Nokia 5.3 Smartphone Review - Slim Android-One mobile phone
Vergleichsgeräte
Bewertung | Rating Version | Datum | Modell | Gewicht | Laufwerk | Groesse | Aufloesung | Preis ab |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
75.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2020 | Nokia 5.3 SD 665, Adreno 610 | 185 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.55" | 1600x720 | |
80.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2020 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S SD 720G, Adreno 618 | 209 g | 128 GB UFS 2.0 Flash | 6.67" | 2400x1080 | |
76.7 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 06 / 2020 | Huawei P smart Pro Kirin 710, Mali-G51 MP4 | 206 g | 128 GB UFS 2.1 Flash | 6.59" | 2340x1080 | |
78.4 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 11 / 2019 | Motorola Moto G8 Plus SD 665, Adreno 610 | 188 g | 64 GB eMMC Flash | 6.30" | 2280x1080 |
Case, features and operation - Updates are secure thanks to Android One
The Nokia 5.3 is available in three colors, with the sand-colored device certainly the most extraordinary. Dark grey and blue are the other options. At 185 grams, the Nokia 5.3 is relatively light for its size and with a maximum height of 8.5 millimeters, it is also quite slim. The plastic back with a slightly shiny matt finish looks good and the case is reasonably pressure resistant. Thanks to the rounded corners, the phone fits well in the hand.
64 GB memory is acceptable in this price range, but you can also get 128 GB from other manufacturers for 20 euro more. The microSD reader is independent of the SIM slots, so that you can use all three at the same time. The LTE modem is relatively slow and hardly supports more than the most necessary frequencies. When it comes to WLAN, the Nokia 5.3 shows itself in our test with the reference router Linksys Nighthawk AX12 with quite fluctuating transfer rates, which overall are on a medium level for the class.
The Nokia 5.3 is part of Google's Android One program and is thus guaranteed to be supplied with software updates for another three years. The security patches on our test device were up to date.
The touchscreen is easy to use and is sensitive even in the corners. There is a dedicated fingerprint sensor on the back, which unlocks the device with minimal delay and reliably recognizes fingerprints.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Huawei P smart Pro |
Cameras - Four times moderate quality
A ring-shaped camera module on the back contains the four lenses of the main camera. One of them we will skip here, it only serves for the depth of field and cannot take own photos. The main camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels. Surfaces pixelate visibly as soon as the surrounding light is not very bright. Generally, the pictures are quite dark. They offer strong colors, which is certainly a matter of taste. The contrast level of the camera is altogether ok, but in low light it lacks sharpness. With almost no light at all, the camera hardly recognizes image content.
A wide-angle and a macro camera are built in as additional lenses. The wide-angle lens offers 5 megapixels and takes very grainy photos in a slightly weaker light, but blurred in the peripheral areas. In daylight, the colours look very dull and the level of detail is not particularly high. The macro lens takes reasonable photos, but suffers from its very low resolution of just 2 megapixels.
Zooming in several steps between the lenses is not possible, you can only switch directly.
The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and takes pictures that are quite well lit, but a little grainy in detail.
Update: Nokia has provided us with a new test device with improved software, our original test device did not have the final retail software installed. In fact, the camera images now appear brighter and in low light not quite as grainy. We therefore decided to raise the camera rating slightly, which also gives the Nokia 5.3 one percent more in the overall rating. But this does not change our overall assessment, which you can read in the verdict.


Display - Low resolution and blue cast
The screen has a resolution of 1,600 x 720 pixels, which is OK for this class, but there are also similarly expensive devices with extended Full HD resolution. The brightness of the display is very variable, and while the centre is very bright, the edges are much less well lit. On average, it's only enough for a mediocre brightness at best, but on very bright days outdoors you'll have problems seeing anything on the display.
We can detect a visible blue cast in our tests with the spectrophotometer, and the color deviations are also very high. The black value and the contrast are on a decent level.
|
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 523 cd/m²
Contrast: 1137:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.22 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9
ΔE Greyscale 8 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
94.4% sRGB (Calman 2D)
Gamma: 2.226
Nokia 5.3 IPS, 1600x720, 6.6" | Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S IPS, 2400x1080, 6.7" | Huawei P smart Pro TFT-LCD (LTPS), 2340x1080, 6.6" | Motorola Moto G8 Plus IPS, 2280x1080, 6.3" | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Response Times | 21% | 8% | 28% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 56 ? | 44 ? 21% | 51.2 ? 9% | 36 ? 36% |
Response Time Black / White * | 30 ? | 24 ? 20% | 28 ? 7% | 24 ? 20% |
PWM Frequency | 463 ? | |||
Screen | 18% | -3% | 11% | |
Brightness middle | 523 | 622 19% | 480 -8% | 597 14% |
Brightness | 482 | 612 27% | 459 -5% | 596 24% |
Brightness Distribution | 86 | 94 9% | 87 1% | 93 8% |
Black Level * | 0.46 | 0.56 -22% | 0.47 -2% | 0.52 -13% |
Contrast | 1137 | 1111 -2% | 1021 -10% | 1148 1% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6.22 | 3.98 36% | 5.7 8% | 5.93 5% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.56 | 7.33 31% | 11.3 -7% | 9.42 11% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 8 | 4.5 44% | 7.8 2% | 5.3 34% |
Gamma | 2.226 99% | 2.206 100% | 2.27 97% | 2.232 99% |
CCT | 8856 73% | 7361 88% | 8813 74% | 7632 85% |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 114.9 | |||
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 20% /
18% | 3% /
-1% | 20% /
14% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
30 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15 ms rise | |
↘ 15 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 78 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
56 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 28 ms rise | |
↘ 28 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 92 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8623 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance, emissions and battery life - Hot flushes
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 is actually intended for exactly this price range, but the problem is that the competition, for example in the form of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S, doesn't stick to it and uses a much more powerful Snapdragon 720G.
