The Nokia 7.1 is an absolute steal at this price

Being a tech journalist who gets to play with more phones than most people do over the course of a year, one of my duties at Christmas was offering advice to friends and family about which handset they should get. I quickly discovered that most didn’t need or want the latest Snapdragon chips or the boldest, brightest screen. They just wanted a solid, easy-to-use handset that looked good and wouldn’t let them down.

Reader, I ended up selling two Nokia 7.1s. Both buyers have been very happy since.
 
It’s a great handset with a lot going for it. The Snapdragon 636 processor that powers it is decent enough, it looks great and has a joyfully streamlined version of Android that’s guaranteed Google updates for two years thanks to the Android One programme.
We only gave it three stars in our review, but that was mainly down to its comparatively poor battery life and pricing that left it comparing unfavourably with the Pocophone F1 and Honor Play. Now John Lewis has knocked a third off the RRP it’s another story entirely. The 32GB version of the handset is now just £199.
 
At that price it’s a whole different ball game. It’s suddenly up against the newly released Moto G7 Plus (£269) which runs the same processor. The Nokia 7.1 may be older, but its higher initial price point gives it a slightly more premium feel.
 
Nathan concluded his review with the following words: “If you’re committed to buying a smartphone in the £300 to £400 price bracket, your money is better spent elsewhere.” That’s still true, but at £200, there’s little to rival the Nokia 7.1 and it’s well worth a second look.
 
Buy now from John Lewis