Nokia 5.4 Review: Build, Battery Life & Software You Can Depend On
Nokia has been making smartphones for quite some time and amidst the latest of those is the Nokia v.four — recently sent to Android Headlines for review. Following on the Nokia 5.2 and Nokia five.three, this telephone is planted firmly in the budget segment of the range. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean information technology has to be a upkeep experience.
Some things that Nokia is known for, and that continues here, are pattern and software. In the example of Nokia five.4, the company isn't stepping abroad from those central tenets either. In fact, the latest in its line-up brings a fresh accept on a classic, timeless design and brings the latest that Android has to offer with Android 10 and planned updates to Android 11. Simply that'southward not all it brings to the table.
From improved battery life to a ameliorate camera and sound, Nokia five.4 is a truthful successor to its forebearers. And that makes it a phone to picket, at a price of simply $249.99, if you're in the marketplace for a budget-friendly smartphone. Let'south take a closer look at how this phone did under testing.
How has Nokia evolved the hardware for this generation?
Nokia's 5 and 7 series phones are, equally it stands, a staple in the mobile world. The company has consistently put forward its best foot on design and the hardware always feels keen in hand. Even if the best materials aren't always in employ.
In the example of the Nokia 5.4, my review unit arrived in a Polar Night coloration. It'southward besides available in a majestic/magenta Sunset color. In both cases, that color fades from the center of the telephone to a near-black hue. With a grid- or carbon-fiber-like design etched just underneath and only visible in the right lighting. The color itself, in fact, is just fully visible at the right angle and nether proper lighting. Put simply, the effect is stunning.
At the center of the back console, almost the top, Nokia has held true to its camera and fingerprint scanner placement also. And the curved edges of the phone, combined with the placement of those elements, ensured that my hands almost never went anywhere near those unless I intended to.
Of course, those decisions as well equate to a telephone that feels and looks much more luxurious than it really is. While all of the ports and buttons are solid and well-built too. That'south setting bated how snappy the fingerprint sensor hither is.
The primary caveat to that blueprint is going to exist a matter of subjectivity. Namely, because drinking glass isn't used and because the phone is so shiny, fingerprints stick out similar a sore thumb. More to the point, I institute information technology most impossible to go on the screen or dorsum panel either dust- or fingerprint-free. That's going to be a problem for everyone who wants a phone that looks great without putting a case on it.
The other caveat is that Nokia withal insists on branding the phone both on the front and back. Whether past happenstance or by design, that makes the front lower bezel — around iii times as thick as others — feel unnecessary.
In terms of design changes from the Nokia v.3 to v.iv, the biggest or nearly noticeable change is that the photographic camera's LED flash has been moved. It used to sit in the center of the camera array. But now sits to the left when viewed from the back.
Other changes are more subtle. This phone feels much amend in manus than previous iterations and definitely feels more solid. The company doesn't mention a water-resistance rating at all though. At least not and then far every bit an IP rating goes. It is meant to be both dust-resistant and water-resistant, according to some sources. Only it will still probably exist a good thought to go along the Nokia five.4 away from overly dusty or wet environments.
This Nokia has a great display but it'southward also ane of the shortcomings
Nokia 5.4 ships with an HD+ 6.39-inch display panel at the front. On paper, that doesn't sound all that groovy since Hd+ — equally opposed to FHD or FHD+ — is technically only 720p in at to the lowest degree i direction. Specifically, with a 720 10 1560 pixel resolution. Moreover, that actually is going to be also depression for some users.
In reality, the panel used hither is crisp and clean, with deep blacks and bright colors in every app I tested this phone with. Albeit, non as deep every bit on phones that don't employ IPS LCD screens. The display on the Nokia 5.4 was too incredibly responsive under review though. With naught or near-nada latency in bear on interactions so far as I could tell and then far as near users will discover.
The biggest caveats and so come up down to the bezels and brightness. In the kickoff case, the surrounding bezels are slim and serviceable on 3 sides. Merely the lower bezel, as noted higher up, is three to four times as large. And that feels like it primarily comes down to the inclusion of branding on that bezel.
Screen brightness could ultimately end up being the bigger problem for some users. While it is vivid plenty for all indoor utilize cases I tested nether, it doesn't seem to get much brighter — even at max brightness — from effectually 40-percentage brightness. And that does hateful that outdoors, under bright lighting weather and direct sunlight — it becomes harder to encounter. Not impossible to see, of course. Those days are long behind us for nigh smartphones. But difficult enough that information technology can't be described as a great feel.
