Nokia is the latest company to launch an “affordable” 5G phone that is powered by the increasingly popular Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset. This list of phones is growing quickly, but many are aimed at the Asian market, such as the Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G and Vivo Z6.
Currently, the Realme X50 still isn’t announced for the EU/UK, and I am not 100% sure if it will, nor is the Redmi K30, but I expect this will get launch, however, these are the two devices that are likely to compete with the Nokia.
Nokia has not announced the launch date of the phone but stated it would be available in Europe for summer.
Buy the Realme X50 from Banggood
Buy the Redmi K30 from Bangdood
Chipset, RAM and Storage
All the phones use the same chipset, so there is nothing to
compare there. With Nokia, you have a base spec of 6GB/64GB, and this can be
upgraded via mirsoSD, this is the same with the Redmi K30 5G. The Realme has
6GB/128GB as a base spec, but you can’t upgrade the storage.
Display & Design
The Nokia 8.3 5G has a gigantic 6.81 inch running at 1080 x
2400 pixels but lacks any of the other fancy features we have seen this year
such as higher refresh rates and higher touch sensing rates. The display of the device features a single
punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera, which is located in the top left
corner.
For context, the S20 Ultra has a 6.9-inch display, and the
Galaxy Note 10+ has a 6.8-inch display. So this phone is one of the largest out
there, it also makes it weighty at 220g.
In comparison, the Redmi K30 5G has a 6.67-inch screen
running at 1080 x 2400 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate and weighs 208g.
The Realme X50 is 6.57-inches running at 1080 x 2400 pixels
with 120Hz and weighs 202g.
Interestingly, all the phones use a side-mounted fingerprint
scanner, I can’t say I prefer that over a rear-mounted one, but it gives you a
nice clean back profile.
Camera
The Nokia 8.3 5G features a quadruple rear camera setup,
which includes a 64MP main lens, a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens (with 4K UHD
support), a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The ZEISS quad rear
camera focuses on video recording and low-light camera performance. The device
comes with a ZEISS cinematic effect, which gives users more control over the
video capture.
It then also has a 24MP wide selfie lens in the punch-hole.
The Redmi K30 uses:
- 64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm,
PDAF - 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4.0″,
1.12µm - 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.75µm
- 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
- Dual selfie with 20MP wide and 2MP TOF
The Realme has:
- 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.72″, 0.8µm,
PDAF - 12 MP, f/3.0, 54mm (telephoto), 2x optical zoom,
PDAF - 8 MP, f/2.3, 13mm (ultrawide)
- 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.75µm
- Dual selfie with 16MP wide & 8MP ultrawide
In terms of specification, I would say the Realme has the
best option thanks to the telephoto lens. In reality, the software prowess of
Nokia combined with the Zeiss, will likely give the Nokia the edge in overall quality.
Battery
I am loving the fact all companies are finally using big
batteries in their phones (I am sure Google Pixel will still disappoint later
in the year).
The Nokia features a 4500 mAh battery with 18W fast charging,
the Redmi has the same size, but they have 30W fast charging, and finally, the
Realme is a little smaller at 4200 mAh but also 30W charging.
Other features – OS
The biggest selling point of Nokia the past few years is
their use of Android One, giving you an untouched version of Android combined
with regular updates. This makes it like an affordable Pixel.
Redmi uses MIUI and Realme has ColorOS 7 – both have mixed
reviews from users, I personally don’t mind either, though I prefer ColorOS 7
over MIUI.
Both the Nokia and Redmi have 3.5mm headphone jacks, but the
Realme does not.
None of the phones has an IP rating, which is standard at
these price points.
Price
The 6GB/64GB version of the Nokia is 599-Euros while the 8GB/128GB
is 649-Euros, so not flagship prices, therefore technically affordable, but
hardly cheap either.
You can currently get the Redmi K30 imported from Banggood for £313.85 – if it gets launched in the UK I would expect the price to go up, but it will still likely be much cheaper than the Nokia.
The Realme X50 8GB/128GB model is £419.93 on Banggood – however it is worth noting that the launch price of the Realme X50 Pro (with a Snapdragon 865) is the same price as the Nokia, 599-Euros
