New Nokia vs The Competition - Nostalgia vs Reality
New Nokia Phones are coming with Android. Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 are the most talked about phones today, but are they really good? What more do they offer compared to popular brands like Xiaomi, Meizu and Huawei? Here's why you should probably save your money pre-ordering "The New" Nokia Phones.
THE NEW NOKIA Phones
HMD Global bought the Nokia name and Foxconn(who make iPhones and is the biggest private company in China) is manufacturing the phones.
HMD Global was established only 8 months ago and is made up of people who were outcasted from either Microsoft, Apple and other companies. Foxconn is held in high esteem among smartphone companies for producing quality products at a good price. They are also highly controversial with violations of labour laws and employee suicides over the years.
HMD Global was established only 8 months ago and is made up of people who were outcasted from either Microsoft, Apple and other companies. Foxconn is held in high esteem among smartphone companies for producing quality products at a good price. They are also highly controversial with violations of labour laws and employee suicides over the years.
Make no mistake, Nokia as you knew it 15-20 years ago, is not this Nokia.
Here you have two companies who bought the Nokia name purely for marketing purposes.
Taking advantage of the nostalgic feeling among consumers.
During the past month we've been flooded with concepts and fake news all spread by Nokia's department to generate hype, but besides the existing models and the disappointing new 3310, no new models have been announced.
To conclude, the NEW NOKIA has some way to go in convincing me to blindly pre-order their products. Let's take a close look at what Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 are offering compared to the competition.
Here you have two companies who bought the Nokia name purely for marketing purposes.
Taking advantage of the nostalgic feeling among consumers.
During the past month we've been flooded with concepts and fake news all spread by Nokia's department to generate hype, but besides the existing models and the disappointing new 3310, no new models have been announced.
To conclude, the NEW NOKIA has some way to go in convincing me to blindly pre-order their products. Let's take a close look at what Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 are offering compared to the competition.
Nokia Phones - NOKIA 6
First of all, let's take a look at the specs:
Nokia 6 might be a 5.5-inch phone, but it definitely feels like a 6-incher when held, since it's also thicker at 8.4mm. Moving on the FHD Display with 70% screen-body ratio is OK, but not up with the best. Gorilla Glass is also an older version compared to the competition offering 5th iteration of the popular protective layer. Most noteworthy, the Nokia 6 is running the latest 7.1.1 Nougat Android build, which is the latest version.
Packing the entry-level Snapdragon 430 is not a good choice since I've seen it struggle with heavy multi-tasking and gaming.
Cameras are also lacklustre with just 1.0-micron pixel size, stating bad low-light performance.
Thanks again to SD430, no 4K or 2K video recording is possible.
Another noteworthy flaw is the becoming obsolete microUSB port, instead of the modern USB-C.
Battery life will also be limited since the big FHD display only has a 3000mAh Battery.
Packing the entry-level Snapdragon 430 is not a good choice since I've seen it struggle with heavy multi-tasking and gaming.
Cameras are also lacklustre with just 1.0-micron pixel size, stating bad low-light performance.
Thanks again to SD430, no 4K or 2K video recording is possible.
Another noteworthy flaw is the becoming obsolete microUSB port, instead of the modern USB-C.
Battery life will also be limited since the big FHD display only has a 3000mAh Battery.
Nokia 6 Pricing and Comparison
Costing 250$ with 32GB ROM and 3GB RAM is the cheapest Nokia 6 option. Should you want the high-end Arte version containing 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM prepare to splash 300+$.
At that price, they could have made twaterproofroof to at least stand out.
Firstly let's look at a few competing phones within the price range and same display size, starting with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X.
At that price, they could have made twaterproofroof to at least stand out.
Firstly let's look at a few competing phones within the price range and same display size, starting with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X - Snapdragon 625 4100mAh Battery 5.5 FHD - 189.99$
Better battery, better performance, cheaper.
Better battery, better performance, cheaper.
Meizu MX6 - Helio X20 Deca-Core 4GB RAM, Sony Camera
Better performance, battery and camera!
Leeco Le 2 Pro - Helio X20 Deca-Core 4GB RAM 21MP Camera!
Leeco Le 2 Pro - Helio X20 Deca-Core 4GB RAM 21MP Camera!
Better Performance, battery and camera!
This is just a list of phones that are out and proven, not to mention the upcoming Moto G5 Plus and Xiaomi Mi5c with Xiaomi's own Surge S1!
Here are Antutu scores of Snapdragon 430, 625 and Helio X20 for comparison, using FHD display, you can clearly see the difference.
You can also get Zuk Z2 and Xiaomi Mi5 with Snapdragon 820 at around 200$, if you want a smaller body for your phone.
All in all Nokia 6 looks and feels like a well-built phone, but technically it's not up to par compared to the competition.
Here are Antutu scores of Snapdragon 430, 625 and Helio X20 for comparison, using FHD display, you can clearly see the difference.
You can also get Zuk Z2 and Xiaomi Mi5 with Snapdragon 820 at around 200$, if you want a smaller body for your phone.
All in all Nokia 6 looks and feels like a well-built phone, but technically it's not up to par compared to the competition.
Nokia Phones - Nokia 5 and Nokia 3
Here stand Nokia's firm bread and butter - the Mid and Entry level markets.
Nokia 5 is a phone which compromises little in performance instead concentrating on efficiency.
