The 5.2-inch display is bright, not very contrasty
The Nokia 5 is equipped with a 5.2-inch 720p IPS display - nothing overly fancy, but still a decent 282ppi density. It's a classic RGB arrangement with equal numbers of subpixels for the three primary colors.
The Nokia 5 is very bright at its maximum setting, and you can get all 630-something nits manually - the automatic setting doesn't offer a boost on top of that, but it's not really necessary. Less exciting is the black level, which is one of the highest we've measured recently, and that inevitably results in less that stellar contrast.
Display test
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Nokia 5
0.69
632
916
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) max auto
0
559
∞
Sony Xperia XA1
0.512
537
1049
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
0.475
528
1112
Xiaomi Redmi 4
0.576
527
915
Motorola Moto Z Play (max auto)
0
526
∞
Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
0.377
522
1385
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
0.322
484
1503
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) Max Auto
0
482
∞
Nokia 3
0.353
477
1351
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
0
413
∞
Motorola Moto Z Play
0
371
∞
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
0
348
∞
Sunlight legibility is quite good on the Nokia 5 too, marginally better than the Nokia 6 and among the better LCDs in this respect.
Sunlight contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy S8 4.768
Samsung Galaxy S8+ 4.658
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ 4.615
Oppo R11 4.454
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge 4.439
OnePlus 3 4.424
Samsung Galaxy S7 4.376
HTC One A9 4.274
Samsung Galaxy Note7 4.247
Samsung Galaxy A3 4.241
OnePlus 3T 4.232
Google Pixel XL 4.164
ZTE Axon 7 4.154
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge 4.124
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) 4.124
Samsung Galaxy Note5 4.09
Huawei Nexus 6P 4.019
Vivo Xplay5 Elite 3.983
OnePlus X 3.983
Apple iPhone 7 3.964
Oppo R7s 3.964
Huawei P9 Plus 3.956
Meizu Pro 6 Plus 3.935
Lenovo Moto Z 3.931
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) 3.918
OnePlus 5 3.914
Samsung Galaxy C5 3.911
Samsung Galaxy C7 3.896
Samsung Galaxy A5 3.895
Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor 3.879
Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor 3.873
Samsung Galaxy A8 3.859
Sony Xperia XZs 3.818
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016) 3.817
Motorola Moto X (2014) 3.816
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) 3.804
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode 3.802
LG V20 Max auto 3.798
Xiaomi Redmi Pro 3.798
Sony Xperia XZ 3.795
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) 3.789
Apple iPhone 6s 3.783
Meizu Pro 5 3.781
Microsoft Lumia 650 3.772
Xiaomi Mi 6 3.767
Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) 3.756
Oppo F1 Plus 3.709
Vivo X5Pro 3.706
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) 3.688
Apple iPhone SE 3.681
Huawei Mate 9 3.68
Samsung Galaxy A7 3.679
Meizu PRO 6 3.659
BlackBerry Priv 3.645
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra 3.597
Apple iPhone 7 Plus 3.588
LG G6 3.556
Apple iPhone 6s Plus 3.53
Motorola Moto Z Play 3.526
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) 3.523
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode 3.523
Acer Jade Primo 3.521
Microsoft Lumia 950 3.512
Oppo R7 Plus 3.499
nubia Z11 3.466
Huawei P10 Plus 3.456
HTC U Ultra 3.453
Samsung Galaxy J7 3.422
Meizu MX5 3.416
LG V20 3.402
Huawei P10 3.379
Oppo R9s 3.352
Honor 8 Pro 3.341
Oppo R7 3.32
Lenovo P2 3.316
Honor 9 3.289
Xiaomi Mi 5s 3.276
Nokia 5 3.261
Nokia 6 (Chinese version) 3.244
Samsung Galaxy J2 3.235
Sony Xperia X Performance 3.234
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 3.228
Motorola Moto X Play 3.222
Oppo F3 Plus 3.218
Huawei Mate 9 Pro 3.206
Huawei P9 3.195
ZTE Nubia Z17 3.159
Lenovo Vibe Shot 3.113
Motorola Moto X Force 3.105
LG Nexus 5X 3.092
HTC U11 3.089
Huawei Mate S 3.073
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL 3.065
Sony Xperia XA1 3.012
Sony Xperia L1 2.994
Sony Xperia X 2.989
Huawei P10 Lite 2.974
Samsung Galaxy Note 2.97
Huawei Mate 8 2.949
Xiaomi Redmi 4 2.92
Xiaomi Redmi 3S 2.913
Sony Xperia XA Ultra 2.906
LG G5 2.905
HTC One S 2.901
Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime 2.893
Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus 2.884
Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB) 2.877
Sony Xperia XZ Premium 2.877
Sony Xperia Z5 2.876
Nokia 3 2.871
