The Nokia 5.3 is one of the latest from HMD Global to launch in Kenya. This phone is available in stores for Ksh 21,500. This is not very cheap by neither is it that expensive. This is a very competitive price segment but HMD Global is confident it can compete well.
I have been using the Nokia 5.3 for a while and in this review I will be highlighting what it has to offer to help you decide if this deal is good for you or not.
Here is my review of this phone.
Design and Display
The Nokia 5.3 features a Finnish-designed Nordic-style appearance in three colours — Charcoal, Cyan and Sand. Colours. The scratch-resistant composite used for the back, comes in a matte finish, which looks really sleek but does show fingerprints and smudges quite easily. A clear ‘jelly’ case is included, so you’ll be able to enjoy the look of the matte finish but without the smudges. It is a beautifully designed phone and has a real premium feel to it.
At the back sits a circular camera module that gives the phone a unique look. Below the camera module is the fingerprint scanner.
Flipping the phone to the display we get to see the 6.55-inch screen with an HD+ resolution. The display quality is excellent and it looks bright and vibrant, and it’s fairly easy to navigate. While the size of the phone is great for watching videos and using apps, if your hands are small, you might find it tricky to use the phone one-handed.
Performance
When it comes to performance, the Nokia 5.3 is easy to use, fast and runs rather seamlessly. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 CPU (central processing unit) and runs the Android 10 operating system. For a mid-level device, there is certainly nothing to complain about in terms of performance. If you’re used to an older device and upgrade to the Nokia 5.3, you certainly won’t find its performance lacking.
Its battery performance is also great, which is what you’d expect from a Nokia with a 4,000 mAh with the AI-assisted Adaptive Battery feature. What does this mean for performance? Using battery-draining apps, such as video streaming apps, doesn’t use as much power as other devices. To put that into perspective, watching 20 minutes of video on YouTube (default video quality specs), drained only 3% of the battery.
In terms of storage, the Nokia 5.3 has 64GB as standard, but if you need more internal storage, there is a micro SD slot for up to 512GB additional storage. There’s also a headphone jack, and a set of headphones come included in the box.
The fingerprint reader is in a fairly convenient location, however the reader is a bit fussy and it might take a few taps and repositioning of your finger to get it to read your print. Setting up the fingerprint reader is also a little clunky and may take you several tries to get your whole fingerprint scanned. Passcode login is also not as seamless as other devices, but for a device at this price point, these are only small issues that really don’t affect your overall experience.
Cameras
Perhaps the biggest mark of a smartphone is how its camera, or cameras, operate. The quad rear-camera setup includes 13 MP, 2 MP depth-sensor, 5 MP ultra-wide and 2 MP macro lenses. The macro lens produces some great results, especially if you love taking pictures of plants and nature. The rest of the cameras are also great, however the phone struggles somewhat taking pics in low light.
Camera performance is great overall, especially at this price point. If you’re a serious photo taker, maybe this isn’t the right device for you. Then again, a premium camera performance usually comes with the premium price tag. For everyday phone use and the occasional photo, there really isn’t anything to complain about with the Nokia 5.3. It’s still a great camera setup for the low price point.
Nokia 5.3 Pros
- Great battery life during use and when not in use
- Four rear-camera setup
- Includes fingerprint reader and face recognition for added security
- Fast and seamless functionality
Nokia 5.3 Cons
- Light adjustment slow when taking photos
- Fingerprint reader function a bit clunky
- Phone size quite large if you have smaller hands
- Struggles with low-light photography
Now Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Review
