Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: What’s the difference?

Nokia has announced three Android devices as the company begins its fight back into smartphones. Announced at Mobile World Congress 2017, the line-up includes the Nokia 6 which launched in China earlier in 2017, and new Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 models slipping in below.

These aren’t designed to take on flagship phones like the HTC 10 or Samsung Galaxy S7, these are designed to cut into the belly of Android, offering quality phones to those in the €100-300 price bracket and doing so while still offering quality. 

Here’s how the specs of these phones break down. Here’s exactly what the difference is.

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 3: Design and build

• Nokia 6 is the largest, Nokia 3 the smallest
• All are machined from aluminium, 3 has a polycarbonate back
• All have Gorilla Glass displays 

The Nokia 6 is the largest of the new family with 154 x 75.8 x 7.85-8.4mm dimensions; the Nokia 5 is 149.7 x 72.5 x 8.05-8.55mm; Nokia 3 is 143.4 x 71.4 x 8.48mm.

All three phones start life as a solid block of 6000 series aluminium and are machined from this block. The Nokia 6 and Nokia 6 have a full metal body, while the Nokia 3 gets a metal core with a polycarbonate back added. 

The Nokia 6 is the most sophisticated of the bunch, the Nokia 5 comes in a little rounder; the Nokia 3 loses some of the premium feel by opting for that plastic finish, but it still feels fairly solid. 

All have Gorilla Glass protecting the display. All are available in a range of colours, but the Nokia 6 also offers an Arte Black special edition.

• Nokia 6 goes global with glorious Arte Black special edition

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 3: Display

• Nokia 6 is only full HD model
• Nokia 6 is largest, Nokia 3 the smallest

The displays on the Nokia models are a fairly predictable stepped positioning. The Nokia 6 has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixels, 403ppi. The Nokia 5 has a 5.2-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display, 282ppi. Nokia 3 has a 5-inch 1280 x 1080 pixel display, 284ppi. 

All these are the same IPS LCD and they all appear to be bright and vibrant. The Nokia 5 is perhaps the weakest, sitting in the middle, bettered by the Nokia 6 both in terms of resolution and size. The Nokia 3 retains the HD resolution at 5-inches, which although a little low, fits its budget pricing. 

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 3: Hardware

• Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 offer Snapdragon 430
• Nokia 6 gets most RAM and storage
• Nokia 6 and 5 have fingerprint scanners
• All have microSD support

The Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 are fairly closely matched, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset. Nowever, the 6 has the most RAM with 3GB (and 4GB on Arte Black) and the most storage at 32GB (64GB for Arte Black).

The Nokia 3 is powered by the MediaTek 6737 chipset with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage; the Nokia 5 also has 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. All the Nokia phones offer microSD card support to expand storage. 

The Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 both have a fingerprint scanner on the front, which the Nokia 3 misses out on.

All the phones offer Micro-USB for charging and a 3.5mm headphone socket.

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 3: Software

• Android 7.1 Nougat
• No bloatware 

There’s no difference in the software offering across these phones. All will be running pure Android Nougat and Nokia is promising the latest version of the software, with the benefit of monthly security updates.

There will be no pre-loaded applications or bloatware, which will be something of a relief. The only change that’s made to stock Android is the camera app.

• This is the new Nokia 3310

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 3: Cameras

• 16MP camera on Nokia 6
• 13MP camera on Nokia 5
• All get 8-megapixel front camera

The Nokia 6 has a 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus, f/2.0, with 1µm pixels. It also has a dual tone LED flash.

The Nokia 5 gets the dual tone LED flash, but drops down to a 13-megapixel sensor, keeping the phase detection AF, f/2.0 and growing the pixels to 1.12µm.

The Nokia 3 settles for an 8-megapixel camera, with f/2.0, 1.12µm pixels and flash.

All the Nokia phones have an 8-megapixel front camera, which offers autofocus, 1.12µm pixels, f/2.0 and has a wide angle to capture your selfies. 

As we said, all offer a custom app, the only change the Nokia mades to the Android interface.

• Nokia 6 preview: A solid start for the new Android Nokia

Nokia 6 vs 5 vs 4: Price

• Nokia 6 is the most expensive
• Nokia 3 is the cheapest

The Nokia 6 will cost you €229 in its regular form. Opt for the Arte Black edition and you’ll be asked to part with a little more at €299, for which you get that glossy black finish, more RAM and more storage. 

The Nokia 5 will cost you €189. 

The Nokia 3 will cost €139.