Microsoft Lumia 550 2.851
Lenovo Moto M 2.813
Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro 2.803
Sony Xperia Z5 compact 2.784
Meizu MX6 2.751
LG V10 2.744
Xiaomi Redmi 3 2.735
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625) 2.714
Meizu M5 2.71
Sony Xperia M5 2.69
Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime 2.679
Huawei P9 Lite 2.679
Vivo V3Max 2.659
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2.658
Xiaomi Mi 4i 2.641
Xiaomi Redmi 4a 2.635
Sony Xperia XA 2.609
Motorola Moto G4 Plus 2.582
Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto) 2.582
Meizu M5s 2.58
Xiaomi Mi 4c 2.574
LeEco Le Max 2 2.567
Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL 2.563
Microsoft Lumia 640 2.563
Lenovo K6 Note 2.544
Lenovo Moto G4 2.544
Oppo F1 2.528
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium 2.525
Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c 2.506
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua 2.503
Oppo F1s 2.481
Motorola Moto G 2.477
Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus 2.473
Huawei G8 2.471
Huawei nova 2.467
Sony Xperia Z 2.462
Lenovo Vibe K5 2.459
Meizu m3 max 2.447
HTC 10 evo 2.407
Huawei Honor 7 2.406
Sony Xperia E5 2.386
ZUK Z1 by Lenovo 2.382
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) 2.378
HTC 10 2.378
Oppo F3 2.376
vivo V5 Plus 2.371
Meizu m1 note 2.362
Huawei nova plus 2.329
HTC One E9+ 2.305
Alcatel One Touch Hero 2.272
Lenovo Vibe K4 Note 2.254
Sony Xperia C5 Ultra 2.253
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek) 2.249
Sony Xperia C4 Dual 2.235
Xiaomi Mi Note 2.234
Motorola Moto G (2014) 2.233
Huawei P8 2.196
Meizu M5 Note 2.189
Huawei Honor 6 2.169
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 2.166
OnePlus Two 2.165
HTC One X 2.158
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20) 2.145
LG Aka 2.145
Archos 50 Diamond 2.134
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2.119
Xiaomi Mi 4S 2.095
Acer Liquid X2 2.084
Huawei P8lite 2.078
vivo V5 2.059
Moto G 3rd gen max manual 2.026
Xiaomi Mi Max 1.996
Sony Xperia E4g 1.972
OnePlus One 1.961
Meizu m3 note 1.923
BlackBerry Leap 1.892
Meizu m2 note 1.892
HTC Butterfly 1.873
ZTE Nubia Z9 mini 1.759
Sony Xperia U 1.758
Asus Zenfone Selfie 1.68
Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) 1.675
ZTE Nubia Z9 1.659
Motorola Moto E 1.545
Sony Xperia M 1.473
Sony Xperia L 1.351
Xiaomi Redmi 2 1.311
HTC Desire C 1.3
Meizu MX 1.221
Sony Xperia E 1.215
Additionally, color accuracy is pretty decent - with an average DeltaE of 4.7, the Nokia 5's display is a little bit more accurate than the Nokia 6's (average DeltaE of 5.3), and substantially better than the Nokia 3's (average DeltaE of 9). Still, the Nokia 5's whites are bluish, there's no escaping that.
Connectivity
The Nokia 5 comes in singe and dual SIM versions, and the one we have on our hands is the single SIM one. Even if you do get the dual SIM variant (2x nano SIMs), you'd still be able enjoy a fully functional microSD slot - there's a separate tray and all.
Courtesy of the Snapdragon 430 chip, the phone supports Cat.4 LTE for theoretical maximums of 150Mbps down and 50Mbps up.
Nokia doesn't specify which Wi-Fi standards the phone supports, but our best guess is b/g/n over 2.4GHz and a/n over 5GHz. Bluetooth is v.4.1, there's NFC, and an FM radio receiver is on board.
The USB port on the bottom is the old one - the trusty but headed for obsolescence microUSB 2.0. Oldies, but goldies - the 3.5mm jack is here too.
Nokia 5 battery life
The Nokia 5 draws power from a 3,000mAh battery - same capacity as the Nokia 6, where the power pack needs to feed a larger, higher-res display. For a 5.2-inch phone, the Nokia 5 is then more than adequately equipped.
It did prove itself in practice too, with very good results in all of our tests. More than 12 hours in Wi-Fi web browsing and just short of 13 hours in video playback mean roughly 3 hours on top of the Nokia 6 in each discipline. The Nokia 5 failed to match the 6's 3G voice call endurance, but at 18:34h you could still have plenty of long and pointless, um... meaningful, conversations.
Those numbers result in an overall endurance rating of 84 hours for the Nokia 5 - 9 more than the Nokia 6.
Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Nokia 5 for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
While we mostly have praise for the Nokia 5's endurance, it's hard to say the same about charging speed. A 30-minute charge from flat will only get it to 23%, which is quite sluggish in the rapid charging times we live in.
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