Nokia 5.3 64 GB / 4 GB

Middle class from Nokia

Simultaneously with its first 5G smartphone, HMD Global released two similar simpler models, one of which came to our review. Nokia 5.3 is curious for several reasons. The smartphone runs on pure Android 10 without any proprietary shells. In addition, a separate button is allocated to call the Google Assistant: the assistant learns quickly, remembering the desires and habits of users, which makes its use really convenient.

Large 6.55" IPS display

Nokia 5.3 is equipped with a 6.55-inch IPS display with a resolution of HD + 1600x720 pixels. Regarding the size of the pixels, the issue is debatable, most people do not see much difference between HD + and Full HD on such a diagonal. After all, most of us have much larger monitor and laptop displays still Full HD and nothing. But if you look in the box for a check with the price, it becomes clear that you can demand more for these $200 with Nokia. Otherwise, the display is quite high-quality, with a good supply of brightness, natural colour reproduction and decent contrast.

Under the hood Snapdragon 665

The device works on the basis of the same Snapdragon 665, which is now used in literally every device for $200. Given that there is 4 GB of RAM (plus 64 GB of storage with support for memory cards), the smartphone works quickly and smoothly. And this is not surprising, because the main calculation in Nokia 5.3 is on “clean” Android 10 and certification in the Android One programme. This is what guarantees that the smartphone is well optimized, and updates will arrive regularly for three years.

Premium design is not like everyone else

The back cover enlivens the appearance of the smartphone with a pleasant to the touch matte finish, unusually calm colours (nothing glitters or shimmers!) And a stylish round camera unit in the spirit of Huawei Mate 30. The camera consists of four modules: a 13-megapixel main module with an f/ 1.8, 5MP ultra wide, 2MP macro lens and 2MP depth sensor. The usefulness of the latter is doubtful, but the number "4" looks solid. By the way, the smartphone can't record video in 4K, and 1080p can't shoot at 60 fps. The teardrop notch houses an 8-megapixel self-portrait camera with f/2.0 aperture.

Two sides of the same coin

In terms of battery life, Nokia 5.3 works as you would expect from a smartphone with a 4000 mAh battery: one and a half to two days in active use, up to three days if you need to make a clean call, answer a telegram and listen to music on the way home. Of the other goodies, we note the USB C port, a well-functioning fingerprint scanner and ... that's it. And you know, it's a little frustrating. It’s one thing when a company offered the same set in a tube for $100 (we are talking about the excellent Nokia 5.1 Plus, which you can go find now), another thing is devices for $200, which are usually not bought by mom or grandmother, and for which we have different requirements. And here the screen seems to be not bad, but why not Full HD? NFC was simply ignored, they forgot about fast charging. If these factors are not as important to you as design, cleanliness of the system and timeliness of updates, then you can safely take it. Otherwise, we would look towards Huawei or Xiaomi.