Redmi 6 Pro Vs Nokia 3.1 Plus

Nokia 3.1 Plus vs Redmi 6 Pro: New Kid Meets the Budget King

With the new Nokia 3.1 Plus, HMD Global is looking to make a splash in the budget market with the phone’s massive screen and the stock Android experience. In fact, if you read my first impressions of the phone, then you’ll know how much I like it.

Now, this comparison may ridiculous due to some obvious reasons. On one side, we have the Redmi 6 Pro that’s powered by the Snapdragon 625 SoC, whereas, on the other hand, we have the Nokia 3.1 Plus that’s powered by the Helio P22.

Yes, looking at the specification alone, it may seem that they both would attract different customers. However, Nokia decided to attach an odd-ball price tag to the Nokia 3.1 Plus. 

Design And Build Quality

Logic dictates that the Redmi 6 Pro, with an almost full-metal body, would give it an edge over the Nokia 3.1 Plus in terms of the design and build quality. But I beg to differ. The Nokia 3.1 Plus is an eye-catchy device, thanks to its die-cast metal back. It looks and feels good in the hand, whereas the Redmi 6 Pro, looks just like, well, any other Redmi phone out there.

The Redmi 6 Pro, despite's its notched display, doesn’t get rid of too much of the bezels, but the Nokia 3.1 Plus keeps it classic. I also love the silver accents on the Nokia 3.1 Plus’ dual camera unit and the fingerprint scanner. Both phones weigh almost the same, but the Nokia 3.1 Plus has an edge when it comes to the in-hand feel.

The Nokia 3.1 Plus looks and feels arguably better than the Redmi 6 Pro’s plain Jane looks. So, I’ll say the Nokia 3.1 Plus should be your pick if you don’t want to compromise on the looks.

Moving on, both the phones also come with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a micro USB port. I’d like to give bonus points to Nokia for throwing in a dedicated slot for a microSD card as well. Good job, Nokia!

Hardware And Performance

As mentioned earlier, both phones are not in the same league when it comes to the internal specs. The Redmi 6 Pro’s Snapdragon 625 processor easily outperforms the Helio P22 found inside the Nokia 3.1 Plus. The Redmi 6 Pro also comes with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, whereas the Nokia 3.1 Plus maxes out at 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.

But that’s not to say that the Nokia 3.1 Plus is pathetic when it comes to the performance. I am glad to report that the stock Android running on the Nokia 3.1 Plus keeps thing nice and smooth. I found it to be sluggish at times, but it shouldn’t have any trouble handling day-to-day tasks with ease. When it comes to running games and intensive applications, though, the Redmi 6 Pro is a clear winner.

Software

As mentioned earlier, the Nokia 3.1 Plus is running a stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. I don’t hate the MIUI 9 on Xiaomi’s Redmi 6 Pro, but I’ll pick a device running a stock version of Android any day of the week over the other.

The stock Android helps the Nokia 3.1 Plus churn out a decent performance even with a slightly underpowered processor. That being said, the MIUI 9 brings a ton of great features like parallel apps, app-locking and more. So, I’d say this comes down to your personal preference.

Before moving on to the battery performance, I’d like to point out that there’s no Face Unlock on the Nokia 3.1 Plus. The fast and reliable fingerprint scanner makes up for it, but it’s hard to justify the omission of Face Unlock feature when other entry-level devices like Redmi 6, etc. have it, even if it’s just not the most secure implementation.

Battery

On the battery front, the Redmi 6 Pro edges out the Nokia 3.1 Plus with a better battery. We are looking at 4,000 mAh battery on the Redmi 6 Pro against the 3,500 mAh battery in the Nokia 3.1 Plus. However, I’d say it is a close one considering the fact that Nokia 3.1 Plus is running a stock version of Android and it has fewer pixels to work with.

Nokia 3.1 Plus vs Redmi 6 Pro: Which One Should You Buy?

Well, if you are looking for a simple answer, I’d say the Redmi 6 Pro is undoubtedly a better phone. The Nokia 3.1 Plus, though it shares a lot of similarities, fails to impress on various parameters. Yes, it has an impressive build quality and it runs on stock Android, but the performance is frankly middling.

It is also worth pointing out that the base model of Redmi 6 Pro costs Rs. 500 less than the Nokia 3.1 Plus (at the time of writing this article). So, if you are fishing for pennies, then just go for the Redmi 6 Pro.

• Buy Redmi 6 Pro from Amazon (Rs. 10,999)
• Check out Nokia 3.1 Plus on Nokia Store (Rs. 11,499)