Nokia 5.3 review: cheap and reliable

I sometimes need all the power offered by a flagship smartphone, like when I cover on stage of live events (remember that?). Tweeting, taking photos, uploading images from my mirrorless camera to my phone, taking notes, jotting down questions and responding to team members all at the same time on Slack can be taxing – for me, of course, but especially for me. the device I’m using. The sturdy processors and tons of RAM of more expensive phones make those quick moments smooth and frustration-free.

But these days, I don’t do that much with my phone. I browse Twitter, read Reddit, take photos on the weekends, send emails and messages, watch shows before bed, and maybe play a mobile game or two. I no longer need apps to open in milliseconds, and I don’t need to switch apps super-fast. Chances are, most people don’t need these things either, even on the busiest days. The Nokia 5.3, an Android phone under $ 200, could meet all the performance requirements most of us demand from a mobile device.

Cheap phones are becoming better than ever. Since the start of 2020, we have been supporting you no need to spend 1000 $ to get a good smartphone. This Nokia is just another great example of the trend. It has compromises, which are inevitable at its $ 200 price tag. But if your budget can’t budge, this is the best bang for your buck.

Lots of power

HMD, the company that makes the phones sold under the Nokia brand, competes closely with Motorola for budget devices. The two companies have several offerings in the low end of the Android market. However, HMD phones have some important strengths that also expose Motorola’s device’s biggest weaknesses.

For example, Motorola is stingy with software updates. His Moto G Fast ($ 200) will only get one Android update—Android 11– As well as two years of security updates on a quarterly basis. HMD, on the other hand, promises two upgrades from the Android version and three years of monthly security updates on the Nokia 5.3. In part, that’s because it’s a smartphone launched as part of the Android One program, an initiative run by Google that requires manufacturers to follow certain rules about how software works on the device. Still, extended and more frequent software support equates to a more secure phone that potentially lasts longer, with fewer bugs and more new features over time.

Motorola also doesn’t include an NFC sensor in the G Fast. This sensor allows you to use contactless payments like Google pay– something I do more since it limits the number of the surfaces I touch. However, you will find this NFC sensor present in the Nokia 5.3. It sounds like a small thing, but I have found myself sometimes without a wallet, and it’s handy to have the option to use my phone to pay for things.

Apart from these two points, the Nokia 5.3 has a lot in common with its Moto counterpart. It uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor with 3 gigabytes of RAM and similarly the performance is just fine. There are times when it can feel crisp, and there are times when the below average processor shows its limits, like when it takes too long to open apps. But I have never once encountered a long enough break that made me clench my teeth; I count this as a victory.