Nokia 6 (2018) Vs Nokia 6: What Has Changed?

Last year, HMD Global brought back the legendary Nokia brand to the world of mobile technology. And even though the company has launched quite a few Nokia-branded Android smartphones (as well as ‘rebooted’ variants of some classic feature phones of yesteryear) since then, it all started with Nokia 6, the first Android-based Nokia smartphone launched by HMD Global.

Even though the Nokia 6 was mostly well-recieved by customers, its less-than-stellar hardware specs left many disappointed. Thankfully, it seems that HMD Global realized this well.

At the recently-concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC 2018), the Finnish company launched (among others) a new variant of the Nokia 6. Dubbed simply ‘Nokia 6 (2018),’ the second-generation smartphone features quite a few improvements over its predecessor, both in terms of hardware and software.

The Nokia 6 (2018) isn’t available in India yet, but it’s almost certain that it will launch in the country soon. So the question is, how exactly is it better than the first-generation Nokia 6?

Read on to find out everything new that the Nokia 6 (2018) has over the original Nokia 6.

Refined Design

For the most part, the chassis of the Nokia 6 (2018) is identical to the original Nokia 6. However, it’s now made up of 6000 series aluminum. Also, the new version is slightly-less in length but also a bit thicker than the old one.

As for the cosmetic changes, Nokia 6 (2018) now comes with copper-colored edges. The camera module (slightly more elongated than before), power button & volume rocker, and fingerprint sensor also have copper outlines, and these subtly enhance the overall appearance of the smartphone.

Relocated Fingerprint Sensor

While last year’s Nokia 6 has a pill-shaped fingeprint sensor below the display, Nokia 6 (2018) comes with a circular fingerprint sensor that’s located at the back, below the camera module.

On-screen Navigation Buttons

The new Nokia 6 (2018) features on-screen navigation buttons, as opposed to the original Nokia 6’s physical navigation keys. Due to this, the new variant also has slightly-reduced top and bottom bezels on the front.

More Powerful Chipset

Last year’s Nokia 6 was primarily criticized for coming with an underpowered (Snapdragon 430) SoC. Thankfully, Nokia 6 (2018) is powered by the much-better Snapdragon 630 chipset, comprised of a 2.2GHz octa-core CPU and Adreno 508 GPU. This should make the new smartphone much better at handling stuff like intensive gaming and multi-tasking.

Better Camera & Audio/Video Recording

The primary camera on the Nokia 6 (2018) is essentially the same as last year’s Nokia 6. It’s a 16MP (f/2.0) module with PDAF and two-tone dual-LED flash. However, the camera now comes with Zeiss optics, which should result in a better imaging experience. Also, Nokia 6 (2018) features support for OZO audio recording and has two microphones too. 4K video recording is also supported.

Modern Charging/Data Transfer Port

For charging and data transfer, the Nokia 6 (2018) includes a USB Type-C port. This is quite an improvement over the original Nokia 6, which uses the older microUSB port.

Fast Charging Support

The new Nokia 6 (2018) supports fast-charging, a feature that its predecessor lacks. That said, battery capacity remains the same at 3,000mAh.

Better Software Updates

Last year’s Nokia 6 originally shipped with Android Nougat out-of-the-box, but has since received the Oreo update. Moreover, it’s set to get Android P as well. As one would expect, Nokia 6 (2018) comes with Android Oreo out-of-the-box. But the best part is that it’s part of Google’s Android One program, which means fast and regular security updates, as well as two years of OS updates. The fact that it’s stock Android makes things even better.