Nokia 8 Sirocco is the reigning flagship Nokia Android smartphone. It is the first Nokia Android smartphone to come with a 3D glass unibody combined with a less-bezel design. Nokia 8 Sirocco packs a very beautiful design, features edge to edge display, Wireless charging and adds more powerful camera to the mix. It is powered by Snapdragon 835 processor, and packs 6GB RAM. You can check complete Nokia 8 Sirocco specs and features by clicking here.
We have used Nokia 8 Sirocco Indian variant as our daily driver for around 45 days as per NPU’s tradition. So, it may help you in deciding whether you should really go for Nokia 8 Sirocco as your next if you really wanted to own one and are still undecided.
Nokia 8 Sirocco Design review & comparison to Nokia 8 & 7 Plus:
Nokia 8 Sirocco looks like a piece of pure craftsmanship. It looks beautiful and the edge to edge display is just drop-dead gorgeous. While it doesn’t come with a 18:9 display the 2K resolution 3D glass display looks classy and I am already loving it.
Nokia 8 Sirocco has a stainless steel frame and comes with a 3D glass unibody design. The build-quality is top-notch and it has the Gorilla Glass 5 body. Hence, while it is expected to be tough and scratch-resistant, Nokia 8 Sirocco feels delicate in the hands. More so because you won’t like to hurt such a beautiful device.
We have compared Nokia 7 Plus to Nokia 8 Sirocco in terms of design and build quality. Nokia 8 Sirocco is simply gorgeous and has a delicate feel, Nokia 7 Plus in comparison is beautifully designed too, yet feels more robust. Nokia 7 Plus feels more stable in hand because of its ceramic-coated back. Nokia 8 Sirocco has that feeling of beauty oozing out of its body while Nokia 7 Plus is a handsome workhorse.
We have also compared Nokia 8 to Nokia 8 Sirocco in terms of design and build quality. Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 8 are much different in terms of design language with Nokia 8 sporting a beautiful yet traditional flagship design with Aluminum unibody, while Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with a modern design with Glass unibody strengthened by a Steel frame.
Nokia 8 Sirocco Display review (Colors, Outdoors, video watching & viewing angles):
Nokia 8 Sirocco display looks great indoors under artificial light and also works like a champ outdoors under the direct sunlight. We have also streamed video and zoomed in to see the quality of the display. You can watch the video for more but here are our observations.
- Nokia 8 Sirocco display is simply one of the best that you will get on any smartphone out there. The 3D edge to edge glass display offers so addictive experience that you won’t like to settle for any other display once you have used it for some time. It is not about the display resolution or depth of blacks or color popping out or great contrast, it is also about how the display looks and works like. Check the video for more.
- It is very bright and ideal brightness level is around 50-60% in most of the cases. Adaptive brightness, however, is calibrated properly and does its work in most of cases well.
- Sunlight legibility is superb. The color interpretation and contrast are great. Colors pop out and Blacks are deep.
- Viewing angles are extra wide it being an edge to edge display. Video streaming looks great on Nokia 8 Sirocco with excellent color reproduction.
Nokia 8 Sirocco Audio Quality:
Nokia 8 Sirocco audio output is great too. Audio quality is very rich, the clarity is quite impressive. Nokia 8 Sirocco offers very loud audio output too. Streaming videos or playing high-quality games is addictive experience on Nokia 8 Sirocco. Though it doesn’t come with a stereo speaker, the Single speaker with smart amplification works very well.
Nokia 8 Sirocco Camera review & comparison to Nokia 8 camera:
Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus rear cameras capture lots of resolved details, keep colors natural with very less additional saturation. Both easily have one of the best smartphone cameras out there when it comes to details and color accuracy. Even in low-light conditions the cameras shine in both with or without flash conditions.
With Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus cameras with the Pro Camera mode, HMD has given fans the first powerful Nokia smartphone camera that will work in every lighting condition. These cameras can give any competitor smartphone camera a run for their money. We will soon compare Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus to Lumia 1020 to assess them further.
What also works in Nokia 8 Sirocco and 7 Plus camera’s favor is that it is really fast in capturing and is very consistent in quality of capture. Images and videos come detailed and accurate in colors keeping the white balance appropriate most of the times.
But there are places where HMD can certainly improve the camera.
- Omission of OIS is a surprising decision more so in the case of Nokia 8 Sirocco. Though EIS works well, it works by cropping the captured video to minimize effect of motion. So, you mayn’t realize while you check the captured video on an individual basis, you feel it when you compare it to a camera with OIS. While Nokia 7 Plus is a mid-ranger, Nokia 8 Sirocco camera being the flagship camera should have come with OIS.