Battery charging is adequate but longevity is the proper noun of the game for Nokia five.4
Now, Nokia claims that its 5.4 can achieve up to two full days of bombardment life under the right weather condition and my review seems to confirm that. With brandish-brightness maxed out and bombardment savings turned off, I easily saw seven hours of screen time. That'southward from an overall stretch of around 24-hours. And that could certainly be extended but past turning on auto-brightness and other battery-saving features.
Of course, bombardment life is ultimately subjective. And the majority of my time was spent in light-to-moderate mobile games and on YouTube. Those who are playing more intensive games will probable run across less. And those who inappreciably e'er play games, listen to music, or watch videos will undoubtedly come across more.
Setting that aside, charging the device up is a far less individual matter. Using the included charger, the Nokia 5.4 fuels up at around one percent per minute — though it starts a chip faster than that. That'southward all the way up to around fifty-percentage, where the speed drops off. Information technology took right effectually 2 hours to recharge completely. That's quite a scrap slower than some users might prefer but, given the long bombardment life and how fast the first segment charges, isn't bad.
In fact, it'south above-average overall. This means that Nokia hasn't traded off in favor of charging speed with a smaller battery. Or used an oversized bombardment to gain extra hours of use. Instead, information technology's just managed to requite users great battery life with 1 that won't whatever longer than usual to fill support.
Specs and performance from Nokia 5.iv are par for the course just not infrequent
Now, Nokia 5.4 — equally noted at the beginning of this review — costs simply $249.99. And users probably shouldn't expect likewise much from their phone at that cost. In fact, given the toll, 4GB of RAM feels like more than enough. 128GB of storage, conversely, feels better than average. This telephone will store a lot of slap-up photos, games, apps, and music.
Where that all seems to come up crashing down is on the software side. Or peradventure the Snapdragon 662 chipset. That's definitely powerful plenty to drive through just about any awarding that could exist thrown at information technology. With the noteworthy exception of professional-class video and photo editing software. And I noted as much during my review, with the latter apps taking quite a bit longer to respond and finalize edits than usual.
It didn't do quite so well on the mobile gaming side of the equation. The primary OS is, of course, buttery smooth. Equally nosotros'll discuss momentarily, this is running near-stock Android. Just even with light mobile games such as Free Rider Hard disk or Golf Rush, Nokia five.4 jittered on more than one occasion. In the former title, on more than than one occasion, the app crashed entirely.
As seen in the battery segment of this review, I didn't plow any bombardment-saving features on during my review. And then it isn't immediately clear where the problem stems from. Other phones running similar chipsets haven't given me near as many issues in games. And then this could exist a software problem. And, if that'south the case, it will become fixed. Nokia has, after all, been far improve than most competitors when information technology comes to providing updates. Specially on less powerful hardware such as the Nokia 5.4.
In that location'south too a 6GB variant bachelor in some regions which may perform better. But Nokia sent out the 4GB RAM variant to Android Headlines.
All of that is to say that this phone works exceedingly well as a daily driver. Just if you plan to buy this for a gamer or are a gamer yourself, this may not be the 1 to pick.
Audio is getting meliorate this generation, notwithstanding not phenomenal
Now, the predecessor to the Nokia 5.iv — the Nokia 5.iii — was awful under review when it comes to smartphone speakers. They were better than might be expected for the price. Only they were also nonetheless incredibly tinny.
The Nokia 5.4, conversely, does away with the problem of coming beyond as quite then grating. While it nevertheless lacks power, as all smartphones do, especially in the bass end, they are definitely more representative across the spectrum. And they're every bit loud as ever too. Thankfully, Nokia v.four follows the example set past previous series devices. Namely, that it keeps both USB-C audio output andincludes a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
Both of those features go a long way toward correcting issues seen in the on-device audio. And, although USB-C audio is a bit college quality, both provide exactly the feel you'd want on this front.
One disappointing aspect though is that Bluetooth iv.2 is nonetheless in use. While most lossless and workable, especially when it comes to connecting other things, this but isn't upwards to the standard I'd wait. Even for a budget smartphone. Bluetooth 5.0 has been around since 2016. And Bluetooth 5.1 has been effectually since the starting time of 2019. So this is non at all the latest standard, let alone the best for audio.
With so few changes betwixt the Nokia v.3 and Nokia five.iv, a Bluetooth update is one change I absolutely expected to see. And it'south a thwarting that information technology's nowhere to be seen.
With that said, the Nokia 5.4 all the same represents amongst the widest array of options when information technology comes to audio output from a smartphone. So information technology definitely has that in its favor.
This series' cameras merely keep getting better
No fewer than four cameras are included on the dorsum of the Nokia five.four. Those are a 48-megapixel primary sensor, a two-megapixel sensor for depth, a2-megapixel macro sensor, and a five-megapixel ultrawide sensor. That's in addition to the 16-megapixel front camera.
