Introduction
A Nokia for the masses! And not the 3310. Risen from the ashes, the legendary Finnish brand makes a fresh start, "connecting people" the Android way. Its a nice sentiment for sure, but one thats mostly fueled by collective nostalgia over the Nokia golden age, back in the 90s.
A good few years later, its a new world out there - more competitive than ever before. Even with its affordable price tag, stylish exterior and credible pedigree, HMDs entry-level Nokia 3 is stepping into an oversaturated and very competitive budget niche. Is it ready to get bruised?
Value is the name of the game nowadays and its really tough to keep up with the likes of Moto, Xiaomi and Meizu selling at heavily discounted prices. Maybe its not surprising to see that in pure hardware terms, the Nokia 3 isnt even trying to punch above its weight class.
Nokia 3 key features
- Body: Metal frame, polycarbonate non-removable back, Corning Gorilla Glass on the front
- Screen: 5" IPS LCD, 720p resolution, 294ppi
- Chipset: Mediatek MT6737, Quad-core 1.3Ghz Cortex-A53 CPU; Mali-T720MP1 GPU
- Camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, 1.12 um pixel size, autofocus; 720p @ 30 fps video capture
- Selfie cam: 8 MP, f/2.0, 1.12 um pixel size, 84-degree field-of-view, autofocus; 720p @ 30 fps video capture
- OS: Android 7.0 (Nougat)
- Memory: 16GB of built-in, expandable storage (dedicated microSD slot), 2GB of RAM
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (optional); 4G LTE Cat.4 (150Mbps down/ 75Mbps up); Dual-Band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS, A-GPS; FM radio; NFC
- Battery: 2,650 mAh non-removable battery
Main sho rtcomings
- Sluggish entry-level chipset
- No FullHD video recording
- No fast charging
Still, against all apparent reason, the Nokia 3310 (2017) seems to be selling surprisingly well, successfully monetizing a legendary name and flying off the shelves much quicker than its cheaper alternative, the Nokia 216. The Nokia 3 was born with the same proverbial "silver spoon" and given the right circumstances, could use it towards an even more impressive sales advantage.
The Nokia 3 in official photos
There we are, an Android-powered, Finnish-owned and Chinese-made Nokia. We wonder how many people will give the idea a thought: getting a Nokia after it was cool. Or even maybe (why not?) getting a Nokia before its cool again?
Whatever it is, well try to be fair to the handset and find out if the Nokia 3 is worth it, regardless of who else does what in a fickle smartphone market? Follow along on the next page, as we start our exploration with a hardware checkup of the Nokia 3.
Hardware overview
Lets be frank here, we all know that there is only one true material worthy of the original old-school Nokia experience and its definitely not brushed aluminum. Joking aside, the Nokia 3 is mostly using polycarbonate and does it well.
Weve said this before and well say it again: plastic has plenty of benefits - better shock absorption and overall durability for one. The Nokia 3s back side is covered up by a pretty light and soft layer, which has a great silky-smooth feel to it and looks prepared to take a lot of abuse.
Nokia 3 back side
The absence of unsightly humps is definitely a plus, but HMD could have gone the extra mile and made the rear removable as well. There is even a slight gap between the screen and the back plate that gives off the distinct impression that you can pop the Nokia 3 open, pretty old school. Perhaps even slap on another colorful piece of plastic, which used to be a Nokia staple. Still, this is more of a comment on a missed opportunity than criticizing an overall pretty sturdy and well-built phone.
Nokia 3 in the hand
And the plastic back is not the only thing that gives the Nokia 3 an eerie kind of similarity to older Lumia generation devices. The overall design language is definitely shared and its no coincidence either. Sticking to a familiar appearance is a pretty sound strategy in the process of re-establishing the legendary Nokia brand. If nothing else, staying true to tradition might be the credibility-boost that an emerging company like HMD could very well use.
Nokia 3 profile
Plus, HMD sprinkled some 2017 styling on the Nok ia 3 as well. Despite its budget nature, the Nokia 3 is set inside a metal frame. Again, there are a few details here and there we dont particularly enjoy, like the antenna bands of questionable necessity, given the all-plastic back. Still, we really dig the mat black finish.
Nokia 3 right-hand side
As far as controls go, the button layout is pretty standard. A volume rocker and power button sit alone on the right bezel, positioned pretty high up. We found it to work pretty well for the most part on a 5-inch phone but having large hands would definitely help.
Nokia 3 left-hand side
On the flip side, the relatively compact 143.4 x 71.4 x 8.5mm Nokia 3 coms with two card compartments. The Upper one is for SIM cards - one or two nano SIM chips, depending on the version. The one below that is a dedicated MicroSD card tray, for up to 256GB of additional storage. And just in case you were wondering, yes, the emphasis on the compact size of the Nokia 3 is definitely thinly veiled criticism against all the manufacturers out there opting for hybrid solutions on significantly bigger devices.
Nokia 3 top an d bottom sides
As for the bottom and top bezels, you get a 3.5mm audio jack above the earpiece. Next to it is a secondary noise-canceling mic - a rather uncommon feature in the budget segment. A micro USB connector sits in the middle of the bottom bezel, flanked by a single speaker. We have to admit, we kind of like the simple grille design.