Nokia 5 Specs:
Nokia 5 is a phone which compromises little in performance instead concentrating on efficiency.
Nokia 5 Specs:
Packing the same Snapdragon 430 now in a smaller 5.2-inch form factor with an HD Display and just 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. Not very 2017, is it? More like 2015-ish.
Retaining the same battery and probably the same camera(more or less), but with a smaller display in scale and resolution and less RAM, battery life should vastly improve.
Retaining the same battery and probably the same camera(more or less), but with a smaller display in scale and resolution and less RAM, battery life should vastly improve.
Nokia 5 Pricing and Competition
Nokia 5 will be price around 200$ which is a bit steep considering the scarce amount of RAM and Storage.
Let's see what else you can get for around 200$ in a 5.2-inch form factor.
Let's see what else you can get for around 200$ in a 5.2-inch form factor.
Xiaomi Redmi 4 - Snapdragon 430 2GB RAM 16GB ROM 4100mAh Battery
Better battery, same performance and much cheaper!
Better battery, same performance and much cheaper!
Lenovo Zuk Z2/Plus - Snapdragon 820, 64GB 4GB RAM, 4K Video!
Faster, better camera, better everything!
These are just some of the current options with Moto G5 and Lenovo K6 also offering more at the same price. If you aren't too picky about the size there's even loads more options for you to choose.
Nokia 3 is the entry-level device and it's even less compelling than its bigger brothers.
Featuring MTK's entry-level Quad-Core MT6737 it will barely be able to keep up with a bit more heavier browsing, not to mention anything except light gaming.
Gone is the 7.1.1 Nougat, replaced with simply 7.0, since MTK won't release updated version for this chip. Battery size is very small by today's standards at 2650mAh, which won't last you very long on 4G with the MTK chip inside.
Featuring MTK's entry-level Quad-Core MT6737 it will barely be able to keep up with a bit more heavier browsing, not to mention anything except light gaming.
Gone is the 7.1.1 Nougat, replaced with simply 7.0, since MTK won't release updated version for this chip. Battery size is very small by today's standards at 2650mAh, which won't last you very long on 4G with the MTK chip inside.
Priced at 150$ Nokia 3 is again heavily outgunned by Xiaomi Redmi 4, Meizu M5 and especially the new upcoming Redmi 4X, which are all more potent and cheaper.
Nokia Phones at MWC 2017
Nokia's presentation at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was highly anticipated.
Reserving the time and date to tune in I was surprised by the ability to view it in 360!
The Presentation started about how Nokia cares for the consumer, offering them the best product, but not competing with performance, but with vision and attitude.
What vision? No innovations, higher prices and lacklustre performance and camera?
It was all like - "Trust us, you know us, we're Nokia"
First of all, no you're not, and second, there's so much competition right now, not like back in the day. Phones are used more like laptops and travel cameras than just for calling, can you keep up with the industry and deliver?
I definitely didn't get that vibe from the presentation which high note was the launch of the New Nokia 3310!
A 70$ phone with a colour display!
They could have made it waterproof or with a better camera and a bit more storage for MP3s.
Built quality also looks cheapish compared to the old 3310. If you ask me they totally missed the chance to really re-invent the Nokia 3310, instead we get a phone-toy for sentimental reasons.
Reserving the time and date to tune in I was surprised by the ability to view it in 360!
The Presentation started about how Nokia cares for the consumer, offering them the best product, but not competing with performance, but with vision and attitude.
What vision? No innovations, higher prices and lacklustre performance and camera?
It was all like - "Trust us, you know us, we're Nokia"
First of all, no you're not, and second, there's so much competition right now, not like back in the day. Phones are used more like laptops and travel cameras than just for calling, can you keep up with the industry and deliver?
I definitely didn't get that vibe from the presentation which high note was the launch of the New Nokia 3310!
A 70$ phone with a colour display!
They could have made it waterproof or with a better camera and a bit more storage for MP3s.
Built quality also looks cheapish compared to the old 3310. If you ask me they totally missed the chance to really re-invent the Nokia 3310, instead we get a phone-toy for sentimental reasons.
Nokia 3, 5 and 6 Conclusion
New Nokia phones are always an event, be it by sheer nostalgia factor or just the excitement of new competition is always refreshing.
Will Nokia live up to its name for building the most reliable phones with great battery life?
Highly unlikely in the coming year or two, since they are already technically way behind the current trends.
With Oppo showing 5x Optical Zoom on a phone, Meizu promoting the fastest charging in the world, Xiaomi offering the best specs for the price and Huawei offering the best cameras for the price it's hard to see how Nokia competing when they don't even have USB-C or at least a mid-range Snapdragon 625.
Great battery life looks to be a thing of the past with no new Nokia phone offering a bigger battery.
We look forward to reviewing all Nokia phones and comparing them with the current trends soon.
Will Nokia live up to its name for building the most reliable phones with great battery life?
Highly unlikely in the coming year or two, since they are already technically way behind the current trends.
With Oppo showing 5x Optical Zoom on a phone, Meizu promoting the fastest charging in the world, Xiaomi offering the best specs for the price and Huawei offering the best cameras for the price it's hard to see how Nokia competing when they don't even have USB-C or at least a mid-range Snapdragon 625.
Great battery life looks to be a thing of the past with no new Nokia phone offering a bigger battery.
We look forward to reviewing all Nokia phones and comparing them with the current trends soon.
