Nokia 5.1 Plus review: Plans | Pricing | Specs

The Nokia 5.1 Plus is a decent enough mid-range smartphone, but it lacks much that makes it stand out from the pack. If you're keen on a mid-range Nokia, the Nokia 7.1 is a much better option.

Simple design
Android One promises updates
USB-C charging

Middling processor performance
Bothies remain a gimmick
Can't opt to show notch

Alex Kidman

Last Updated Jan 5, 2021

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Display

Display Size

5.8 inches

Resolution

HD+px

Camera

Rear camera megapixels

13MP + 5MP

Rear camera aperture size

f/2.0

Video recording

720p

Front camera megapixels

8MP

Front camera aperture size

f/2.2

Physical Dimensions

Dimensions

149.51mm x 71.98mm x 8.1mm

Connectivity

NFC

Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Network category speed

Category 4

Power, storage and battery

Processor

MediaTek Helio P60

RAM

3GB

Operating system

Android 8

Internal storage

32GB

External storage support

Up to 400GB

Battery capacity

3,060mAh

Device features

Headphone jack

Yes

Fingerprint sensor

Yes

Water resistance rating

N/A

Wireless charging

Launch price (RRP)	$379
Launch date	2018-11

Go to Nokia's site More info

Where to buy

Nokia's pace for releasing phones in 2018 is utterly relentless. The Nokia 5.1 emerged earlier in the year as an upgrade for the 2017 Nokia 5, but it's already been replaced by the Nokia 5.1 Plus, a phone that improves on its predecessor in a couple of key areas.

However, at the same time, Nokia has so many phones in this price range that it's somewhat hard for the Nokia 5.1 Plus to stand out. It's a fine phone for what it is, but also somewhat unremarkable.

Design

A good looking phone
Notched display with no option to show

The Nokia 5.1 was a relatively plain looking handset, and that's a design idea that has flowed through in the Nokia 5.1 Plus. Having only recently reviewed the Nokia 7.1, the easiest way I could describe the Nokia 5.1 Plus would be "like the Nokia 7.1, only a little cheaper-looking".
That's because it is indeed a lower-cost handset, and to meet that price point, Nokia's gone for a rounded, simple body that can't really help but feel a little generic. Generic isn't bad in itself, but it does mean that the Nokia 5.1 Plus really doesn't stand out in any design sense. It's comfortable in the hand, not too big for most users and generally pleasant, but just not that exceptional. Its glossy back is very good at picking up both dust and fingerprints, which rather ruins the nice mirrored effect you otherwise get. However, that's a problem that affects a lot of glossy phones.
It's 2018, so of course the Nokia 5.1 Plus has a notched display. I noted with the Nokia 7.1 that there was no way to obscure the notch via the software available at launch, and it appears that Nokia's lurched the other way with the Nokia 5.1 Plus. Its notch is obscured by default, and there's no evident way to enable it if you did want to use it for more than battery or network information.
The display on the Nokia 5.1 Plus is a 5.8-inch LCD with a fairly ordinary resolution of 720x1520. This is on the low side, even for a low mid-range handset, and is worth keeping in mind if you like to watch a lot of video or other HD-style content on your phone. On the plus side, you do get a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor that's easy to reach, USB-C charging and a full 3.5mm headphone jack to use.

Camera

Decent general camera quality
Live bokeh is slow to work but can be effective
Bothies remain a gimmick

The Nokia 5.1 Plus switches out the Nokia 5.1's 16MP rear sensor for a primary 13MP f/2.0 sensor, paired with a secondary 5MP depth sensor. Pure megapixel count isn't the only factor you should consider on a smartphone camera, and the Nokia 5.1 Plus demonstrates this well. That secondary sensor isn't one you can shoot with, but it enables the Nokia 5.1 Plus to add the "live bokeh" feature we first saw on the Nokia 7.1 to its arsenal of camera tricks. It's a similar feature to that found on Samsung's current flagship Note9, although the Nokia 5.1 Plus is a little slower to get focal lock and is not as sharp as Samsung's approach.
Here's an example of live bokeh at one extreme:
And then the other:
You do have to be careful with live bokeh on the Nokia 5.1 Plus because while it uses that secondary depth sensor to achieve the effect, it's also using a little computational magic to get there. Putting it politely, sometimes it gets it wrong, blurring out odd sections of images rather than providing a clean focal effect.
Nokia doesn't provide a particularly robust camera app with the Nokia 5.1 Plus, and unlike the Nokia 7.1, you're also looking at a phone with an ordinary lens, rather than one built due to Nokia's tie-up with ZEISS optics.
You do get access to Nokia's "bothie" concept, where it fires off a square shot from each of its cameras at once. Nokia's trying hard to make "bothies" a concept, but they're awkward to take because it's quite hard to simultaneously frame a landscape and keep your own face in pleasing shape at the same time.
Yeah, this isn't a flattering look or an all that pleasant composition.
As such, the Nokia 5.1 Plus delivers decent photos, but nothing really exceptional. You do benefit from the fact that mobile photography, even in the low mid-range has improved a lot in recent years, so if you're upgrading from a much older phone, you might be happy with the results. It's just that you can get that kind of quality in just about any phone.
Nokia 5.1 Plus Sample Photos

