The Nokia 5.3 was announced in March and quickly became an affordable favorite with reviewers thanks to its low £150 price tag. Few other phones in that bracket can offer the same level of performance along with a passable camera. HMD Global has now seen fit to launch an iterative update in the form of the Nokia 5.4, and it looks set to be another popular lower-mid-range option.
You’d be forgiven for thinking very little has changed, but there are a few key differences when compared with its predecessor. The Nokia 5.4 has a punch-hole cutout in the display that houses a 16MP selfie camera in place of the waterdrop notch/8MP combo last time around. On the rear, the main camera has been upgraded to a 48MP sensor and the flash has moved, although the general aesthetic remains largely unchanged.
A Snapdragon 662 runs the show, pitting this phone against the Poco M3 and Moto G9 Power when it comes to performance. It’s a slightly modified version of the SD665 in the previous generation, so we should expect it to do a decent job again. It may well be a bit more power-efficient, too. The same 4,000 mAh battery is on board, but it won’t charge especially fast (10W).
For some reason, it’s being marketed as a good phone for side hustlers. HMD Global has some amusing stats to show off the attributes of the Nokia 5.4. Apparently, its battery can last for 42 commutes and its polycarbonate body can withstand the weight of a 10-year-old child. Cinema mode video recording is also talked up — 21:9 and 24fps for that “Hollywood-like feel” — but really what you’re looking at is a reasonably priced affordable phone with few bells and whistles of any note. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
HMD Global has long been the Android One program’s champion, and even though that branding has taken a back seat over the last year or so, the Nokia 5.4 still comes with the promise of three years of security updates and two years of OS updates. This just about makes up for the fact that it ships with Android 10 — let’s hope its Android 11 upgrade is right around the corner.
In the UK, the Nokia 5.4 will be available from December 18 in the Polar Night (blue) color, with Dusk (purple) coming in January. You’ll be able to get one from Nokia’s site first, with Amazon and Argos getting stock next month.