The loudspeaker on the Nokia 3 is surprisingly loud and managed to score a "Very Good" rating in our test routine. You can definitely count on the little smartphone in a noisy environment, especially if you opt for a higher-pitched ringtone, since the equalizer seems to favor those.
| Speakerphone test | Voice, dB | Ringing | Overall score | |
| 64.1 | 65.3 | 68.5 | Below Average | |
| 62.8 | 67.5 | 72.1 | Average | |
| 63.2 | 69.5 | 71.0 | Average | |
| 64.7 | 70.4 | 72.3 | Average | |
| 64.2 | 67.2 | 76.9 | Good | |
| 66.5 | 71.1 | 74.4 | Good | |
| 63.7 | 69.0 | 79.4 | Good | |
| 68.5 | 72.2 | 72.8 | Good | |
| 63.7 | 69.1 | 82.5 | Good | |
| 63.0 | 70.2 | 85.2 | Good | |
| 65.4 | 69.1 | 84.2 | Good | |
| 67.3 | 70.3 | 81.5 | Very Good | |
| 65.1 | 70.7 | 86.8 | Very Good | |
| 70.6 | 71.0 | 83.6 | Very Good | |
| 91.5 | 74.3 | 83.2 | Excellent |
Just to round the hardware tour up, the front of the Nokia 3 looks pretty slick with its 2.5D edges, slightly tapering off at the side. We find it a bit hard to believe the finish is Gorilla Glass, since it doesnt really feel rigid or smooth enough. Then again, our review unit got away without a single scratch after being tossed around the office quite a bit, so the screen glass appears to be doing its job well enough.
Nokia 3 front side
Navigation is handled by a trio of capacitive buttons. These are not backlit and cant be remapped, so you better make sure, you are comfortable with the arrangement. Other than that, the keys are perfectly responsive and wont let you down.
Speaking of dependability, the Nokia 3 is pretty well equipped on the co nnectivity front. The Dual-SIM option is a good value package and Cat.4 (150/50 Mbps) LTE seems to be the minimum requirement in the budget category in 2017.
The entry-level Nokia doesnt skip on local connectivity either. It has dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, with support for Wi-Fi Direct and a hotspot feature. The only thing it seems to be missing overall is 802.11ac, which we cant realistically expect in a sub-$200 phone anyway. Other small, but still interesting added value features include Bluetooth 4.0, with Low Energy profile support, USB OTG, and FM Radio, with RDS, NFC, as well as a decent set of sensors: accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass.
Its really nice to see the Nokia 3 fully prepared to meet a modern connected lifestyle. Sadly, HMD made plenty of cut-backs in other areas.
Battery
For one, there is the battery. The Nokia 3 packs a total of 2630 mAh, which is definitely on the low-end. Just to put things into perspective, competing offers, like the Xiaomi Redmi 4 pack 4100 mAh in a body that is almost identical in size. If you have been keeping up with our recent review coverage in the budget smartphone segment, then you might remember we complained a lot about the batter downgrade in the Xiaomi Redmi 4a. Still, that phone has 3120 mAh.
Then again, one could make the argument that Sony Xperia L1, which we also reviewed recently, has a similarly sized 2620 mAh battery, an almost identical Mediatek MT6737T chipset and a 720p LCD display. True, but it didnt exactly shine in the battery department, only scoring a 63 hour endurance rating.
The Nokia 3 finds itself in pretty much the same boat, which should come as no surprise, given the many similarities between the pair. In fact, it did even worse, scoring only 53 hours of endurance in out standardized test.
Looking at the numbers, the phone actually appears to handle itself pretty well during calls and web browsing. Even video playback is decent and that endurance number is achieved using the Google Photos app. We are pretty sure a well optimized dedicated video player app can do even better. Standby is the main issue with the Nokia 3. After multiple runs, it only managed to last 150 hours or so idling in standby, connected to the network with the screen off and Wi-Fi on.
Plus, to make things worse, there is the issue of charging, or rather, the lack of any fast charging solution. This is another grudge we had with the Xperia L1 as well. Still, to HMDs credit, at least the Nokia ships with a proper 5V@2A charger (not a 5V/850mA, like the Sony). 2A is the maximum rate at which you can replenish the 2630 mAh pack and that is enough to get it from about 3% or so of residual charge to 50% in about 45 minutes. A pretty slow charge for a battery pack of this size.
Display
As previously mentioned, the Nokia 3 has a 5-inch, 720p display - kind of the norm for budget offers these days. The panel is also surprisingly good, again considering the Nokia 3s sub $200 price. The "plasticky" finish on top is what drags the experience down a bit and adds some unpleasantly high level of reflectivity.
The Nokia 3 is plenty bright, topping out at around 477 nits. That is pretty comparable to the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 and the Sony Xperia L1. Adaptive brightness is also enabled, but it is a little bit sluggish in reacting to changes. There is no "Max Auto" though, or outdoor boost feature, to temporarily go beyond 477 nits.
A tiny amount of light bleed is noticeable in black at 100%, but nothing really unusual for an LCD. Contrast is also pretty good - comparable to what you get from a Xia omi Redmi Note 4 and noticeably better than on the Sony Xperia L1.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, cd/m2 | White, cd/m2 | ||
| 0.377 | 522 | 1385 | |
| 0.353 | 477 | 1351 | |
| 0.322 | 484 | 1503 | |
| 0.513 | 475 | 925 | |
| 0.3 | 425< /td> | 1417 | |
| 0.453 | 480 | 1060 | |
| 0.614 | 463 | 754 | |
| 0.426 | 407 | 955 | |
| 0.00 | 331 | ∞ | |
| 0.00 | 468 | ∞ | |
| 0.58 | 416 | 717 | |
| 0.383 | 521 | 1360 | |
| 0.36 | 333 | 928 | |
| 0.47 | 450 | 957 | |
| 0.571 | 531 | 930 | |
Color accuracy is not a strong point of the Nokia 3. It managed an average deltaE of 9, with a maximum of 15.1, with brightness at full blast. Bringing the panel down to the standard 200 nits we use for certain battery testing scenarios, only made things worse. The display simply has a distinct Cyan, Blue-Greenish tint to it.
