Welcome to the 2017 Nokia 6 specifications and hands on review. We've reviewed the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 over the last few weeks and now it is the Nokia 6. The Nokia 6 is classed as a lower mid-range smartphone due to it's pricing and specification level. The Nokia is priced at $399 AUD in Australia as an outright purchased not locked to any network.
In terms of construction the Nokia 6 is excellent for the price. All the panels fit tother and there are no cheap looking parts, overall looks great. However the design is a little on the old side, like any number of other Chinese branded smart phones with it's metal but straight cut or chamfered edges. We refer to the Chinese branded phone because the Nokia 6 is built in China. The design is clearly older than the Nokia 3 and the Nokia 5 because the Nokia 6 was release in China 6 months prior. It feels good to hold and certainly worth the price.
In terms of hardware specifications the Nokia 6 is pretty average for a for a sub-$400 smartphone. The standout features are the 1080P HD screen, untampered Android OS and metal body. Unexpected features at this price point is NFC for wireless payment, Dolby ATMOS for better sound quality and a fast charger system. Overall a decent upgrade on the cheaper Nokia 5, however the two phones share the same CPU! Thanks to the additional memory the Nokia 6 seems to work more smoothly although the performance is not exactly the most impressive chapter phone we've tried.
In terms of use the Nokia 6 is acceptable. The performance is smooth thanks to more memory and the screen quality is impressive better than the iPhone next to it for comparison. It is surprising how the entry level CPU can perform so well. Overall it keeps its smooth interface even when running multiple apps. However it is not a fast phone but running the all the basic social media apps revel a little sluggishness.
The conclusion is that the 2017 Nokia 6 is a decent entry level smartphone the runs Android OS. The Nokia 6 no where near the best smartphone in the $400 price range, that accolade goes to the the Motorola G5 Plus for overall performance. That said the key reason for choosing the Nokia 6 is that they will send you OS updates in a timely fashion and of course being a Nokia. Would we buy the Nokia 6? Nope, because there are other better smartphones for the price.
Nokia 6
Network
GSM, 3G, 4G, LTE
Design
Touch screen
L154 x W75.8 x D7.85 mm
Weight 160 grams
Display
5.5 inch LCD 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD
Camera
16 MP auto-focus LED Flash
2nd forward facing video call/selfie camera 8MP
Video Camera
1080p 30FPS main video camera
Connectivity
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth V4, USB, NFC, GPS, Fingerprint
CPU
Octa-core 1.4 Ghz Snapdragon 430
Andreno 505 Graphics CPU
Memory
3 or 4 Gig RAM
Up to Approx 32 or 64 Gig for user
MicroSD expansion
Features
Android OS 7
FM Radio with RDS
Power
3000 Li-Po mAh battery
Up to 31 Days Standby
Up to 24 hours Talk Time
Price history
Approx $400 AUD July 2017 (Outright)
Welcome to the 2017 Nokia 5 specifications and review. We've already reviewed the Nokia 3 and found out that it was a little disappointing. We can't really understand why they released the Nokia 3 at all, maybe for those who really want a Nokia branded phone? So when we tested the Nokia 5 we had no expectations it setting any sort of performance benchmark. The Nokia 5 sells at a retail price of around $330 AUD outright/unlocked at the time of release which is reasonable for the quality of materials.
In terms of construction the Nokia 5 is excellent for the price. Sure it resembles the latest generation iPhone 7 but the Nokia 5 has a better design as it hides the phone antennas. The recessed finger print scanner even feels better than the iPhone. Compared to it's competitors it's a stand out looking and feeling very upmarket. Put it simply, if your needs are basic once you hold this in your hand you will buy it above it's competitors.
In terms of hardware specifications the Nokia 5 packs a screen image quality equal to the iPhone of any model. The all the physical buttons feel good and the fingerprint scanner feels better to touch than the very cheap feeling buzz on the iPhone 7. Unfortunately the price means that there are shortfalls in the specification list and that includes the base model CPU, graphics and standard RAM and storage memory. The FM radio is bonus in the streaming world. Nothing to write home about in this area.
In terms of use the Nokia 5 is acceptable. The Nokia 5's interface was smooth enough thanks to the faster CPU and more memory than the cheaper 3. It will withstand more graphic and memory intensive apps like mass txt messages. It's certainly not perfect as we noticed some sluggishness with a few apps running in the background at as to top rangers 3 or 4 years old smartphones. The small RAM means that there are lots of refreshes when using the browser though. For social media, picture apps, and simple games like Clash of Clans will work great. That said it runs the latest version of Android OS and with no modifications we could easily see.
The conclusion is that the Nokia 5 is a decent entry level smartphone the runs Android OS. The Nokia 5 is arguably the best entry level smartphone you can buy in mid 2017 purely due to it's screen and build quality. There is literally no other phone in the price category that can match it on the outside. However the Nokia 5's hardware specs are on the low side even when judged based on price it is only adequate in terms of performance.
Nokia 5
Network
GSM, 3G, 4G, LTE
Design
Touch screen
L149.7 x W72.5 x D8 mm
Weight 160 grams
Display
5.2 inch LCD 720 x 1280 IPS LCD
Camera
13 MP auto-focus LED Flash
2nd forward facing video call/selfie camera 8MP
Video Camera
1080p 30FPS main video camera
Connectivity
Wi-Fi Bluetooth V4 USB
CPU
Octa-core 1.4 Ghz
Andreno 505 Graphics CPU
Memory
2 Gig RAM
Up to Approx 16 Gig for user
MicroSD expansion
Features
Android OS 7
FM Radio with RDS
Power
3000 Li-Po mAh battery
Up to 31 Days Standby
Up to 24 hours Talk Time
Price history
Approx $330 AUD July 2017 (Outright)
