Nokia 8.1 price in India: Is Rs 26,999 for Android One phone worth it?

HMD Global is continuing to bring disruption to the Indian smartphone market under the brand name of Nokia. Following the success of series of Nokia smartphones in the country, the smartphone maker has unveiled yet another premium flagship-level phone with hopes to take on the big leagues and it might even be successful.

Nokia 8.1 is the latest smartphone to join the Nokia family in India and brings several features to justify its price tag. HMD Global revealed the phone's price, features and availability details in India on Monday and here's a look at everything you need to know if you're considering an upgrade before 2018 comes to an end.

Nokia 8.1: Price, launch offers, availability in India

Nokia 8.1 is priced at Rs 26,999 and it will be available across retail outlets, including Croma, Reliance, Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C and MyG as well as online on Amazon.in and Nokia's online store starting December 21. Pre-booking for Nokia 8.1 commences on December 10.

If you're interested in some exclusive launch offers, Nokia and Airtel have partnered to offer 1TB of 4G data on select prepaid plans starting Rs 199 while post-paid customers can get 120GB data along with 3 months Netflix subscription and one year Amazon Prime membership on plans starting at Rs 499.

Other offers include 10 percent cashback on EMI transactions using HDFC Bank cards through Pinelabs terminals.

Nokia 8.1: Key features

With the pricing and availability out of the way, the question is whether you should buy Nokia 8.1 for Rs 26,999 in India. To answer that, here's a look at the key features that come with the new Nokia smartphone.

Nokia 8.1 is designed to perfection with 6000-series aluminium frame, curved glass, two-tone design and diamond cut edges to serve as a sturdy companion. The handset features a 6.18-inch Full HD+ display with HDR10 compatibility and a screen aspect ratio of 18:7:9.

The cameras of the Nokia 8.1 are particularly interesting. There's a dual rear camera setup with Zeiss branding, comprising of a 12MP primary sensor with 1.4microns pixel size and a 13MP depth-sensing camera with additional features like OIS, EIS, superfast autofocus and 4K support. On the front, there's a 20MP sensor with 0.9 microns and 4-in-1 pixel technology that will boost low-light photography. The signature "bothie" feature is also included in the smartphone.

Under the hood, Nokia 8.1 packs a Snapdragon 710 processor with aptX audio support, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. There's a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner and Face Unlock integrated within the front camera. Like all other Nokia phones, Nokia 8.1 is also a part of Android One programme and comes with Android 9.0 out-of-the-box.

Nokia 8.1 is backed by a 3,500mAh battery with 18W fast charging support, a USB Type-C port and leverages Adaptive Battery feature to boost battery life on the phone. Other features include dual-SIM 4G VoLTE support, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/ A-GPS and FM Radio.