You dont get any color modes or manual correction options out of the box, but HMD did throw in a few interesting color correction schemes. These are experimental and meant to help people with particular types of color blindness. Fun to play around with for sure, but not really usable for most and they do take a noticeable toll on performance.
Color Correction modes
Sunlight legibility is on par with similar devices. That is to say, it is not spectacular in any way, but still decent enough for outdoor use.
Sunlight contrast ratio
- Samsung Galaxy S8
4.768 - Samsung Galaxy S8+
4.658 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
4.615 - Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
4.439 - OnePlus 3
4.424 - Samsung Galaxy S7
4.376 - HTC One A9
4.274 - Samsung Galaxy Note7
4.247 - Samsung Galaxy A3
4.241 - OnePlus 3T
4.232 - Google Pixel XL
4.164 - ZTE Axon 7
4.154 - Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
4.124 - Samsung Galaxy Note5
4.09 - Huawei Nexus 6P
4.019 - OnePlus X
3.983 - Vivo Xplay5 Elite
3.983 - Oppo R7s
3.964 - Apple iPhone 7
3.964 - Huawei P9 Plus
3.956 - Meizu Pro 6 Plus
3.935 - Lenovo Moto Z
3.931 - Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
3.918 - OnePlus 5
3.914 - Samsung Galaxy C5
3.911 - Samsung Galaxy C7
3.896 - Samsung Galaxy A5
3.895 - Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
3.879 - Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
3.873 - Samsung Galaxy A8
3.859 - Sony Xperia XZs
3.818 - Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
3.817 - Motoro la Moto X (2014)
3.816 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
3.804 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
3.802 - Xiaomi Redmi Pro
3.798 - LG V20 Max auto
3.798 - Sony Xperia XZ
3.795 - Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
3.789 - Apple iPhone 6s
3.783 - Meizu Pro 5
3.781 - Microsoft Lumia 650
3.772 - Xiaomi Mi 6
3.767 - Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
3.756 - Oppo F1 Plus
3.709 - Vivo X5Pro
3.706 - Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
3.688 - Apple iPhone SE
3.681 - Huawei Mate 9
3.68 - Samsung Galaxy A7
3.679 - Meizu PRO 6
3.659 - BlackBerry Priv
3.645 - Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
3.597 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus
3.588 - LG G6
3.556 - Apple iPhone 6s Plus
3.53 - Motorola Moto Z Play
3.526 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
3.523 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
3.523 - Acer Jade Primo
3.521 - Microsoft Lumia 950
3.512 - Oppo R7 Plus
3.499 - nubia Z11
3.466 - Huawei P10 Plus
3.456 - HTC U Ultra
3.453 - Samsung Galaxy J7
3.422 - Meizu MX5
3.416 - LG V20
3.402 - Hua wei P10
3.379 - Oppo R9s
3.352 - Honor 8 Pro
3.341 - Oppo R7
3.32 - Lenovo P2
3.316 - Xiaomi Mi 5s
3.276 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
3.244 - Sony Xperia X Performance
3.234 - Xiaomi Mi Note 2
3.228 - Motorola Moto X Play
3.222 - Oppo F3 Plus
3.218 - Huawei Mate 9 Pro
3.206 Huawei P9
3.195- Lenovo Vibe Shot
3.113 - Motorola Moto X Force
3.105 - LG Nexus 5X
3.092 - HTC U11
3.089 - Huawei Mate S
3.073 - Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
3.065 - Sony Xperia XA1
3.012 - Sony Xperia L1
2.994 - Sony Xperia X
2.989 - Huawei P10 Lite
2.974 - Samsung Galaxy Note
2.97 - Huawei Mate 8
2.949 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S
2.913 - Sony Xperia XA Ultra
2.906 - LG G5
2.905 - HTC One S
2.901 - Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
2.893 - Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
2.884< /span> - Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
2.877 - Sony Xperia XZ Premium
2.877 - Sony Xperia Z5
2.876 - Nokia 3
2.871 - Microsoft Lumia 550
2.851 - Lenovo Moto M
2.813 - Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
2.803 - Sony Xperia Z5 compact
2.784 - Meizu MX6
2.751 - LG V10
2.744 - Xiaomi Redmi 3
2.735 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
2.714 - Meizu M52.71
- Sony Xperia M5
2.69 - Huawei P9 Lite
2.679 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
2.679 - Vivo V3Max
2.659 - Xiaomi Mi Mix
2.658 - Xiaomi Mi 4i
2.641 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.635 - Sony Xperia XA
2.609 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus
2.582 - Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
2.582 - Meizu M5s
2.58 - Xiaomi Mi 4c
2.574 - LeEco Le Max 2
2.567 - Microsoft Lumia 640
2.563 - Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
2.563 - Lenovo Moto G4
2.544 - Lenovo K6 Note
2.544 - Oppo F1
2.528 - Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
2.525 - Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
2.506 - Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
2.503 - Oppo F1s
2.481 - Motorola Moto G
2.477 - Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
2.473 - Huawei G 8
2.471 - Huawei nova
2.467 - Sony Xperia Z
2.462 - Lenovo Vibe K5
2.459 - Meizu m3 max
2.447 - HTC 10 evo
2.407 - Huawei Honor 7
2.406 - Sony Xperia E5
2.386 - ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
2.382 - HTC 10
2.378 - Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
2.378 - Oppo F3
2.376 - vivo V5 Plus
2.371 - Meizu m1 note
2.362 - Huawei nova plus
2.329 - HTC One E9+
2.305 - Alcatel One Touch Hero
2.272 - Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
2.254 - Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
2.253 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
2.249 - Sony Xperia C4 Dual
2.235 - Xiaomi Mi Note
2.234 - Motorola Moto G (2014)
2.233 - Huawei P8
2.196 - Meizu M5 Note
2.189 - Huawei Honor 6
2.169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
2.166 - OnePlus Two
2.165 - HTC One X
2.158 - LG Aka
2.145 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
2.145 - Archos 50 Diamond
2.134 - Xiaomi Redmi Note
2.119 - Xiaomi Mi 4S
2.095 - Acer Liquid X2
2.084 - Huawei P8lite
2.078 - vivo V5
2.059 - Moto G 3rd gen max ma nual
2.026 - Xiaomi Mi Max
1.996 - Sony Xperia E4g
1.972 - OnePlus One
1.961 - Meizu m3 note
1.923 - BlackBerry Leap
1.892 - Meizu m2 note< br />1.892
- ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
1.759 - Sony Xperia U
1.758 - Asus Zenfone Selfie
1.68 - Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
1.675 - ZTE Nubia Z9
1.659 - Jolla Jolla
1.605 - Motorola Moto E
1.545 - Sony Xperia M
1.473 - Sony Xperia L
1.351 - HTC Desire C
1.3 - Meizu MX
1.221 - Sony Xperia E
1.215
Nougat in blue
Just like the Nokia 6, we reviewed a while back, the Nokia 3 runs near-stock Android. Our review unit boots 7.0, but a 7.1.1 ROM is apparently out there as well. Unlike the Nokia 6 unit, we imported from China, however, this one is an international version. That, of course, means it has Google Play services installed, along with a few Google apps. This has eliminated the need for HMD to include its own versions of many basic applications, essentially making the international version even more "Vanilla-like".
