Nokia 8 Sirocco Review



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Believe it or not, the Nokia 8 Sirocco is at the top of the company's lineup right now, with a high-resolution display, a fast chipset, a dual camera and plenty of storage. It is, however, also the most expensive phone of the company, and a lot of water has been under the bridge since its unveiling, so are the specs fine and fast Android chops enough to justify the price? Keep reading to find out…

In the box:

  • Protective case
  • In-ear headphones
  • Wall charger 2.5A
  • USB-C cable
  • USB-C audio jack adapter
  • Warranty and information brochures

Design

Hefty glassy, ​​retro-looking look

To sum up the Nokia 8 Sirocco in one sentence, it's a phone that is more enjoyable to watch than to use daily. It looks striking in shiny black, and the thin contrasting metal rim helps to bring out a sense of quality. The device has a solid and reassuring weight, and the curves on the sides of the screen further add to its freshness factor. In addition, the phone is IP67 water resistant. But using the Nokia 8 Sirocco even for a short time, just realize that things have not been well thought out. First of all, while the phone is compact enough for one with a 5.5 inch screen, it feels a bit wide because it stays true to the orthodox screen, 16: 9. Many Modern phones have opted for narrower and larger screens to incorporate more screen space into an easier-to-grasp enclosure. In addition, the thin sides feel sharp against the palm, and the shallow power and volume buttons are quite uncomfortable to use. And while the fingerprint reader at the back is fast, the ring that surrounds it should have been more pronounced to feel better.

There is a protective plastic case that comes with the Nokia 8 Sirocco, and sliding it on the phone makes it a little less boring to use. On the other hand, it is not correct to cover such a classy device with something that is scuffed after only a few days of use.

Display

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is equipped with a high definition 1440 x 2560 AMOLED Quad HD display. The best thing about it is that it is beautiful and clear thanks to its high pixel density, and during our tests, we have never had problems with the external visibility. On the downside, the screen is a lot more "cold" than it should be, appearing bluishly blurred when it's supposed to display white, especially toward the curved sides. Thus, cold colors such as green and blue appear particularly blurred and over-pronounced compared to the sRGB reference range. No additional display color settings are provided, what you see is what you get.
One thing we did not expect to find here is what is called "jello effect". It is noticeable when you scroll up and down – the content seems to stretch slightly and compress when you sweep. His presence is not a big deal, but it's still a small flaw.

About the curved sides of the screen, they look cool, but serve no purpose other than an aesthetic purpose. When watching full-screen videos – most of which successfully complete the traditional proportions of the entire screen – there will always be these two thin bars at the top and bottom where colors are a little extinct. This is more problematic during play, as it is common for buttons and health bars to occupy this area of ​​the screen.

Interface and functionality

Fast screeching Android updates, clean interface, thoughtful gestures

If you've seen a Nokia interface, you've seen them all because the company was one of the first to follow the Android One movement that provides a clean, no-bloating user interface (Android 8.1 Oreo in this case), flagship version and security updates. For example, Nokia phones get Android P betas simultaneously with Google Pixels now, and ditto for the latest security updates.

Nokia brings some thoughtful touches to the appearance and functionality of Android, however. You can set a double gesture to wake up the phone. The phone also has something called Glance screen (similar to Samsung's permanent display), which can turn on the AMOLED panel when you pick up the phone, displaying the time and date, battery statistics and monochrome notifications. You can choose from different clock styles and notification displays, too!

In addition, you may not have the option to swipe over an empty screen area to deploy the notification swatch, but you can do this from a swipe gesture on the scanner's d & # 39; Fingerprints on the back. By pressing the lock key twice, you quickly access the Camera application from a locked state, completing the correct coverage of most basic useful gestures and shortcuts on the Nokia 8 Sirocco .

Processor and memory

Not furious, but fast enough, and with a lot to memorize in

At the price that Nokia was asking for the launch for the Sirocco, one could expect an 845 Snapdragon inside, but it will have to settle for the 835 version. It's still a 10nm chipset, and the Android Oreo without clutter on the Sirocco simply flies. The smooth operation is undoubtedly also aided by a large package of 6GB DDR4 RAM, while storage is supported with a generous 128GB flash memory module right off the bat. On the other hand, the game is not a perfectly fluid experience. The casual and less demanding titles are going well, but we've noticed some jerky character in more graphic titles like Riptide GP Renegade.