Now, nosotros could continue and on about technical specs for those cameras. But specs so rarely marshal directly with real-world experiences that information technology renders that discussion effectively pointless. What actually matters is whether or not this photographic camera churns out great photos. And for the almost role, it does.
During my review of Nokia 5.4, in that location were only a few caveats I noted — generally coming dorsum on user issues. First, hand-shake can be a existent problem for getting clear shots with this telephone. I don't necessarily have the most steady hands, to begin with though. So that seems to be a problem with the user since other shots, where I was steadier, turned out bang-up.
Night mode also still leaves a lot to want with this generation. While the camera has gotten better for Nokia on that front, images were still grainier than I'd take liked. Peculiarly in the lowest lighting levels. On the other paw, bright backlighting had a trend to throw forwards all kinds of artifacts in photos. Albeit, just when the backlighting was brighter than what most users will meet. And zoom shots on this phone are effectively pointless to effort and take. They're blurry. Full finish.
Otherwise, this photographic camera performs better than its predecessor finer across the lath. Every bit shown in our sample gallery via Flickr. Color capture is authentic, detail capture is high, and wide-angle shots are sweeping and well caught. The camera software itself is intuitive and easy to use. Complete with assistive software for helping switch to the right mode at the right time.
Nokia 5.4 is as close to stock as information technology gets, updates and all
One thing that Nokia has always been great with under review, and that includes the Nokia 5.4, is software. Their iteration of Android stays but almost equally shut to stock as information technology's possible to be without beingness a Pixel handset. That'due south considering this phone is in the Android I program.
Because of that, Nokia 5.four didn't include a massive assortment of bloatware from the moment I turned it on. Instead, the only aftermarket apps I saw were Netflix and Amazon's shopping app. Google Play Movies (now Google TV) is included, as are other Google and YouTube apps. In that location's a near-stock figurer, a "My Phone" app for direct admission to Nokia, and an FM radio. Simply, overall, the apps don't fifty-fifty fill a single page of the app drawer.
All of Android ten'due south gesture-based navigation, night manner, and other features are intact too. Paving the way for a great user experience, for those that would rather download their own preferred apps.
In terms of jitter and tiresome-downs, the Nokia 5.iv only showed those in some of the games I tested this phone with. The principal operating system and pre-installed apps are all buttery smoothen and lag-gratuitous. Improve still, Nokia is among the top OEMs when it comes to updating its handsets. So users should expect years of regular security patches, at the very to the lowest degree.
4G doesn't really feel good enough for the mod world, even at this price
Nokia v.4 performed brilliantly on the connectivity front end under review — with a few exceptions every bit noted earlier here. The biggest drawback and this is a big one to my mind, is that it doesn't transport with 5G in any form. Instead, users are stuck with 4G LTE and VoLTE — which feels like a letdown in 2021.
Now, 4G still works and isn't going away anytime soon. And nigh carriers are still offering consistently better 4G than 5G. Merely that should be changing before long and phones are a long-term investment even at this telephone'southward price.
Setting that aside, 4G did work slap-up nether every circumstance I tested. And Bluetooth iv.two was yet workable for everything merely the best sound experience.
The big draw for Nokia five.4, on the connections front, is that it comes with both dual SIM support and an extra slot for a microSD bill of fare. That means that users can expand storage, up to 512GB, without taking away the ability to connect to two networks. Or to separate networks for work and personal usage. Both SIM slots are nano-SIM too. And that's a bonus since that's the most common SIM size in employ now. If yous happen to be a business user or only want more options for data and talk connections, this telephone is going to suit that demand perfectly.
Is Nokia 5.4 worth the upgrade?
When information technology comes to the overall value for the coin, Nokia five.iv hits a genuine sweetness spot. And, of course, this telephone will undoubtedly join the ranks of our height budget smartphones in the near hereafter, following this review. On battery life alone, it deserves that distinction. But, as noted above, information technology's not cracking for games or the most intensive apps at all.
With all of that said, the functioning was the only real caveat to be found hither. And that'due south non so bad as to lower the overall score past much at all. Conversely, this phone does more than than enough to make up for that small discrepancy elsewhere. So if you're in the market for a sub-$250 smartphone, this could definitely be the one for you lot.
The camera, audio, and other small caveats are to be expected at this toll. And, in fact, aren't so bad as to warrant much of a second glance. At to the lowest degree not at this price point.
For great battery life, a beautiful Hd+ display, color-accurate fast-operating camera, stock Android x and before long 11 without bloat, and more, Nokia five.4 is a force to be reckoned with. And, if you happen to be coming from the Nokia five.2 or five.3, information technology's definitely worth the upgrade.
Source: https://www.androidheadlines.com/2021/03/nokia-5-4-review.html
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