Thus, the Nokia 5.3 has a performance gap to this competitor, but overall it is on class level. The SoC can't always avoid jerkiness in navigation and some tasks take noticeably longer than on faster mobile phones. There is still enough power available for simple apps, especially in view of the low resolution of the display. This is also evident in the graphics tests: The smartphone can keep up well with onscreen, as the graphics unit has to calculate fewer pixels.
Nokia only uses slow eMMC memory, so that the 5.3 can't keep up with all competitors here either. The microSD test with the Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 reference card delivers decent transfer rates.
The Nokia 5.3 gets very warm under a longer load with a maximum of 51.7 °C. It can be unpleasant to touch the device in this state. In summer, in hot ambient temperatures, this problem could become even worse.
A 4,000 mAh battery has now become the standard in this price range, and the Nokia 5.3 meets this minimum requirement exactly. With 14:36 hours in our WLAN test, the device also performs bravely and can at least leave the Huawei P Smart Pro behind. Charging with 10 watts takes its time, but you should already expect 2:30 hours.
PCMark for Android | |
Work performance score (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (7437 - 9051, n=10) | |
Work 2.0 performance score (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (6189 - 11432, n=12) |
GFXBench | |
on screen Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (6.2 - 15, n=12) | |
Average of class Smartphone (5.5 - 166, n=202, last 2 years) | |
1920x1080 Aztec Ruins Normal Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (7.8 - 8.4, n=12) | |
Average of class Smartphone (3.4 - 321, n=202, last 2 years) | |
on screen Aztec Ruins High Tier Onscreen (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (3.9 - 9.1, n=12) | |
Average of class Smartphone (0.85 - 144, n=203, last 2 years) | |
2560x1440 Aztec Ruins High Tier Offscreen (sort by value) | |
Nokia 5.3 | |
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | |
Huawei P smart Pro | |
Motorola Moto G8 Plus | |
Average Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 (2.7 - 2.8, n=12) | |
Average of class Smartphone (1.2 - 129, n=202, last 2 years) |
Nokia 5.3 | Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S | Huawei P smart Pro | Motorola Moto G8 Plus | Average 64 GB eMMC Flash | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AndroBench 3-5 | 40% | 76% | 17% | -19% | 461% | |
Sequential Read 256KB | 299.5 | 496.6 66% | 822 174% | 302.5 1% | 274 ? -9% | 1931 ? 545% |
Sequential Write 256KB | 243.2 | 214.8 -12% | 195.4 -20% | 217.4 -11% | 176.6 ? -27% | 1549 ? 537% |
Random Read 4KB | 109.1 | 137 26% | 154.3 41% | 59.9 -45% | 59.4 ? -46% | 279 ? 156% |
Random Write 4KB | 45.2 | 123.6 173% | 156.3 246% | 124.9 176% | 32.2 ? -29% | 319 ? 606% |
Sequential Read 256KB SDCard | 77.3 ? | 74.5 ? -4% | 76.5 ? -1% | 72.6 ? -6% | 77.4 ? 0% | |
Sequential Write 256KB SDCard | 60.7 ? | 54.9 ? -10% | 69 ? 14% | 52.2 ? -14% | 58.3 ? -4% |
Temperature
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 51.7 °C / 125 F, compared to the average of 35.1 °C / 95 F, ranging from 21.9 to 63.7 °C for the class Smartphone.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 51.1 °C / 124 F, compared to the average of 33.9 °C / 93 F
(±) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 33.5 °C / 92 F, compared to the device average of 32.8 °C / 91 F.
Speakers
Nokia 5.3 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (76.1 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 26.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 7% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.9% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (30.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 77% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 19% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 87% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 10% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (81 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 64.7% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(-) | nearly no mids - on average 64.7% lower than median
(+) | mids are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(-) | nearly no highs - on average 64.7% lower than median
(+) | highs are linear (0% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (119.7% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 87% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 3% worse
» The best had a delta of 12%, average was 36%, worst was 134%
Compared to all devices tested
» 96% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 1% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Battery life
Nokia 5.3 4000 mAh | Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S 5020 mAh | Huawei P smart Pro 4000 mAh | Motorola Moto G8 Plus 4000 mAh | Average of class Smartphone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | |||||
WiFi Websurfing | 876 | 1187 36% | 757 -14% | 980 12% | 1005 ? 15% |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Too little offered
The Nokia 5.3 looks a little like it's a year late. Last year, it could have been credited with a relatively large battery, a flexible camera system and decent performance for its class. In 2020, however, for 200 euros it will be too little compared to the competition and will make mistakes that we can hardly forgive even with a 200-euro device:
There is the much too high heating under longer load, even at room temperature. There are the fluctuating WLAN data rates and the slow LTE. And a heavy blue cast on the screen really doesn't have to be any more in 2020.
The Nokia 5.3 has a few weaknesses and therefore falls considerably behind similarly expensive competitors.
Sure, the Nokia 5.3 is quite light and slim, it offers reasonable runtimes and also the power is sufficient for simple everyday use. The software is up-to-date and for the next two years you are on the safe side in terms of updates thanks to Android One. However, since the camera as a whole can hardly convince either and there are simply so many better offers from other manufacturers, we find it difficult to make a recommendation for the Nokia phone.
At best, if it is quickly available at a much lower price, the phone could be suitable for undemanding users.
Nokia 5.3
- 07/02/2020 v7 (old)
Florian Schmitt