HMD Global, who holds the right to make and sell Nokia phones, made their first flagship smartphone – Nokia 8 – official in India. Priced aggressively in the mid-range segment, Nokia 8 will be directly up against the OnePlus 5 with which it shares more than a few similarities.
Both the Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 are premium mid-range phones that aim to offer a holistic experience with minimal compromises. Does Nokia 8 has enough power to tremble the market dominance of OnePlus 5? Let’s dig deeper and find out:
Nokia 8 VS OnePlus 5 Specifications
| Model | Nokia 8 | OnePlus 5 |
| Display | 5.3-Inch, QHD IPS LCD Display | 5.5-Inch, AMOLED Full HD display |
| Processor | 2.45GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor | 2.45GHz octa-core Snapdragon 835, Adreno 540 GPU |
| RAM | 4GB | 6GB/8GB |
| Internal Storage | 64GB, expandable up to 256GB | 64GB/128GB non-expandable |
| Software | Android Nougat | Android Nougat based Oxygen OS |
| Primary Camera | 13 MP (Colour + OIS) + 13 MP (Mono), 1.12um, f/2.0, 76.9˚, PDAF, IR range finder, dual tone flash | 16MP (f/1.7) + 20MP (f/2.6), 2X Zoom, EIS |
| Front Camera | 13MP PDAF, 1.12um, f/2.0, 78.4˚, display flash | 16MP with f/2.0 aperture |
| Battery | 3,090mAh with Quick Charge | 3300mAh with fast charging |
| Others | 2G/3G/4G/Volte, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB Type C, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS / GLONASS, NFC, Splashproof (IP54) | 4G VoLTE, dual-band WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, Fingerprint sensor (home button, ceramic glass), NFC, USB Type-C, Dash charging |
| Price | Rs. 36,999 | Rs. 32,999/ Rs. 37,999 |
Also Read: Nokia 8 Quick Review – Its More About Performance than Glitz
Design and Build
Both Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 have got premium build-quality. They both come clad in a metal unibody design with 2.5D glass on top and brandish curved, smooth side edges. Besides, both smartphones are available in multiple hues – Nokia 8 is being offered in matte blue, silver and shiny copper color, and OnePlus 5 comes in Slate Grey and Soft Gold color options.
In spite of having a smaller 5.3-inch display, the Nokia 8 occupies nearly the same footprint as OnePlus 5. That’s because the 8 has beefy top and bottom bezels. Out of the two, the OnePlus 5 looks better in our opinion, but the Nokia 8 has the advantage of looking original.
Display
In a time of full vision displays, both Nokia 8 and OnePlus 5 have generous helpings of bezels surrounding the screen. But that’s not necessarily a peeve point. Especially since both phones have room for front mounted fingerprint sensors, and are less susceptible to damage.
Moving on, Nokia 8 boasts a 5.3-inch Quad-HD (2560 x 1440 pixels) IPS LCD display whereas the OnePlus 5 holds a 5.5-Inch optic AMOLED Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) display.
Both displays have their pros and cons, while the display on the Nokia 8 offers you more pixels, sharp and vibrant colors, OnePlus 5 benefits from high Contrast and accurate DCI-P3 and sRGB color profiles. You won’t be disappointed with any of the two screens.
Also Read: OnePlus 5 Review: The New Value Phone King
Performance and Software
The success mantra of OnePlus 5 was its performance capability, and with Nokia 8 matching the same ‘aura’, it is going to be tough to decide on a winner.
Nokia 8 is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and upgraded processor, Snapdragon 835 clocked at 2.45GHz, similar to what OnePlus 5 employs under its hood. But, where OnePlus 5 processor is backed by 6GB/8GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage space, Nokia 8 sticks to the basic 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. (Note: OnePlus 5 has no microSD card slot)
On the software front, Nokia 8 runs on the Stock-Android Nougat, whereas the OnePlus 5 runs on Android Nougat with company’s Oxygen OS skin on top. The OnePlus software is nearly stock too but with subtle refinements that enhance overall experience without tempering with stock look and feel. Out of the two, we like OnePlus’s software approach better.
Both smartphones will be upgraded to industry’s latest Android OS, Android Oreo.
Camera and Battery
Can we see a difference here? Well, yes. Both smartphones have different camera capabilities and battery performance.
We will start with OnePlus 5. The camera performance on OnePlus 5 is backed dual-camera modules, mounted at the back. It has one 16MP sensor with a wide-angle lens and another 20MP sensor with a telephoto lens. The camera is backed by dual tone flash and offers 2X optical zoom. For selfies, it features 16MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture.
On the other hand, Nokia 8 sports a dual (vertically placed) 13MP RGB + 13MP Monochrome cameras at the back, which is supported by Zeiss Optics (seen on previous Nokia Lumia devices) and an LED Flash. Up front, it has a 13MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture and display flash.
In response to OnePlus 5 electronic image stabilisation, Nokia 8 camera comes with optical image stabilisation. The company has also packed a “Bothie” setting with the cameras in Nokia 8, which splits the viewfinder into two halves and allows one each to the rear and front camera.
Both phones are capable of shooting 4k videos, but Nokia 8 has a built-in OZO audio technology that uses three microphones for recording audio.
The real world camera performance is very close on both phones, but Nokia 8 seems to have a slight edge.
On paper, OnePlus 5 battery seems to have more juice as it holds 3300mAh battery, compared to Nokia 8’s 3080mAh battery. Both the smartphones also benefit from fast charging but OnePlus 5 comes with ‘Dash Charging’, which is like the fastest battery charging technology that we have experienced.
Also Read: Honor 8 Pro vs OnePlus 5 Phone Comparison: The Ultimate Flagship is
Verdict
On certain occasions, Nokia 8 seems to be a step ahead of OnePlus 5 but this is indeed a very close race. Both phones have a light software, powerful performance, guaranteed Android Oreo update, and have best in class cameras.
Who should you buy the Nokia 8?
The Nokia 8 offers a 2K display, slightly better camera performance and a more familiar branding. So, if you are looking for these qualities on your smartphone, Nokia 8 is for you, which has been priced by the company at Rs. 36,999.
Who should you buy the One Plus 5?
The OnePlus 5 is significantly less expensive, has better software, more RAM, and shall offer better battery experience compared to Nokia 8.
