Review: Nokia 5.3

I sometimes need all the horsepower afforded by a flagship smartphone, like when I'm doing on-the-scene coverage of live events (remember those?). Tweeting, snapping photos, uploading images from my mirrorless camera to my phone, taking notes, jotting down questions, and responding to team members on Slack simultaneously can be taxing—for me, sure, but especially for the device I'm using. The beefy processors and boatloads of RAM in pricier phones make these fast-paced moments fluid and frustration-free.

But these days, I'm not doing nearly as much with my phone. I browse Twitter, read Reddit, take some photos over the weekend, send emails and messages, watch shows before bed, and maybe play a mobile game or two. I don't need apps to open in milliseconds anymore, and I don't need super-fast app switching. Chances are, most people don't need those things either, even on their busiest days. The Nokia 5.3, a sub-$200 Android phone, might meet all of the performance requirements that most of us demand from a mobile device. 

Cheap phones are getting better than ever. Since the beginning of 2020, we've been arguing that you do not need to spend $1,000 to get a good smartphone. This Nokia is just another great example of the trend. It has some compromises, which are inevitable at its $200 price. But if your budget can't budge, this is the best bang for your buck.

HMD, the company that makes the phones sold under the Nokia brand name, closely competes with Motorola in the budget device space. Both companies have several offerings at the low end of the Android market. However, HMD's phones have some significant strengths that also happen to expose the biggest weaknesses of Motorola's devices.

For example, Motorola is stingy with software updates. Its Moto G Fast ($200) will only get one Android upgrade—Android 11—as well as two years of security updates on a quarterly basis. HMD, on the other hand, promises two Android version upgrades and three years of monthly security updates on the Nokia 5.3. That's partly because this is a smartphone released under the Android One program, a Google-run initiative that requires manufacturers to adhere to certain rules about how the on-device software runs. Nevertheless, extended and more frequent software support equal 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've been doing more of since it limits the number of surfaces I touch. Yet you'll find this NFC sensor present in the Nokia 5.3. It sounds like a small thing, but I've occasionally found myself without a wallet, and it's handy having the option to use my phone to pay for things.

Outside of those two points, the Nokia 5.3 has a lot in common with its Moto peer. It uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor with 3 gigabytes of RAM, and, similarly, performance is just OK. There are moments where it can feel snappy, and there are times when the subpar processor shows its limitations, like when it takes too long to open apps. But I never once encountered a long enough pause that made me clench my teeth; I count that as a win.

I was even able to pick up where I left off in a game, Genshin Impact, which I started playing on another phone. Gameplay was a little stuttery on the 5.3, and the framerate often dipped, but I still had fun and finished quests with no trouble. The game is fairly graphics-intensive, though; the Nokia 5.3 ran other, less demanding titles like Alto's Odyssey and Rising Sushi flawlessly.

The 6.55-inch LCD screen you'll stare at is far from spectacular, but it's hard to complain about the display on a phone this cheap. I never had to squint to read it in broad daylight, and while it can only display HD video at 720p resolution, I had a perfectly good time watching The Crown on Netflix. My only grievance? The bottom-firing speaker is very easy to block while holding the phone in landscape mode. It's a shame Nokia found it more important to add its logo on the front bezel below the screen instead of a speaker.

I was able to play all these games and watch Netflix videos without seeing the 4,000-mAh battery fully deplete. It routinely lasted more than a full day. I stopped charging this phone overnight and instead plugged it in midday on the second day. I've yet to encounter any battery woes.

Other perks include a headphone jack, a reliable rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a MicroSD card slot so you can expand the base storage. That's another area where Nokia gains an edge—Motorola offers a paltry 32 gigs, whereas the 5.3 doubles that amount. Oh, and the plastic back of this phone means there's one less piece of glass for you to shatter.

As usual, phones this cheap often fall short when it comes to the camera. If you want a cheap phone with a great camera, you absolutely should save up for the Google Pixel 4A ($350). It's leagues ahead of any other phone under $400, and even better than some pricier options. The Nokia's camera doesn't match it. The quality of the 5.3's camera is closer to that of the Moto G Fast’s, meaning it's not terrible.

During the day, the 13-megapixel main sensor snaps decently sharp images with good colors. It has trouble exposing subjects when they're backlit, but it fares well even into dusk, when there's not much daylight left. But after dark, the camera app's dedicated Night mode ... barely helps. It struggles to brighten up dark scenes, producing blotchy, grainy images with desaturated colors. I snapped some low-light shots alongside the Pixel 4A and the difference in quality is astounding. If you care about taking great photos, you really should pay up for Google's phone.

Next to the main camera are an ultrawide camera and a macro camera. The former doesn't produce great images even in the daytime. The latter lets you snap super-closeups of a subject, but I never found much use for it outside of a few novelty shots. The 5.3 also has a depth sensor for better blur effects when shooting in Portrait mode, and the portrait snaps are solid. They're not the sharpest, but they're great for a sub-$200 phone.

Choosing a cheap phone often means accepting sacrifices in key areas, but I think HMD strikes a good balance with the Nokia 5.3. You can rest easy knowing the company will patch up any security flaws monthly, and it's nice to know you'll get some new features when this phone gets Android 11 and Android 12. Its sufficient performance, long battery life, decent screen, and small extras make for a very dependable phone—if you're on AT&T or T-Mobile. While you can use it on some parts of Verizon's network, you may run into issues. HMD doesn't recommend buying it if you're a Verizon subscriber.

The only unsurprising drawback here is the camera system. Google shattered expectations with its Pixel 4A, but that phone is still $150 more than the Nokia 5.3. Still, considering how quickly cheap phones are improving in other areas, you may not have to wait too long until the cameras catch up to their pricier counterparts.