- The Pro Camera UI is not available in video mode and that is a mistake, because Pro Camera UI is equally beneficial while setting the device for video capture.
Check our detailed Nokia 7 Plus camera review and comparison to Nokia 8 camera with Full-size images and video samples by clicking here.
Nokia 8 Sirocco performance review: Heavy Gaming, Browsing, & Multitasking:
We have conducted Nokia 8 Sirocco performance review in very heavy usage scenario. So, there are four of the heaviest Android games GTA San Andreas, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice: Gods among as and Asphalt 8 airborne open in the background. Then we have the browser with 10 tabs, camera and other apps open in the background.
So, how does Nokia 8 Sirocco actually perform in this very heavy usage scenario. You can decide for yourself by checking the video, but here are our observations.
Multitasking:
With 4 super-heavy games (Android games GTA San Andreas, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice: Gods among as and Asphalt 8 airborne), 10 browser tabs, Camera, and many other apps open in the background Nokia 8 Sirocco doesn’t even show slightest unease while doing other tasks. In fact unless you check the background you won’t feel how much heavy load it is tackling already.
All super-heavy games resume just fine from background and it seems Nokia 8 Sirocco can handle even more games and apps while multitasking. As you will notice in the video, apps/games resume fast from background during multitasking and there are no crashes/lags/freezes even with so much load.
Gaming:
Gaming is very enjoyable on Nokia 8 Sirocco and we have tried to demo the game-play with heavy and critically acclaimed games like Android games GTA San Andreas, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice: Gods among as and Asphalt 8 airborne. The device certainly holds the promise of hours of enjoyable game play without a pause. You would love the volume output and the performance of the phone remains blazing fast.
Browsing:
Even with 10 browser tabs open it always seems that Nokia 8 Sirocco can take much more load. Pages load near-instantly. Scrolling, zooming, panning, tab changing all are very snappy
Nokia 8 Sirocco Battery Life & Call quality:
Nokia 8 Sirocco has excellent battery life for a flagship smartphone. It is easy to get around 32-36 hrs of battery life with heavy “blogger” usage of the device, which involves lots of browsing, apps testing and daily chores. It may be around 38-40 hrs for a moderate to heavy use.
Nokia 8 Sirocco comes with a Glass uni-body design and offers stellar call quality. Call reception is usually very good. I didn’t face any issue like call drops etc and it holds well even during long conversations.
Nokia 8 Sirocco Positives & Negatives as a flagship:
Negatives
- No OIS in camera is not deal-breaking but OIS does have its role in low-light imaging and video capturing with wider POV. Hopefully HMD would fit the next flagship camera with OIS.
- We loved the imaging quality on Nokia 8 Sirocco, but with such pricing, Nokia fans must have expected something path-breaking in terms of camera innovation.
- The beautiful Glass unibody is delicate and does need a cover protection.
Positives
- Perhaps one of the most beautiful smartphones on the market design wise
- The display is simply addictive with its edge-to-edge view, best-in-class color interpretation, high brightness, and outdoor readability.
- Snapdragon 835 and pure Android gives it the performance edge. It is blazing fast and can handle all that you throw at it
- Great imaging quality in all lighting conditions with Pro Camera UI allowing much better usability and control
- Audio quality is again one of the best you will get on any of the flagships
Final words:
Nokia 8 Sirocco is the beauty that also boasts of brains and brawn. It is a gorgeous smartphone that is quite addictive and once you have used it for sometime it is difficult to let it go. The crisp edge-to-edge display, stellar performance, audio quality and simple yet intuitive user experience of pure Android makes it a flagship worthy of your hard-earned monies. The Android One moniker for Nokia 8 Sirocco guarantees two years of Android OS updates and three years of monthly security updates.
But then there are competition flagships already out with Snapdragon 845, which takes away bit of sheen from Nokia 8 Sirocco. Though Snapdragon 835 works like beast on Nokia 8 Sirocco, those more worried about getting the latest silicon in their next flagship may give it a pass. Perhaps, HMD can adjust Nokia 8 Sirocco pricing more sensibly to make it stand strong in the face of Snapdragon 845 competition till the time Nokia 9 or Nokia 8 2018 lands.
Where to Buy:
Visit our dedicated post to check Best Price Deals & Buy links for Nokia 8 Sirocco from all markets including US, UK, India, Europe.
