It’s been a few weeks since I received my new phone and in that time I’ve had a chance to really see how it performs. I realize no phone is perfect so I kept my expectations realistic.
I’d say the biggest thing I’ve noticed is the great battery life. My Nexus 5 will always remain one of the greatest phones I’ve ever owned but pretty much everyone agrees that its battery life was a huge strike against it. Previously, if I used my old phone on the train while going downtown, kept it in my pocket while say shopping, and then used it on the way home on the train again, I’d be down to 30% when I’d get home. The Nokia 8 under the same conditions is still in the mid to high 80s. This is due to a battery that is almost 33% larger in capacity compared to the Nexus 5 and a newer processor that is more efficient. I can go about a whole day without needing a charger now.
There are a few things that I’m still getting used to however. The first is the taller dimensions of the Nokia 8. It’s about half an inch longer than my old phone, which makes one-handed usage a bit trickier. I’m managing but it’s still taking some adjustment. On the plus side, the Nokia 8 is thinner.
The other thing I’m adjusting to is the lack of an LED notification light. I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would but it’s definitely that something I still wish I had. Instead, the phone has this “glance” feature which keeps the screen on in low power to show any notifications. I’m not a big fan of that and it doesn’t show all your notifications. I’ve since turned this feature off. To check for notifications, I instead use the “double-tap to wake” feature which is super cool. To wake up my phone, I just have to double-tap anywhere on the screen. It’s very convenient.
Anyways, so far I haven’t seen anything that would make me want to regret my purchase. That’s good considering it cost me several hundred dollars.