MWC 2017: Nokia 6, 5, 3 and 3310

Introduction

It's like we woke up in an alternate universe - one where Nokia chose Android over Windows Phone. And oh boy, it is glorious. The brand has a lot of catching up to do but it gets close to the front in a single bound.

The Nokia 6 has been around for a while now, but it is now officially set for a worldwide release. To celebrate, HMD unveiled a special edition Arte Black color, which comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The other colors come with 3GB and 32GB respectively.

What we think is most appealing about the new Nokia trio is the attitude towards software. The phones come with pure Android 7.1 Nougat - the company didn't touch a thing - and a commitment for timely updates. Effectively, this makes them the affordable Pixel phones Google never gave us (let's not mention Android One).

Nokia 6 at a glance:

• Body: Metal unibody
• Screen: 5.5" IPS LCD, 1080p, 2.5D Gorilla Glass, 450nits
• Chipset: Snapdragon 430, octa-core Cortex-A53 at 1.4GHz, Adreno 505
• Memory: 3GB RAM, 32GB storage; microSD slot; Arte Black model with 4GB/64GB
• OS: Android 7.1 Nougat, clean and untouched
• Camera: 16MP (f/2.0, 1.0µm), Phase detection AF, dual tone flash
• Video: 1080p
• Selfie: 8MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), 84° FoV
• Battery: 3,000mAh
• Misc: Stereo speakers, fingerprint reader, free Google Photos storage (full resolution)
• Price: €230, Arte Black is €300

The Nokia 5 is the first of the new Android-powered handsets. It shrinks the aluminum unibody to house a smaller 5.2" screen, but keeps the same chipset and battery capacity as the model 6. The screen has a polarization filter, by the way, that's the secret ingredient that gave Lumias their best-in-class sunlight legibility.

Still, the 5 is a lower-end model and the screen drops to 720p resolution, the main camera to 13MP. You get to keep the fingerprint reader and the free subscription to Google Photos, though.

Nokia 5 at a glance:

• Body: Metal unibody
• Screen: 5.2" IPS LCD, 720p, 2.5D Gorilla Glass, 500nits; polarization filter
• Chipset: Snapdragon 430, octa-core Cortex-A53 at 1.4GHz, Adreno 505
• Memory: 2GB RAM, 16GB storage; microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.1 Nougat, clean and untouched
• Camera: 13MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), Phase detection AF, dual tone flash
• Video: 1080p
• Selfie: 8MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), 84° FoV
• Battery: 3,000mAh
• Misc: Fingerprint reader, free Google Photos storage (full resolution)
• Price: €190

Then there's the Nokia 3, which we're so glad wasn't born a Lumia. It does take after the ill-fated Windows phones - the aluminum frame and soft touch polycarbonate make this one of the prettiest entry-level phones around.

The screen goes down another step to 5" (still 720p) but it promises 450 nits of brightness, same as the Nokia 6, but it borrows the polarization filter from the 5. Fingerprint reader, Google Photos subscription, even the 2 gigs of RAM and 16 gigs storage are still on board.

Nokia 3 at a glance:

• Body: Aluminum frame, polycarbonate back
• Screen: 5.0" IPS LCD, 720p, 2.5D Gorilla Glass, 450nits; polarization filter
• Chipset: MediaTek MT 6737, quad-core Cortex-A53 at 1.3GHz
• Memory: 2GB RAM, 16GB storage; microSD slot
• OS: Android 7.1 Nougat, clean and untouched
• Camera: 8MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), single LED flash
• Video: 1080p
• Selfie: 8MP (f/2.0, 1.12µm), 84° FoV
• Battery: 2,650mAh
• Misc: Free Google Photos storage (full resolution)
• Price: €140

Finally, HMD, the new parent company behind Nokia phones, didn't skip on the opportunity to ride the nostalgia wave and reincarnate the legendary Nokia 3310 for a second go on the 2017 mobile scene. We are sure opinions will be polarized on the EUR 49 feature-phone, but that definitely fits into the whole idea.

Nokia 3310 at a glance:

• Body: Plastic 115.6 x 51 x 12.8 mm; 79.6g
• Screen: 2.4-ich 240 x 320 pixel LCD
• Memory: 16MB storage; microSD slot
• OS: Nokia Series 30+
• Camera: 2MP, single LED flash
• Battery: 1,200mAh removable
• Price: €49

Join us on the following pages as jot down our first hands-on impressions with the three phones.