However, we cant exactly drift into any form of Google Pixel comparison here, especially in terms of styling. HMD went all out with its blue Nokia look. It is definitely distinct enough to be easily recognizable and thus good for brand awareness. However, the two-color approach is not universally appealing. It grew on us pretty quickly, but a little bit of variety and c olor here and there might be a good idea for future iterations.
If there is one thing nobody really misses from the days of featurephones, its the lack of customization. Sadly, the Nokia 3 is stuck with only one icon pack and overall GUI style with its default launcher.
The lockscreen displays the standard Nougat notification cards, complete with grouping, expanded view and direct reply. There is a clock as well, but it lacks the whether widget and further customization that the Nokia 6 had. This is just one of the examples of stripped-down functionality in the Nokia 3 ROM.
Theres a camera shortcut in the bottom right, while the bottom left is home to a padlock icon. These can not be changed either. While were at it, the camera can be launched with a double press of the power button, if you enable the setting.
Lockscreen
The homescreen is where the Nokia looks like no other. All of the system icons and pre-installed apps are painted in Nokia blue, and theyre all circles. Its really too consistent - we found ourselves scrambling to find the icon were looking for, because we couldnt tell them apart by shape or color. Of course, once you get used to whats where, it gets easier. There are no themes - the blue color scheme is the one you get and thats it.
On the other hand, all the third-party apps retain their original icons - the launcher doesnt apply any changes to them. That makes them recognizable, but then they look nothing like the built-in ones. We kind of naturally wanted to pile them away on their own separate screen, just to keep things consistent and our OCD in check.
Another major difference we spotted in the Nokia 3 ROM, compared to its bigger sibling, is the lack of choice, regarding an app launcher. This might actually be an International vs Chinese version thing, since the home-screen only approach is very popular in Asian markets. Regardless, the Nokia 3 has an app drawer and it wont let you convince it otherwise. Of course, since there is folder support on the homescreen as well, you can organize everything there and simply forget the Pixel-like swipe up gesture to open the drawer even exists.
Home screen • Folder view • App drawer
Speaking of gestures, a long press on the home screen toggles edit mode on. You also get access to widgets and wallpapers. The latter can be sourced from the pre-loaded and a little bit obscure Google Wallpapers app. The homescreen setting menu only has a couple of options, but both are interesting.
Homescreen editing • Homescreen settings • Google Now panel • Google Wallpapers app
App suggestions is the nifty first row in the app drawer, which is automatically populated with recently used apps. As for the Google App toggle, it is used to enable or disable the Google Now interface, accessible through a left swipe form the homescreen. We wonder if HMD will switch that to Google Assistant at some point in the future.
The Nokia 6 had a slightly odd not ification shade. The Nokia 3 seems to be pretty stock in this respect. A single pull down gets you four toggles, pull a second time and 8 more appear, plus a brightness slider. And yes, there is Auto brightness, accessible through the settings menu.
Notification shade
The task switcher is business as usual - the Android rolodex is present here. The clear all button only appears when you scroll all the way to the top - a bit of a nuisance. There is multi-window multitasking (thanks, Nougat), but the screen is always split 50/50 - you cant resize the windows.
Multi-window
Screen pinning lets you lock the view on one app that you choose - say you want to show someone a few photos, but dont want them poking through your messages. The feature needs to be enabled in settings first.
Screen pinning
There are a few other gestures you can enable on the Nokia 3. Sadly, unlike on the Nokia 6, here they dont have their own separate settings menu, but are rather scattered about. There are magnification gestures, pick up to mute and turn to reject call, so just the basics. The Nokia 6 has a few extra, missing on its smaller sibling.
Gestures
Just to round up basic software functionality, most everything comes from Googles default app package. That includes the Phone, Messages and Contacts apps. Chrome for a browser, Calendar, Clock, Keep, Gmail - all great apps that most of us use anyway.