Camera

The Nokia 8 comes with a Zeiss dual camera configuration that combines a 12 megapixel shooter with large 1.4 micron pixels and a f / 1.7 wide lens with a 13 megapixel telephoto camera for magnification 2x. We also appreciate the Pro mode that is available to manually adjust the white balance, focus, ISO speed, shutter speed and exposure compensation. A real-time Bokeh mode that blurs the backgrounds in portrait and slow motion video rounds off a nice set of camera extras. Unfortunately, we found the camera application a few times, did not save our shutters at all, so we had to close and reopen.

Image quality

When conditions are favorable, the Nokia 8 Sirocco can take beautiful, very nice photos with its main camera. The details are sufficient, and the colors get a slight boost to pop them, although noise filtering can be improved. Unfortunately, the camera is a little tedious when it comes to adjusting the exposure with a tap on the screen, which can lead to underexposed or overexposed photos. The low light pictures are definitely usable, but noisier and less detailed than the ones we have seen from other speakers. The Auto HDR feature (off by default) facilitates more complex lighting situations, but significantly slows down the shooting process.

As for the 2x secondary zoom camera, its performance places it in the "hit or miss" category. Clean, the optical zoom is nice because it brings the subject closer to the photographer with minor losses in quality, but in the case of Nokia 8 Sirocco, motion blur can easily mess up the image. In addition, the camera works poorly in low light, so we advise you to be careful with its use.

Selfies and Live Bokeh

The front camera is a 5MP deal. In difficult situations, such as shooting on a clear sky, he aims at the comprehensible face, but causes overexposed selfie backgrounds. Distortion near the corners is easily noticeable with this one.

Live Bokeh mode can be used to add a more professional and artistic look to your portraits. The results are not perfect with regard to the accuracy of application of the blur, but the pictures deserve to be shared on social networks.

Video

The Nokia 8 Sirocco is capable of shooting detailed 4K videos, with pleasant and saturated colors, but the darker exposure algorithms than reality sometimes also make their head in video capture. 1080p footage is stabilized for smoother recording, while continuous autofocus works perfectly in all modes, refocusing almost instantly between near and far objects.

The sound recording was excellent, too, with the three noise canceling microphones around the phone, which minimized the ambient noise as we spoke, and etched our voice loudly in the footage. Nokia boasts 24-bit audio plus the ability to record up to 132 decibels, and we can attest that the handset is indeed a very capable audio-grabber.

Sound and quality of call

The long mesh of the earphone grille leaves a very good quality of voice to our demanding ears, without audible distortions even at a higher volume. The trio of noise-canceling microphones from the Nokia 8, strategically dispersed in the phone, also behaved in a commendable way by removing ambient fuzz and transmitting our tones loudly to the reception.

The single built-in speaker is positioned at the bottom of the phone. It sounds loud and clear even at high volumes, but do not expect a lot of bass. Since the Nokia 8 Sirocco does not have a headphone jack, a pair of USB-C in-ear headphones are included in the set. The sound quality is decent for a pair of headphones in the box. A suitable 3.5mm USB-C is also provided with the phone.

Battery life

Just beside excellent, battery life is as good as possible with QHD resolution and 3200 mAh pack

The Nokia 8 Sirocco – associated with a 3260mAh battery, the Android One experience, and its OLED display – worked well during our battery test, supporting nearly 8 hours of continuous use. Our real experience with the phone confirms that it can easily last a day of normal use, and we were close to reaching the 2 day mark last weekend.

The phone comes with a 2.5A wall charger that closes the battery for just under two hours from the unloaded state, and also offers a Qi wireless charging coil inside the phone. those long days behind a desk.

Conclusion

There are many things to like about the Nokia 8 Sirocco. The solid design of glass and metal feels premium, and the specifications offer a lot of processing power and storage. When you add clean Android One software that is fast and free, one can not help wondering what could be the trap.

Well, the catch is that Nokia has decided to set the price of Sirocco at 749 euros at launch. The price has dropped a little, but this parenthesis still places the Nokia 8 Sirocco face a formidable direct competition. For this kind of dough, you can get almost any flagship Android product out there, including the Galaxy S9 or the LG G7 ThinQ, and these come with faster chips and better cameras.

Still, if that falls in price, the Sirocco will be a great option for Android purists who like their fast, clean interface or their screens in a more traditional format. Until then, the price tag can chase a lot of potential buyers, regardless of the nostalgia that Nokia's Sirocco models can send their thorns.

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