Performance

MediaTek MT6771 Helio P60 refuses to be benchmarked
Australian model is the low-storage variant
Clean Android One interface

Nokia typically produces multiple different models of its flagship phones, and all too frequently, we see the lower-specification version sold in Australia. That's the case for the Nokia 5.1 Plus, which features 32GB of RAM and 3GB of ROM Down Under, where an alternate version runs with 64GB of RAM and 4GB of ROM. Either way, it runs on the relatively low-end MediaTek MT6771 Helio P60, a popular choice for more affordable phones.
I wasn't expecting superb performance out of the Nokia 5.1 Plus as a result, but I also wasn't expecting it to throw up its arms and refuse to run Geekbench 4's CPU test altogether. It may be a quirk of the benchmark in its current state, but any time I tried to test the CPU, it would complain of not having an active Internet connection and simply refuse to run. The Nokia 5.1 wasn't a high-flyer in that test (especially as it has only 2GB of RAM), but it at least would return a score.
3DMark's Slingshot Extreme benchmark did complete on the Nokia 5.1 Plus, but predictably, this isn't a graphics powerhouse of a phone, even within its class:

That leaves me with only the anecdotal reporting on the performance of the Nokia 5.1 Plus, which was exactly what I'd expected it to be. It's not a fast phone – and you shouldn't expect that at this price point – but it is, like the rest of Nokia's 2018 primary phones, part of the Android One program. That means it qualifies for up to three years of security upgrades and two years of operating system upgrades as well. Nokia's slowly been switching its late 2018 handsets over to Android 9 ("Pie"), but at the time of testing (November 2018), the Nokia 5.1 Plus was still an Android 8.1 ("Oreo") handset.
The other beneficial aspect of Android One is that vendors providing Android One phones do so with the promise that they won't clutter them up with additional applications. As such, you get a very clean, very "Google" interface, almost as if the Nokia 5.1 Plus was a very cheap Google Pixel phone.

Battery

3060mAh battery gives acceptable performance
USB-C charging

The Nokia 5.1 Plus has a reasonably large 3060mAh battery, recharged via USB-C, which is pleasing to see in a phone at this price point. It shouldn't be long before the annoyance of flipping around microUSB chargers is a memory, even in lower-priced handsets.
Testing with Geekbench 4's battery test (which would run, even though the CPU test wouldn't) revealed a pretty decent battery score, although its actual battery run time was a little lower than on comparable handsets:

That indicates that while the Nokia 5.1 Plus worked hard in the benchmark, it did so at the cost of actual battery life. More anecdotally, a day's battery life is achievable with the Nokia 5.1 Plus without too much trouble. However, while it's USB-C enabled, there's no particularly fast charging capability.

Verdict

Reasonable value, but just not that exciting

The Nokia 5.1 Plus does everything an upgrade to a phone should do on paper. It has a better processor, improved camera and a better battery to boot. If you were looking at the Nokia 5.1 and considering the Nokia 5.1 Plus, it's clearly the better buy.
It's just that the Nokia 5.1 isn't that old if a phone in any aspect, so nobody's going to do that. Instead, you've got to judge the Nokia 5.1 Plus on its own merits, and here it's a tougher battle. The Nokia 5.1 Plus doesn't do much wrong, but equally it does little to really stand out. Nokia has released plenty of exciting phones in 2018. It was, arguably, overdue for an ordinary one.
Alternatives
Within the Nokia family, you should consider the slightly more expensive Nokia 7.1 or Nokia 6.1 (AKA Nokia 6 2018) handsets. For around the same price, you could opt for the larger-screened Nokia 7 Plus within the Nokia family.
Nokia 6.1 (2018)

Second time's the charm
Stronger, faster and more attractive: the Nokia 6.1 (2018) is a big leap forward for the reborn Nokia brand.

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Nokia 7 Plus

A sturdy and reliable mid-range smartphone
The Nokia 7 Plus is built to last, with a firm metal body and the guarantee of two years of regular security updates making it a solid investment.

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If your brand aspirations go broader than Nokia, consider the Huawei Nova 3i, Sony Xperia XA2 or Motorola Moto G6 Plus.
Huawei Nova 3i

Great performance at a budget price
The Huawei Nova 3i combines Huawei's excellent Kirin processor with its camera smarts at a more affordable price point than its premium Mate series.

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Sony Xperia XA2

Premium power doesn't have to cost the world
Enjoy high-end power at an affordable price with the Sony Xperia XA2.

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Pricing and availability

Price: RRP $379
Where to buy: Amazon | Kogan | Catch