Phone app • Messages app • Google keyboard • keyboard settings • Hidden file manager
Multimedia
However, that also means, you are only left with Google Photos as a photo and video viewer and Drive as a file manager. These are arguably great for accessing their respective cloud services, but a bit of a chore to use as general purpose tools. You do have to pick and install a file manager at the very least to make the Nokia 3 usable.
Photos is bad as a video player
Then again, we cant really say anything bad about Google Play Music. The app has only been improving in recent years. It works great for both offline and online use. And th e latter doesnt even require a subscription to Googles paid music service. You can simply upload your own MP3s to the cloud and stream them free of charge, using the platforms powerful adaptive quality streaming technology.
Google Play Music
Last, but not least, the Nokia 3 has you covered even when you dont have a Wi-Fi or data connection. The built-in FM radio works great for some oldschool, off-the-grid music. It even has RDS. No recording functionality, though.
Radio app
Performance
We didnt really go into the performance section expecting to be blown away in any way by the Nokia 3. Frankly, it wouldnt be fair or realistic to ask anything other than basic functionality out of a Mediatek MT6737, with only four 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 cores at its disposal and a single Mali-T720MP1 GPU core.
That being said, we expected to see a level of performance similar to that on the Xiaomi Redmi 4a or the Sony Xperia L1. Both also have four Cortex-A53 cores, running at around 1.4 GHz, 2GB of RAM and 720p displays. There are some notable differences in GPUs, but nothing that should have any effect on the overall usability of a phone, outside gaming and other graphics intensive tasks. Unfortunately, where Sony and Xiaomi came through with software optimization for a reasonably smooth experience across the UI and light everyday tasks, the Nokia 3 really struggles to cope.
Hopefully, its an optimization issue that can be resolved in future software updates. After all, HMD did make a huge point out of its dedication to timely updates and a high level of security on the new wave of Nokia devices. However, in its current state, the Nokia 3 unit we got for review, running its latest available Android 7.0 ROM really struggles even with mundane tasks.
The UI is far from smooth, with animations often slowing down. We even got occasional freezes, with the CPU obviously trying hard to keep up with loading and scrolling heavier webpages and even searching and b rowsing the Play Store. Want to leave some app updates in the background while you go about other tasks? Not, really a viable option, to be frank...
To kick things off, we have GeekBench 4 - a pure CPU benchmark. Things are looking rather bleak for the Nokia 3. In terms of competition, we pit it up against a few other recent quad-core, Cortex-A53 devices, we had in the database, like the Sony Xperia L1, Xiaomi Redmi 4a and Meizu M5c. Most other devices we threw into the mix are there based on their price similarity to the Nokia 3. Meizu M5 and M5s, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 - most of these have four more cores to work with, which makes for pretty big variances in performance.
GeekBench 4 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
4456 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
3016 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
3011 - Lenovo Moto M
2921 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
2719 - Meizu M5 Note
2690 - Meizu M5s
2480 - Meizu M5
2428 - Huawei Honor 5X
2035 - Sony Xperia L1
1775 - Lenovo K6 Power
1698 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
1670 - Nokia 3
1487 - Meizu M5c
1213
GeekBench 4 (single-core)
Higher is better
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
1546- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
832 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
819 - Lenovo Moto M
771 - Meizu M5 Note
683 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
658 - Sony Xperia L1
655 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
638 - Huawei Honor 5X
616 - Meizu M5s
610 - Lenovo K6 Power
610 - Meizu M5
592 - Meizu M5c
565 - Nokia 3
557
AnTuTu is a more compound benchmark, taking into account things like RAM capacity and speed, as well as storage speed. Sadly, GPU plays a part in the score as well and we suspect thats what really dragged the Nokia 3 down overall, since it only has one graphics core to work with.
AnTuTu 6
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
85162 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
62316 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
61616 - Lenovo Moto M
51831 - Huawei Honor 5c
51220 - Meizu M5 Note
47806 - Nokia 6
46413 - Lenovo K6 Power
44115 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
44062 - Moto G5
43755 - Meizu M5
40831 - Meizu M5s
39166 - Sony Xperia L1
37813 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
36110 - Huawei Honor 5X
35469 - Meizu M5c
29001 - Nokia 3
28441 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
24884
To further prove this point, here is how the entry-level Nokia handled GFXBench. Even the basic OpenGL ES 3.0 test was enough to bring the Nokia 3 to its knees. Just to put things into perspective, the Meizu M5c is also stuck with a lonely single Mali-T720MP1 GPU core. The Meizu M5 Note, Xiaomi Redmi 4a and Huawei Honor 5x, on the other hand, run much more capable, multi-core GPUs - Mali-T860MP2, Adreno 308 and Adreno 405, respectively. These are barely powerhouses as well, but even they put the Nokia 3 to shame.
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
15 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
9.9 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
9.8 - Huawei Honor 5c
7.8 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7.2 - Lenovo Moto M
7.1 - Moto G5
7.1 - Lenovo K6 Power
7.1 - Huawei Honor 5X
5.6 - Meizu M5 Note
5.5 - Meizu M5
5.2 - Meizu M5s
4.5 - Sony Xperia L1
4.1 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
2.8 - Nokia 3
2.2 - Meizu M5c
2.2
GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
15 - Meizu M5
10 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
9.7 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
9.6 - Meizu M5s
9.2 - Sony Xperia L1
8.8 - Huawei Honor 5c
8.3 - Lenovo Moto M
7.6 - Moto G5
7.1 - Lenovo K6 Power
7.1 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7 Huawei Honor 5X
6.1- Xiaomi Redmi 4a
5.7 - Meizu M5 Note
5.5 - Nokia 3
4.5 - Meizu M5c
4.4
There are a couple of other interesting observations to be made here. The Sony Xperia L1 might appear to use the exact same GPU as the Nokia 3, but it has the advantage of two GPU cores. The test results speak for themselves.
