Prabhu RamNokia recently debuted the Nokia 5.4 in the hyper-competitive smartphone price segment of sub INR 15,000. In this smartphone segment, consumers seek competitive specs at value for money offerings. This is something tough for smartphone makers to accomplish, for understandable reasons. A good smartphone in this price segment is one that marries its hardware and software to deliver flawless user experience.
The Nokia 5.4 epitomizes Nokia’s brand promise of craftsmanship, pure performance and comes with two years of Android OS upgrades and three years of security patches
The Nokia 5.4 does sway one with its rather attractive gradient finish in ‘Polar Night’ color, and sleek design to boot. On the back, the smartphone comes with a circular camera module, and the Nokia branding at the centre. When one holds the Nokia 5.4 in hand, it surprises with its light weight. The curved back and the rounded edges of the phone translate into a comfortable grip for the user.
The display on the Nokia 5.4 is crisp and decent. The Nokia 5.4 comes with a 6.39-inch HD+ LCD panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz.
Powering the Nokia 5.4 is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662 processor. The phone delivers as a daily driver. Whether it be multi-tasking, switching between apps, or for use cases such as social networking, streaming videos or music, the phone delivers with a flawless performance.
The Nokia 5.4 comes with a 4000mAh battery with a USB Type-C port with 10W charging. It lasts long – well over a day, in fact, with all the regular use scenarios – work and leisure.
The quad camera set-up on the Nokia 5.4 includes a 48MP camera, with a 5MP ultrawide camera, a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, the device sports a 16MP punch-hole selfie camera.
The photos on the Nokia 5.4 capture good detail, with crispness and mostly in natural tones. Its bereft of the enhancements that other smartphones offer. And, that is a good thing. The videos turned out crisp. The imaging stabilization works well, and captures the right details and exposure. Even, under low light conditions, the videos were stable and clear. I found the cinematic mode on the Nokia 5.4 really cool and nifty. It allows users to capture content in 24fps in a 21:9 aspect ratio. The OZO audio captures spatial audio, a useful feature at this price-point. For video clips, this new feature takes it up a notch – the immersive audio adds that bit of professional flair.
The Nokia 5.4 runs Android 10 out-of-the-box and is Android 11 ready. The user interface is clean, and sans all the unnecessary ads and spam.
In conclusion
In an everything-from-home context, this is a good phone to have and delivers as a daily driver. Whether it be a working professional or a student, this is a phone that offers good performance, with the reliability and dependability that Nokia promises. Whether it be the strong battery life, great performance, or the camera capabilities, the Nokia 5.4 is a good value proposition.
