successor to high flyer takes a step back

Last year the Nokia 5.3 was released and it won a DroidApp Award for best smartphone. The successor, the Nokia 5.4, is now in the shops and so it is time to tackle it. You can read our findings in the Nokia 5.4 review.

Nokia 5.4 review

HMD Global has released a lot of successful smartphones under the Nokia name in recent years. Think of the 6 series, the 7 Plus and also the cheaper devices did well. The Nokia 5.3 of last year was also in the list of devices that sold well, we can conclude. Not surprising, because the device managed to take home the DroidApp Awards 2020 prize with us at the end of 2020. Will the successor also go for gold this year? We will investigate this in the Nokia 5.4 review.

Sales package

Nokia supplies the most important components with the Nokia 5.4. The sales package of the device consists of an adapter, USB-C cable and some paperwork. There was no silicone cover or a set of earplugs. We believe that at this price that is not a problem in itself. Especially the earplugs are used less and less because people have a good headset themselves. Last year, a simple headset was included. A silicone case, on the other hand, is always a plus for us; with the Nokia 5.4 it must therefore be missed. Of course, a SIM needle is also included with the 5.4.

Design and interface

The Nokia 5.4 is characterized by the new design language of the originally Finnish manufacturer, as we also see with other devices. At the front is a 6.39 inch screen with HD + resolution. What we noticed when testing the 5.4 is that the brightness of the screen can be low enough for, for example, the evening hours. During the day, the brightness disappoints us a bit. On a sunny day it is difficult to see what is happening on the screen, such as when taking a picture.

The phone fits well in the hand, although it is on the smooth side. If you have large hands, it can be operated reasonably with one hand. In the corner of the screen you will find the 16 megapixel front camera at the top left. Furthermore, the smartphone offers a physical Google Assistant button on the left. I have to say that I pressed this one just a bit too often unwanted, whereby the Assistant appears. Fortunately, you can disable the button, but unfortunately you still cannot link your own action to it.

On the right is the volume key, along with the power button. The 3.5 millimeter connection for a headset is placed on top and you will find the speaker and USB-C connection at the bottom. On the back we see the circular camera module with the fingerprint scanner underneath. The LED flash is placed to the left of the camera module.

Interface

Nokia provides the Nokia 5.4 with a well-known Android interface, pure Android. This means that Nokia has not actually made any adjustments to it. For example, on the left screen you will find the Google Discover page and there is room for widgets and shortcuts on the home screens. Because Nokia has not placed an extra layer over it, you do not have the option, for example, to adjust the size of the grids with the standard launcher.

You can find the notifications and quick settings in the known places. By default you go through the menus and the like using gestures, but fortunately you can also switch on the three navigation keys at the bottom of the screen if you wish. You open the menu with a swipe down to the top. It all goes without saying.

Communication and multimedia

The Nokia 5.4 makes excellent calls without annoying features. Entering a phone number or choosing from contacts is done via Google’s own calling app. Sending a text message can be done via Google’s own Android Messages app. Logically, internet is also done with this device via Chrome.

The Nokia 5.4 has support for two nano SIM cards. In addition to dual SIM support, you can also simply insert a memory card. That’s how we like to see it! You have access to the 4G network with your smartphone and of course also WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS. However, we find it incomprehensible that a device in 2021 still has to do without 5GHz WiFi, as is the case with the Nokia 5.4. Even crazier is that the predecessor, the Nokia 5.3, did have support on board. Separate choice.

Multimedia

In terms of multimedia, the Nokia 5.4 is equipped with the basic needs. If you connect a headset to the device, you can also use the FM radio on this device. The sound from the Nokia speaker sounds very tinny and without much detail. It sounds a bit pressed. In addition, we would have liked the volume to be just a bit louder. For example, if you are calling on the loudspeaker in a moving vehicle, the conversation is barely visible. The image quality is okay, only as stated earlier, the maximum brightness on a sunny day disappoints a bit. I find the volume of the alarm clock really too loud at the lowest volume in the early hours.