The other t hing worth mentioning is that despite its poor graphics performance the Mali-T720 still supports OpenGL ES 3.1 - a requirement for running Android Nougat. This is kind of obvious, given that the phone ships with Android 7 to begin with, but Its still good no note, as one less criteria to worry about, when it comes to potentially running future Android versions.
Basemark X tells a pretty similar story. It has the Nokia 3 trading blows with the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) and its Mali-400 GPU at the very bottom of the chart.
Basemark X
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
13666 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
10446 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
10424 - Huawei Honor 5c
7735 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
7522 - Moto G5
7475 - Lenovo K6 Power
7475 - Lenovo Moto M
6732 - Meizu M5 Note
5276 - Huawei Honor 5X
5009 - Meizu M5
4767 - Meizu M5s
4646 - Sony Xperia L1
4045 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
3335 - Meizu M5c
2292 - Nokia 3
2210 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
1424
Basemark X (medium)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Helio X20)
23300 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
21078 - Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
20921 - Huawei Honor 5c
16171 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
15303 - Moto G5
15292 - Lenovo K6 Power
15286 - Meizu M5 Note
11983 - Meizu M5
11303 - Huawei Honor 5X
10107 - Meizu M5s
8915 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
6251 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
4605 - Nokia 3
4511
Last, but not least, there is Basemark OS II and its second version. They seem to be a bit kinder to the Nokia 3, evaluating its overall performance a bit higher. Still, the numbers hardly impress.
Basemark OS II
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
1296 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
1290 - Lenovo Moto M
1127 - Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
1041 - Nokia 6
1004 - Meizu M5 Note
944 - Huawei Honor 5X
906 - Meizu M5
846 - Meizu M5s
842 - Sony Xperia L1
802 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
801 - Nokia 3
620 - Meizu M5c
522 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
399
Basemark OS 2.0
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redm i Note 4 (Helio X20)
1728 - Huawei Honor 5c
1221 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
1050 - Huawei Honor 5X
874 - Moto G5
795 - Meizu M5s
781 - Sony Xperia L1
767 - Xiaomi Redmi 4a
707 - Nokia 3
568 - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
326 - Lenovo K6 Power
281 - Meizu M5c
182
Circling back to our original point on performance, we really didnt expect or ask much of the Nokia 3. All it had to do is deliver a usable experience, while performing day to day Android tasks. Nothing fancy or advanced, just things your grandma will expect.
In all fairness, we cant say that it totally failed to deliver. However, the exp erience is far from smooth, even with the low bar we set. Frankly, we point the finger squarely at the manufacturer HMD and its software department. Weve already seen the likes of the Redmi 4a and the Sony Xperia L1 perform a lot better on basically the same low-end hardware. The Nokia 3 should theoretically have an additional edge with its near-stock Android experience.
In reality, all synthetic tests aside, however, both Sony and Xiaomi managed to deliver a much more pleasant, albeit far from stellar, experience, with a lot more added value functionality baked into the OS.
Audio output is mediocre
The Nokia 3 did well with an active external amplifier, delivering above average loudness and nicely clean output.
Plugging in a pair of headphones did a lot of damage though, affecting the degrading the readings across the board. Volume plummeted too so its really not a performance worth writing home about.
| Frequency response | Noise level | Dynamic range | THD | IMD + Noise | Stereo crosstalk | |
| Nokia 3 | +0.02, -0.11 | -91.9 | 91.8 | 0.012 | 0.017 | -91.8 |
| Nokia 3 (headphones) | +0.88, -0.06 | -78.7 | 77.6 | 0.039 | 0.348 | -52.5 |
| Sony Xperia L1 | +0.10, -0.11 | -93.6 | 92.9 | 0.0090 | 0.013 | -93.8 |
| Sony Xperia L1 (headphones) | +0.79, -0.10 | -92.9 | 91.9 | 0.010 | 0.420 | -53.1 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 4 | +0.02, -0.06 | -91.6 | 92.4 | 0.0016 | 0.0081 | -93.3 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 4 (headphones) | +0.04, -0.04 | -91.4 | 92.2 | 0.0058 | 0.036 | -64.0 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 3s | +0.02, -0.07 | -94.3 | 90.6 | 0.0024 | 0.0087 | -91.8 |
| Xiaomi Redmi 3s (headphones) | +0.02, -0.10 | -93.7 | 90.3 | 0.028 | 0.061 | -72.2 |
| Oppo F1s | +0.37, -0.00 | -71.2 | 75.3 | 0.936 | 1.190 | -41.2 |
| Oppo F1s (headphones) | +0.80, -0.05 | -67.8 | 74.6 | 0.336 | 0.579 | -42.3 |
| Huawei Honor 7 Lite (5c) | +0.03, -0.44 | -90.4 | 90.9 | 0.0019 | 0.011 | -87.9 |
| Huawei Honor 7 Lite (5c) (headphones) | +0.04, -0.47 | -90.3 | 90.7 | 0.0067 | 0.072 | -73.1 |
| Motorola Moto G4 | +0.02, -0.07 | -92.4 | 92.5 | 0.0028 | 0.0084 | -92.1 |
| Motorola Moto G4 (headphones) | +0.04, -0.08 | -92.0 | 92.0 | 0.0073 | 0.070 | -63.8 |
Nokia 3 frequency response
You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.
Camera
A solid camera reputation has accompanied the Nokia brand for the better part of its existence. During its time behind the wheel, Microsoft mostly remained true to the tradition, putting out some impressive mobile shooters. However, it is important to note that the camera focus has mostly been limited to hing-end flagship models throughout the years, with only little bits and pieces of innovation trickling down the rest of the the lineup.
