HMD Global is starting to gain momentum in India following the launch of the Nokia 6.1 Plus. The phone introduced a notched design and improvements on the hardware front, but more than that it signaled HMD's intent to become more aggressive in the Indian market. Retailing for just ₹15,999 ($220, the Nokia 6.1 Plus goes up against of the likes of the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the ZenFone Max Pro M1 in the country. With the Nokia 5.1 Plus, HMD is continuing the same strategy. The phone shares most of the same design elements as the Nokia 6.1 Plus but is available at a lower ₹10,999 ($150) price point. To accommodate the price tag, HMD had to make a few changes on the hardware side of things, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the Nokia 5.1 Plus is a fantastic budget phone. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines Nokia rolled out its first device with a notch with the 6.1 Plus, and the company is fully embracing the cutout with all the Plus models. The Nokia 5.1 Plus has an even wider cutout at the top of the display, and it looks like the upcoming Nokia 7.1 Plus will follow suit.

At 5.86 inches, the Nokia 5.1 Plus is marginally taller than the 5.8-inch Nokia 6.1 Plus, but the screen resolution has been lowered to HD+ (1520x720). The overall design aesthetic is near-identical to that of the Nokia 6.1 Plus, with the only major change being the lack of chrome accents around the power and volume buttons and the camera sensor. The power and volume buttons have a decent amount of tactile feedback, and it's great to see HMD make the switch to USB-C charging. There's also a 3.5mm jack located up top, and the hybrid SIM card tray lets you fit in a MicroSD card in the second SIM card slot. Android manufacturers have done little to justify the presence of the notch, and the Nokia 5.1 Plus doesn't fare any better. There's a sizeable chin at the bottom of the display that includes the Nokia logo, and while Nokia is trying to free up some real estate by offering the cutout, in this particular instance it would have made more sense to go with a traditional 18:9 setup. It's not even fully clear why the Nokia 5.1 Plus has a wide cutout, as it doesn't look like the entire space is being utilized.

Specs Nokia 5.1 Plus Screen 5.86-inch HD+ (1520x720) IPS LCD Chipset MediaTek Helio P60 RAM 3GB Storage 32GB Software Android 8.1 Oreo Rear Camera 1 13MP, ƒ/2.0 Rear Camera 2 5MP Front Camera 8MP, ƒ/2.2 Security Rear fingerprint Battery 3060mAh Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, BT4.2 Colors Gloss Black and Gloss Midnight Blue Dimensions 149.5 x 71.9 x 8.0mm Weight 160g Price ₹10,999 ($150)