Camera

The Nokia 5.4 is equipped with four cameras for taking photos. This concerns a 48 megapixel main lens, 5MP wide angle lens, 2MP macro lens and 2MP depth lens. We expressed all our doubts about the latter two in an earlier article, with each device. In short, we can say that they are often there for decoration. We tested the Nokia 5.4’s camera under different conditions.

You can switch between the normal lens and wide angle lens, but you cannot zoom in. In the camera app you will also find the icon for taking a macro photo, where it is recommended to keep a distance of four centimeters. Whatever we try, a sharp photo does not come out. So this is of no use to you.

The photo quality of the 5.4 under other conditions is very neat in this price range with realistic colors. But leave the wide-angle lens out of service here. The photos that are taken with it are very dark, show a lot of noise and are out of focus in many places. A while ago you could still get away with this in this price range, but now the market in the price range of the Nokia 5.4 is increasingly saturated. Point to that, in the Nokia 5.3 review we were also negative about the wide-angle lens. Apparently HMD Global has not improved anything about this, too bad.

The camera itself does take great photos. We have to say that even in the evenings the photos are still quite okay for the price of this device. There is also a special night mode, but it pumps up the photos a lot with a lot of noise. Below you will find a photo that we took with the Nokia 5.4. Do you want to see more? View the Nokia 5.4 photo album here.

Front camera

In the camera app you switch to the front camera with one push of a button. This has a total of 13 megapixels with the Nokia 5.4. The photo quality of this is fine. During the day, the photos are well-lit and provided with sufficient details.

Video camera

With the Nokia 5.4 you can film in a maximum resolution of Full-HD. This can be done with a frame rate of 60fps, or possibly with 30fps. We made the video below with the device, and placed it directly on YouTube without editing. The Nokia 5.4 shoots good quality videos as long as you don’t want to zoom in.

Performance and other possibilities

The Snapdragon 662 chipset from Qualcomm can ensure that the smartphone does what you want. It is an octa-core chipset that does its job well. We have to say that if you come from a high-end, you have to get used to it, but that is more of our luxury position. Once used to it, it is no longer a factor at all. Tasks are neatly followed up. There is also 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space.

We also see a well-functioning fingerprint scanner and tasks are performed neatly. We do find that despite the clean Android interface, some bloatware can be found on the device here and there. A few examples are Amazon Shopping and Netflix. Compared to other manufacturers, it is not that bad, but it is not necessary. Give users the choice whether or not to want a particular app.

Update Policy

It is already written in large on the Nokia 5.4 box; two years of Android upgrades. We also see the mention to Android One. The Nokia 5.4 will receive Android updates for two years as a result, but it remains to be seen whether we can also expect Android 13 for the smartphone. The smartphone now runs on Android 10. Android 11 has been out for a while. We must owe you the answer to this. In any case, the smartphone will receive the update to Android 11 and Android 12. In addition, you will receive monthly security updates for a period of three years.

Battery life

A 4000 mAh battery can be found under the plastic hood of the Nokia 5.4. On paper this is not the most generous battery capacity, but figures do not say everything here. The Nokia 5.4 proves that like no other, because we are impressed by the battery life that the device manages to achieve. With quite intensive use, mainly on 4G, the smartphone lasts for almost two days with a screen time of 6 hours. With above-average use with largely WiFi, we achieve a screen time of 8 hours. Very neat.

Review

We have come to the end of the Nokia 5.4 review, so it is time to take stock. Usually you expect more improvements with a successor to an earlier device. Strangely enough, I can say that the Nokia 5.4 is an exception. The readability of the screen on a sunny day and, for example, the support for 5GHz WiFi was much better with the predecessor than with this model. In addition, HMD Global has brought more of a breath of fresh air through the 5-series, than it has tackled real problems. Think of the camera, where again the wide-angle lens and macro lens are actually not usable, without a chance.

The Nokia 5.4 is really not a bad device. It performs its duties to our satisfaction, takes good quality pictures with the main camera and the battery life is great. Thanks to Android One you are also assured of updates for a long time. It’s the little things that make this not a worthy successor to the 5.3. But where the Nokia 5.3 recently took home the DroidApp Awards for best smartphone, the Nokia 5.4 will grab the gold here.

You can buy the Nokia 5.4 at Coolblue, Bol.com, Belsimpel and Mobiel.