Nokia is back from the dead with a trio of pure Android phones

Nokia’s phones are making a comeback. HMD Global, the Finnish company that licensed the rights to produce Nokia phones, is unveiling a trio of Nokia-branded Android devices today that are designed to cater for the mid-range of the smartphone market. They’re not the premium Lumia-like devices we’ve seen in recent history, but they have one thing in common: pure Android. HMD is taking a fairly unique approach, just like Motorola, to these Nokia phones by offering up Google’s Android Nougat OS in its purest form. That means no bundled third-party apps, no UI customizations, and regular security updates.

It’s literally the single biggest difference to the thousands of Android-powered smartphones on the market, and it’s a risky bet. Most carriers want to bundle apps or have a unique way of marketing a smartphone, but HMD believes its Nokia 6, Nokia 5, and Nokia 3 smartphones will stand out from the competition with solid hardware design, pure Android, and no gimmicky features.

NOKIA 6

 GRID VIEW

1 of 7

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

HMD already unveiled its Nokia 6 smartphone last month for the Chinese market, but it’s now going global with a few tweaks. The Nokia 6 is the biggest of all three of these Nokia-branded handsets, featuring a 5.5-inch display (1920 x 1080), 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and all powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor. The forward-facing camera (8-megapixel) is getting upgraded with a wide-angle lens and auto-focus, and the regular camera remains the same as the Chinese variant: 16-megapixel with dual tone flash. I tested the camera briefly during my time with the Nokia 6, and auto-focus seemed fast enough, and picture quality was what you’d expect from a mid-range phone like this. This probably isn’t going to take amazing photos like you’d expect from a premium smartphone, but it seemed capable enough. If you’re planning to take a lot of photos, you’ll also be able to expand storage thanks to a microSD slot.

The Nokia 6 is manufactured from a block of aluminum with diamond cut edges. In the hand it gives it a very industrial metallic feel, with sharp edges that meet the matte aluminum body. Viewing angles of the display are good, and the 5.5-inch size feels just about right. If you’re not a fan of matte then HMD is also offering up an Arte Black limited edition version of the Nokia 6. It’s a glossy version with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. The main difference is gloss and price, as the matte black, silver, blue, or copper versions of the Nokia 6 will retail at 229 euros ($242), and the glossy black will debut at 299 euros ($315). Both variants will be available worldwide starting in Q2, but HMD isn’t providing exact carrier availability just yet.

NOKIA 5

 GRID VIEW

1 of 4

The second Nokia-branded Android phone is the one I walked away most impressed with. It’s slightly smaller than the Nokia 6 thanks to its 5.2-inch display, and it’s all powered by 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor. The main difference between the Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 is design. While the Nokia 5 is also aluminum, it has curved edges that make the display feel like it’s bleeding into its metal casing. As a result, it feels a lot nicer to hold. It reminds me a lot of holding an iPhone, and there are no sharp edges or ugly bumps.

THE NOKIA 5 IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE FOR THE PRICE

Just like the Nokia 6, the Nokia 5 is also powered by Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Nokia is once again relying on its hardware as the main selling point, with a 13-megapixel camera at the rear and a wide-angle 8-megapixel forward-facing camera. Both will be sufficient for average use, but this is another mid-range Android phone so if you’re not going to get the best camera phone on the market here. HMD will ship the Nokia 5 in Q2 across the world, priced at 189 euros ($199) and available in blue, silver, matte black, and copper.