like Nokia is taking a step in the opposite direction. Still, the display on the front is now bigger than before with a similar looking chin at the bottom. The notch upfront houses the selfie camera and other sensors and there are no physical keys or fingerprint scanner on the front.

Moving sideways, the power key and the volume rocker are on the right while the opposite side houses the Hybrid SIM tray. Nokia X7 still manages to keep the Audio jack up top and comes with a Type C charging port, single speaker and a mic at the bottom. Back of the X7 houses the Dual Camera Unit along with a flash and a Fingerprint scanner. The device is still not IP certified, although, the overall design and build quality is still pretty solid and fees premium.

Improved Display

The display on the X6 was good enough to enjoy movies and games in the rush hours, however, the Nokia X7 has improved on that. It comes with a 6.1 inches IPS LCD display which has a resolution of 1080x2280 and a pixel density of 402 pixels per inch. The margin may look small but the difference in size is noticeable. The extra real-estate makes it more immersive than before, however, the wider than before notch is here to ruin the game. It takes a significant portion of the display which I personally hate.

Nonetheless, the notch can still be turned off by changing the settings which put a black bar on the top. However, the display is still not AMOLED, hence, it still looks finicky. Other than that, the display is impressive with punchy colors and contrast. It’s sharp which makes it easy to read without any distortion. The sunlight visibility is also improved than the X6. There is no Widevine L1 issue so it can flawlessly stream HD videos on Amazon Prime, Netflix etc. and the quality looks quite immersive.

During our test, we watched certain movies and videos on the X7 and actually preferred this display over the X6 despite the uglier notch. Overall, the Nokia X7 has a pretty good display in the segment.

Smooth Performance and Stock Android

Performance wise, the new Nokia X7 is the beast which outperforms all the devices in the same segment. It’s true as the X7 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 710 Octa-Core chipset. The Snap 710 is the latest mid-range offering from Qualcomm based on the 10nm architecture having the clock frequency of 2.2 GHz. It is coupled with the new Adreno 616 GPU which also performs better in terms of Graphics related tasks.

The new Nokia X7 handles anything that you can throw at it without any hassle. It is fast and responsive and handles intense tasks like gaming very well. We played PUBG and Asphalt 9 on the X& and the gameplay was completely smooth throughout the game. It can easily handle even the heavy games. Also, basic tasks like Social Media, web browsing etc. don’t ever bother the X7. It is the latest performance beast in the segment outperforming all the budget device except the Poco F1.

Storage and RAM wise the new Nokia X7 comes in two variants

· 4GB RAM / 64GB Storage

· 6GB RAM / 128GB Storage

Both the models support storage expansion using a Micro SD card up to 400 GB, However, you have to trade in the second SIM slot because of the Hybrid SIM tray. Overall, multitasking is smooth on both the models with the 6GB model having a slight advantage.

Software on the Nokia X7 is pretty much the same story as on the X6 and with that we didn’t mean anything wrong. In fact, the return of stock Android Oreo with fluid and responsive performance is one of the core highlights of the X7. However, some device in the market already got the Android Pie which makes it a step behind. Nonetheless, the Android Pie update is on the way and will arrive soon with a promise to provide an update for the Android Q.

Superb Camera

The new Nokia X7 comes with a 12 Megapixel sensor on the back with a f/1.8 aperture along with a 13 Megapixel secondary sensor. Upfront, it houses a 20 Megapixel sensor with f/2.0 aperture. Talking about the app, it’s a typical Nokia camera app with features like HDR, Panorama, Portrait mode and the ability to go manual for extra control over different parameters.

Honestly, we were impressed by how good images does the camera on the X7 captures. The images contain tons of details, colors look very close to the real ones and the dynamic range is pretty impressive too. Even the indoor shots with good lighting conditions turn out well. Though, the camera performance during the night is better than the X6 but still not too impressed with noise and blurry shots. Portrait mode has surprisingly good edge-detection and also allows you to manually tweak the focus after the shot is taken. It can also record 4K videos but still @ 30fps and also lacks OIS.

The front selfie camera captures tons of details in good lighting conditions. The images look pretty good with great colors and details, However, low light shots are still pretty average. It can also record 1080p videos but without OIS. Overall, the camera on the X7 is improved over the X6 and is surely one of the best cameras in the range.

Battery Life

One of the biggest issue with the X6 was the battery life. It has a 3060 mAh battery which can go through just a single day and maybe not with heavy usage. Nokia might have heard the complaints and this time with X7, they decided to use a 3500 mAh non-removable battery. With that being said, the battery life on the new X7 is fantastic. During our test with frequent texting and calling, frequently social media, listening to songs and small gaming sessions, the battery easily lasted more than a day. The average screen-on-time was around 6–7 hours or more though it is very subjective to how are you going to use it. Nokia X7 also supports 18W fast charging through the fast charger is not included inside the box just like what Apple does. Overall, X7 is now for people who want great performance without sacrificing a great battery life.

More Features

The latest Nokia X7 comes with usual Dual SIM and Dual Standby support. Instead of having a dedicated slot for memory expansion, it utilizes the second SIM slot for memory expansion. Other connectivity features on the X7 includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5 and also AGPS. The list of sensors on the device includes a Proximity sensor, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, and Compass.

Nokia X7 comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. It is easy to reach and unlock the device instantly almost every time. There is a Face Unlock feature too which is improved now and unlock the device pretty quickly though it is not as secure as the Fingerprint scanner.

The speaker on the device is pretty loud with minor distortion on the top volume levels. However, the earpiece still doesn’t double as a speaker which means no stereo sound whatsoever. Although, the X7 still retains the headphone jack which means an AUX or a good pair of headphone will do the job.

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