The nokia 6.1 came out at the beginning of 2018.
It is under the android one program, which means that it is running stock android.
Also it gets updates faster than other phones.
At the time of writing, I am waiting to get android 9.0 pie on my phone which some nokia 6.1 users started receiving already.
I am using hi-q mp3 recorder pro for my tests.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hiqrecorder.full
Probably you will get similar results with amazing mp3 recorder, but I am more familiar with hi-q mp3 so I am using this one instead.
In hi-q mp3 recorder we have got 5 available microphone options with in settings.
Front microphone which is enabled by default, rear microphone if available, raw audio no pre processing, device default and unprosessed raw.
The last option unprosessed raw, is available only for android 7 and above. I don't find this option on my nexus5 which is on android 6.01.
On the nokia 6.1, the 3 options front microphone, raw audio no pre processing and device default, don't give good results either in mono or stereo.
Noise cancelation is used, similar to the nexus5, and the gain volume is pritty high.
This is also the type of sound you get if you send voice messages in facebook messenger, watsapp and viber.
The gain is not as high, but you get noise cancelation.
Your voice sounds nice and clear, but don't expect to capture the surrounding atmosphere if you are out and about at the sea, the garden etc.
Only the options rear microphone if available and unprocessed raw are giving good results.
In mono, the rear microphone option is much louder than unprosessed raw, but the result is good for both without noise cancelation.
When stereo is enabled, both options are pritty much the same in my oppinion.
When stereo is enabled, the left microphone is the one on the top where the headphones juck is, and the right one is on the bottom where the usb port and speaker is.
When recording in stereo, to avoid distortions, it's better in my opinion to have the gain at 80 or 85 percent.
You can always use a sound editor later to change the volumes.
It's much easier to make a quiet recording louder, but if it is distorted it's pritty impossible to fix it.
Personal comments about the stereo recording.
The over all result is good.
I would say it is impressive for a phone which costs 270 dollars or less.
I have got the impression that the right microphone is slightly louder than the left, and perhaps some more bass would be better.
The highs are very good, maybe a bit too much, but for my needs they are welcome because I want to record bird sounds especially during Spring.
Finally it wouldn't be possible to talk about recording without a sample.
The following recording is about 7 minutes and 30 seconds long and there are 3 parts in it.
Part1 is very short. It's a car passing from right to left in front of me.
Part2 is the longest. It is some general ambianse from the ikea restaurant in Nicosia Cyprus.
Finally part3 is a short sample of a music practice.
You can use the link below to have a listen.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7036rjgq5ak9vc/Nokia%206.1%20stereo%20demo.mp...
Android pie and recording.
With the update to android pie on this phone, it is not possible to make long recordings with the screen locked.
After 30 or 40 minutes of recording, the microphones are muted and the rest of the recording is completely silent.
Unfortunately the only work around is to keep screen on during the recording to make sure that all the sounds will be captured without interruption.
In hi-q mp3 settings, unfortunately we have got the option to keep screen on under trouble shooting settings.
We have got the options to dim the screen during recording or to use it with the brightness we use any other time when the screen is on.
Unfortunately this method will use more battery but for now I couldn't find anything else.
I hope this issue will be fixed with a future update.
I know the intention was good. Probably they wanted to protect us from programs which might watch the microphone and camera without our attention but this functionality is useful for some other apps.
I will update this article if nokia fix this issue.
Thanks for reading.
