The Chinese corporation HDM, which bought the Nokia brand, decided to restore historical justice and return to its roots. After making push-button crafts, its specialists reincarnated the Nokia X6 smartphone, popular in 2009, which had long ago worked on the Symbian system.
That old Nokia had a touch screen, a front camera and powerful hardware. But the main thing that attracted me: the design. Chopped lines, sharp edges and relatively small thickness.
Now the Nokia X6 has arrived as a standard 2018 Android smartphone with a notch in the screen. But the spirit of the Finnish company remains. See for yourself.
Specifications
| Display | 5.8 inches, 1080×2280 pixels, IPS |
| SIM card | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM) |
| operating system | Android 8.1 (Oreo) |
| Communication standard | 3G (WCDMA/UMTS) 2G (EDGE) 4G (LTE) |
| Memory | RAM 4/6 GB; Storage 32/64/128 GB; |
| Memory card support: | MicroSD up to 256 GB |
| Main camera | 16 MP + 5 MP + flash + autofocus |
| Front camera | 16 MP |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, 8 x 1.8 GHz |
| Video core: | Adreno 509 |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Battery | 3060 mAh, fast charging QC 3.0 |
| Connectors | Type-C Headphone Jack: 3.5mm |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, Beidou, GLONASS |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Distance sensor Digital compass |
| Dimensions | 147.2 X 71 X 8 mm |
| Weight | 153 g |
Equipment
In the box, in addition to the “bath” with the phone itself, there is an additional box for a USB-C cable and power adapter, as well as instructions in Chinese and a transparent silicone case.
Appearance 
The new Nokia X6 received a standard candy bar form factor, and the main body material was a glass back cover on a metal frame. Looks cool, although there is a high risk of breaking it. In addition, the lid is smooth - it glides on any surface and tends to fall out of your hands.
The front side is almost 90% occupied by the screen and is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 3, there are curves using 2.5D technology. It’s a pity, but the bangs, which carry the sensors and front camera, cannot be avoided, since the status bar is filled with black.
There are no buttons under the screen (they are touch-sensitive), but there is a company logo. The side frames are thin, the bottom one is slightly wider.
The engineering controls are standard: the volume button is on the right side, and just below it is the power key. The opposite edge stores only the card tray.
Unlike other budget phones, for example, Xiaomi, Nokia is equipped with a Type-C port. However, the Mini-Jack for headphones was placed on top; it’s good that they left it at all.
The main camera on the back is installed in a vertical position and is framed by a shiny frame. Unfortunately, it sticks out a little. Probably to contrast with the round fingerprint sensor with a border placed below.
The fingerprint scanner is fast and convenient; no matter how you grip the phone, your finger fits exactly on it.
The lid has no special roundings to the edges. Almost a brick - and that's good. In your hands, the device feels monolithic, weighty, and seems more expensive than it actually is.
The assembly is excellent; any of the buttons can be easily reached with one hand, despite the screen diagonal of 5.8 inches and the relatively large size of the case. In general, the smartphone fits into the dimensions of conventional 5-inch devices with a traditional aspect ratio.
The gadget is available in black, silver and blue; the front part is dark in all variations.
Display
Nokia X6 received a widescreen display with an aspect ratio of 19:9, a diagonal of 5.8 inches and a Full-HD+ resolution (1080x2280 pixels). Gorilla Glass 3 with rounded edges covered with an oleophobic coating.
The screen is very good: black color reproduction is good, although an IPS matrix is used. The rest of the colors are close to natural, and when the phone is tilted, the colors practically do not change.
The minimum and maximum brightness levels are comfortable for both complete darkness and bright sun.
Hardware capabilities
The mobile device received a modern eight-core Snapdragon 636 SoC. This is an eight-core, 14-nanometer solution, which includes upgraded Cortex-A53 and A73 cores, called Kryo 260. The small cluster operates at frequencies up to 1.6 GHz, and the large cluster at frequencies up to 1.8 GHz.
Graphics processes are handled by Adreno 509. To maintain reliable operation, 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM is used, depending on the version and a 64 GB drive, which, due to one of the SIM cards, is expanded by microSD with a maximum capacity of 256 GB.
Synthetic tests show good performance: in AnTuTu the new processor provided 115,000 points, in single-core In the GeekBench test, the new product showed 1330 points, and in the test for maximum performance using all cores - 4907. Comparable to the results of the flagship chip of 2016 - Snapdragon 821.
In everyday tasks, Nokia X6 can do everything: quickly open websites and applications, does not cause slowdowns even in difficult situations, “Tanks” at maximum settings give 50-60 FPS. Heating is minimal, energy efficiency is high.
operating system
Nokia abandoned their own shell and switched to the Android One program, so the smartphone runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system. Apart from Google services, there are no pre-installed programs.
In the future, an update to Android P is promised, which is still in the testing stage.
Cameras
The Nokia X6 features a dual rear camera setup with a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor with f/2.0 aperture and 1-micron pixels. The front camera is a 1-micron 16-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens. There is no optical stabilization.
The basis for photo quality is taken by artificial intelligence (AI), which optimizes color contrast, depth of field and takes on effects: portrait lighting, face detection, and HDR.
The smartphone also received the Bothie function, which allows you to simultaneously use both the front and rear cameras, as well as software Face Unlock.
In daylight, the details in the pictures are not killed by the aggressive noise reduction system, and the aperture ratio is The optics of all three cameras are more suitable for daytime shooting, which also follows from the lack of optical stabilization.
Electronic stabilization when recording video is available only in 1080p resolution, and when working with 4K it is absent. But there is 4K recording.
Interfaces
In addition to supporting most of the world's LTE frequencies, the X6 provides support for 5 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Despite the availability of only the Chinese version, LTE will work worldwide, so support for Band 20, Band 38 and Band 7 is provided.
Sound
The sound of the multimedia speaker located on the bottom end will be enough to watch videos in a quiet room. The microphones do their job perfectly, the interlocutor does not complain about the sound quality. The polyphonic speaker also does its job well.
Nokia X6 encourages the use of wireless headphones: it has Bluetooth version 5, which means aptX protocol is supported for audio transmission, and its quality will be at least comparable to wired ones headphones.
The sound through the audio output on the top end is transmitted in high quality, the volume is sufficient even for a sophisticated music lover.
Battery
The battery capacity is 3060 mAh, and when combined with an 18-volt charger, it provides up to 50% charge in just 30 minutes thanks to Quick Charge 3.0.
In everyday practice, the battery can provide up to 6 hours of screen time with active use. Translated into normal numbers, this would be approximately a full working day, from 7 am until almost midnight. If you actively play games and watch videos over LTE, it won't last long.
conclusions
Nokia X6 was not the first HDM smartphone from the Nokia brand, but certainly the most balanced. At least for the middle segment. At the same time, the company cannot be accused of not conforming to the general spirit of the original Finnish brand: a smartphone well assembled, combines good multimedia and hardware capabilities, stylish looks.
The only real competitor to the Nokia X6 is the notorious and boring Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. As a last resort - Xiaomi A2 Lite. But if the first one can offer greater autonomy, improved photo quality and MIUI as an operating system, the second one loses to the X6 on all fronts.
For $229 (4/32GB) or $250 (4/64GB), the new Nokia has virtually no alternative.