Keeping that in mind, the Nokia 3 delivers a camera setup, pretty adequate and suited for its price point. There is also a little twist - it has a pair of 8 MP, f/2.0, 1.12 um pixel size snappers at its disposal. Before you get too excited, no, its not a dual-camera setup, but rather an attempt at an impressive selfie experience. At least on paper, that is. But, more on that later.
First, lets take a look at the Camera app. It is the same custom deal we saw on the Nokia 6 - simple in some way s, but also potentially confusing and overcrowded if misused. In the main view, you get a shutter release on the bottom, a switch to video mode next to it (so the viewfinder changes to 16:9), and a shortcut to the gallery on the other side. A tiny mode selector next to the shutter release gives you the option to choose regular photo, panorama, or beautify mode.
On the opposite end of the viewfinder there are switches for flash mode (on/off/auto), HDR (on/off), self timer (off/3s/10s), and front/rear camera toggle. No HDR auto here, like the Nokia 6 had. Theres a hamburger button too, for access to settings.
Nokia 3 camera UI
In there, youll find handy features like a level and a compass, a guidelines overlay (rule of thirds) plu s a watermarking tool. Whod have thought that under Capture settings, a Manual mode would be hiding? Manual might be a bit of an overstatement, though - theres exposure compensation (-2/+2EV in full stop increments), white balance presets, a one-of-a-kind focus selector (auto/infinity/macro), and a metering mode selector.
Level, compass and thirds • Manual mode
The settings menu has a few other options hidden away, some definitely more useful than others. If you really go overboard and enable everything, then go into Manual mode, the UI can frankly get way too busy.
Busy Camera UI
We noticed an automatic scene detection option under capture settings and immediately jumped on it, hoping it might be something along the lines of Sonys excellent Superior Auto mode. Its kind of similar in the way a shovel is similar to a digger - it can potentially get the same job done, only with a lot more manual labor involved. Toggling it on simply results in toast notifications, popping up from time to time, informing the user a certain scene might benefit from HDR mode. You still have to go in and enable it yourself.
Other camera settings
Image quality on the Nokia 3 isnt all that great. In fact, it is kind of disappointing. To its credit, detail is about on par with what you can expect from an 8MP sensor. Other than that, however, there are mostly negative qualities to note. Corner softness is a constant issue and so is noise, especially in more uniform, single-color areas.
Nokia 3 samples
However, the biggest beef we have with the Nokia 3 is its inconsistency. Autofocus often misses and is stubborn about refocusing. Exposure controls are very sensitive, especially when using spot metering. Most shots came out either very under or overexposed when we tried to apply any correction with a tap on the viewfinder. You are definitely better off just pointing and shooting, hoping for the best.
Very sensitive and inconsistent exposure control
HDR has its own set of issues as well. To its credit, it did manage to save a lot more detail in grass and foliage, even making some signs legible, where auto mode simply failed. However, that comes at the expense of a lot of oversharpening, hence an increase in noise as well.
HDR Off • HDR On • HDR Off • HDR On • HDR Off • HDR On
HDR Off • HDR On • HDR Off • HDR On • HDR Off • HDR On
Still, if we were forced to choose one bad scenario over the other, we would probably go for HDR and live with the sluggish capture times, among other things.
If you are interested in some additional pixel-level evaluation, our photo compare tool and extensive database of sample shots has you covered.
Nokia 3 in our photo compare tool
The Nokia 3 puts together surprisi ngly decent panoramas. There isnt a lot of resolution, but detail is about on par with stills and there are no noticeable stitching artifacts.
Nokia 3 panorama sample
An 8 MP, f/2.0, 1.12 um pixel size selfie camera, complete with autofocus sure sounds like a great selfie experience in the making. However, these specs dont exactly shine through in the final results. Just like the main camera, the front-facing one has some autofocus issues. Face detection seems to work fine, be it fails in forcing the camera itself to refocus properly. This seems to be less of an issue outside in good lighting conditions, where detail is plenty by selfie standards.
Selfie samples
Dimming the lights a little leads to even more inconsistent focus. Overall, the Nokia 3 seems to favor a full arms length of distance for best selfie results.
Testing the selfie autofocus
The Beauty mode is really over the top and should probably be avoided. There are no intensity settings either.
Beauty mode Off • Beauty mode On
Video capture is another sore point on the Nokia 3. It is only limited to 720p capture at 30fps. The finger is pointed squarely at the MT6737 on this one. To make things worse, the frame rate isnt exactly consistent either. Our low-light video compare samples came out with a frame rate of about 18 fps.
There is also the issue of the antiquated 3GP format the Nokia 3 uses. Other than that, video gets encoded in a pretty standard MPEG-4 stream with a bitrate of about 12 Mbps, along with stereo, 48 KHz AAC audio.
Here is a YouTube sample video for you to check out.
We have an untouched sample as well (10s ~ 12MB). Speaking of which, we also have a short clip of the only special video mode the Nokia 3 has. Its a timelapse feature, of sorts, that can go at a pace of either 2x or 3x. You can see it at maximum speed here (10s ~ 12MB).
And last, but not least, heres a link to our video compare tool. We realize its only 720p, but there are still plenty of devices from out database to compare it with.
Nokia 3 in our video compare tool
Conclusion
We gave the Nokia 3 every chance to impress us, sadly, without much success. To HMDs credit, the entry-level device is surprisingly well equipped to handle a connected lifestyle in 2017. There are plenty of little details, here and there, that offer some added value, but the Nokia 3 simply fails to deliver a solid overall smartphone experience.
