MWC: Nokia 5

You’d be forgiven for wondering who HMD Global is, but at MWC 2017 the company made a huge splash by launching four new phones with the Nokia brand: the wonderfully nostalgic 3310 (page 28) as well as three midrange Android phones with excellent price tags. The three mid-range phones are the fi rst Android Nokia phones ever, and we spent some time with them on the show fl oor to fi nd out whether they’re worth buying. Price So far, all we know about the Nokia 5’s release date is that it’s expected to launch in Q2, which MWC: Nokia 5 AA36 PAGES.indd 19 09/03/2017 10:45 20 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 could mean there are a few months to wait yet. And when it does arrive, the Nokia 5 will be priced at €189, which should work out at around £160. That’s a brilliant price for a mid-range smartphone and sits it fi rmly alongside the new Moto G5, which is priced at £169. Design The Nokia 5 has a 5.2in IPS HD display within a neat, compact body (149.7x72.5x8.05mm) that’s smooth, sleek and comfortable to hold thanks to rounded edges. It’s made from a single block of 6000 series aluminium for a premium fi nish, and uses Gorilla Glass to add durability to the display. The Nokia 5 will be available in Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue or Copper. We particularly like the blue option, but think that all four colours look gorgeous. Consider us impressed. Hardware We’ve already mentioned the 5.2in display, which looks gorgeous with tiny bezels and seems to blend right into the chassis. Its downfall though is that its display’s resolution isn’t as high as we’d have liked at 1280x720 HD. It was still vivid and bright, but when compared with the likes of the Moto G5’s Full HD o ering on a phone with the same price tag it’s a bit of a shame that the Nokia 5 misses out. Inside the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, which is the same one you’ll fi nd inside the Nokia 6 as well as the Moto G5. That’s paired with Adreno 505 graphics and 2GB RAM. We’ll have to hold o on our fi nal verdict about the AA36 PAGES.indd 20 09/03/2017 10:45 ISSUE 36 • ANDROID ADVISOR 21 Nokia 5’s performance until we’ve put it through its paces in our benchmark tests, but we expect it to cope with launching apps and switching between apps perfectly well, while struggling a bit with more heavy-duty multitasking or gaming. There’s 16GB internal memory with support for up to 128GB extra via microSD. When it comes to cameras, the Nokia 5 has a 13Mp camera on the rear with a dual tone fl ash, while the front-facing camera o ers 8Mp for selfi es. There’s a non-removable 3000mAh battery that charges via Micro-USB and you’ll also fi nd Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE 4G, among its connectivity specifi cations. Software All three of the new Nokia Android phones ship with Android Nougat 7.1.1 and HMD Global has AA36 PAGES.indd 21 09/03/2017 10:45 22 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 36 chosen to go for simplicity with what it calls ‘Pure’. Essentially, you’ll get stock Android without any fancy bells or whistles, which will appeal to fans of vanilla Android like us. Google Assistant is included, and HMD Global has promised regular updates to the software, too. Verdict We’re impressed by the Nokia 5, particularly when considering the price tag. It’s good-looking with decent specs and we love addition of Android without over complicating it with any sort of overlay. We expect that it could become a really popular choice for anyone in the market for a mid-range phone, and a strong contender for the Moto G5. Ashleigh Macro Specifi cations • 5.2in (1280x720, 282ppi) IPS touchscreen • Android 7.1.1 Nougat • 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 CPU • Adreno GPU • 2GB RAM • 16GB storage • MicroSD up to 256GB • 13Mp main camera, dual-LED fl ash • 8Mp front camera • Bluetooth 4.1 4G LTE • GPS • NFC • Fingerprint scanner • FM radio • 3000mAh non-removable battery • 149.7x72.5x8.05mm