Since HMD revived Nokia’s smartphone division in 2014, it has always tended to focus on producing low-cost handsets which provide great value for money.
However, with such fierce competition among sub-£200 handsets, recent releases have struggled to stand out. Nokia will hope that’s about to change with the release of the 5.3, its latest assault on the budget market.
The phone comes boasting some big claims, including a two-day battery life. This is made possible thanks to the combination of a 4000mAh battery and 1600×720 LCD display, which will hopefully result in upwards of 10 hours of screen time from a single charge.
Fortunately, when it comes to charging you’ll be able to make use of the USB-C port, while Nokia is one of the few brands to stick with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The other big upgrade is in cameras, where we now have a quadruple rear setup. The main 13Mp sensor is joined by a 5Mp ultrawide and 2Mp depth lens, while there a separate 2Mp depth sensor. While there’s no telephoto lens here, to have this level of flexibility on a budget handset is impressive, although it will all come down to image quality.
We also now get a 6.55in panel, complete with small teardrop notch for the 8Mp selfie camera. This works for face unlock, as an alternative to the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. Frustratingly, Nokia has continued its trend of plastering its name on the bottom of the phone, so there’s a bigger chin here than necessary. The aesthetics of the phone are typical of many modern handsets, despite Nokia claiming it is a ‘Nordic inspired design’.
With regards to internals, the phone comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665. This is considered a mid-range chipset, so it’s impressive to see it on a budget phone. There are also options for 3, 4 or 6 GB or RAM, while you can choose between 64 and 128GB of on-device storage. Importantly, this is expandable up to another 512GB via the microSD card slot.
The Nokia 5.3 will start at €189 when it becomes available in late April. Check back soon for UK pricing.
In the meantime, check out our round-up of the best Nokia phones that have already been released.
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Author: Anyron Copeman, Senior Staff Writer
As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.