Just to reiterate a few important points yet again, we are well aware that the Nokia 3 is targeting a pretty low price point of about $150. Some of that has to go towards financing HMDs current formidable PR efforts to rejuvenate the legendary Nokia brand - not an easy, nor cheap task. We understand perfectly and our expectations were set accordingly. Still, on a perfectly unbiased and level playing field, the Nokia 3 objectively lacks behind almost all of its entry-level c ompetitors, even those stuck with nearly identical low-level hardware.
A mediocre camera, poorly optimized software and likely related short battery life just ruined the experience and helped us snap out of the retro hype pretty quickly. However, to be perfectly frank, that likely wont be the case for most prospective Nokia buyers out there. Just look at the ongoing Nokia 3310 (2017) craze. People are still lining up to purchase what is essentially a PR stunt, built on top of a questionably good and obviously overpriced featurephone, to begin with.
The Nokia 3 has every prospect to sell equally well. But even if it flops, the little budget Nokia shouldnt really be more than a tiny snag on the tracks of the massive hype train HMD is currently piloting. All eyes are now fixed on the companys eagerly-anticipated flagship offer. It could really make or break the reinvented N okia brand, so be sure to keep close taps on those developments.
Nokia 3 key test findings
- Good looks, solid build quality. Screen promises Gorilla Glass finish, but feels a bit "plasticky".
- Metal frame is a nice touch, so is the dedicated microSD card slot. The non-removable back cover seems like a missed opportunity to bring back the interchangable backs from the past in the smartphone era.
- The display is plenty bright and with decent sunlight legibility, on par with other budget devices. Color accuracy is poor, but that expected. 720p resolution is decently sharp on a 5-inch diagonal.
- Battery life is quite disappointing at 53 hours of total endurance rating. Poor software optimization could be to blame, but the small 2,650 mAh battery doesnt help either.
- OS in near-stock Android with a nice "Nokia blue" skin on top. It lacks any customiz ability and the UI often stutters even with casual loads.
- The Nokia 3 doesnt take full advantage of the MTK6737 chipset, which isnt all that powerful to begin with. Software updates might fix some bottlenecks. The Mali-T720MP1 only has a single graphics processing core and really struggles with most graphics tasks, even at 720p resolution.
- The single bottom-firing loudspeaker is really loud and seems to favor higher pitch sounds.
- Audio quality on the Nokia 3 is decent - nothing really impressive, but it will get the job done.
- The 8MP main camera has autofocus issues and produces very soft photos. HDR seems to help a bit with finer detail, but leads to oversharpening. Spot exposure metering is very inconsistent and overly sensitive.
- Having autofocus on the front camera is great on paper, but the selfie cam often misses focus and is stubborn about it. Results are also inconsistent.
- Video recording is only limited to 720p and saves files in the antiquated 3gp format. Video frame rates are also inconsistent from time to time.
As for the Nokia 3, all the criticism we laid out really shouldnt be misconstrued as a direct attack on the poor handset. Sure, HMD might have a few edges to polish, but in the grander scheme of things, the Nokia 3 is weighed down by a fiercely competitive budget market and a struggle for lower prices at any means necessary more than anything else. We said it in our recent Xiaomi Redmi 4a review, as well as the Sony Xperia L1, and well say it again - searching for a phone this cheap is simply a hunt for your personal best, or rather least unappealing set of compromises. Because at a price of $150, there are going to be some compromises so its best that you go for the compromises that you wouldnt mind as much.
The phones by competing manufacturers have different sets of caveats of their own. There are a few Xiaomis to consider, particularly the Redmi Note 4 series, which can not only deliver superior performance, but also a metal build and bigger, Full HD screens. You can go even cheaper with a Redmi 4 handset - preferably the regular octa-core variety.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (MediaTek) • Xiaomi Redmi 4 (4X)
Meizu might be on to something with its "M" line. Priced at around $100, the regular Meizu M5 comes with a Mediatek MT6750 - no chart-topper for sure, but still an octa-core chip. Add a 5.2-inch HD panel, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a 13MP PDAF-enabled main camera and a 3,070mAh battery to the mix and you have yourself some real value potential. Meizus recently released M5c is a worthwhile option too. So is the M5c.
Meizu M5 Note • Meizu M5 • Meizu M5s • Meizu M5c
As for more Western-market-friendly brands, there are a few handsets scattered here and there. Take the Huawei Honor 5c, for instance - eight Cortex-A53 cores, a 5.2-inch, FullHD display, 13MP main camera, for roughly the same price of around $150. The same specs mostly describe the Lenovo K6 Power as well. Of course, there is the Sony Xperia L1 that we kept mentioning throughout the review. It is pretty identical to the Nokia 3 specs-wise, even rocking the same quad-core Mediatek MT6737T chip, although arguably doing a much better job of it.
Huawei Honor 5c • Lenovo K6 Power • Sony Xperia L1
The Moto E4 Plus matches the Xperia L1s specs completely: screen size and resolution, processor, camera, design, even the price. But it comes with double the battery capacity. So, if battery life is an important point for you, definitely check it out. The Moto C Plus is pretty much the same package but notably cheaper - a smaller screen and a lower-res cameras are things you will have to live with to get the discount.
Motorola Moto E4 Plus • Motorola Moto C Plus
These are all viable opti ons that you should frankly consider before the Nokia 3, at least in its current state, that is. Once again, the bottom line is this: you probably dont want a $100 or so smartphone in 2017. Even if youre getting it free-on-contract - which you most likely will - its always wise to at least check the offers in the next price bracket. Sure, there might be exceptions to the rule out there, but be warned, the margin of error is pretty slim in the low end.
! ( hope useful)
No comments:
Post a Comment