Hands on: Nokia 5 is surprisingly much better than the Flagship Nokia 6, here’s why

During the Kenyan re-launch of the Nokia brand by HMD, I got the privilege of getting some hands on time with the entire portfolio of new phones. Naturally, I spent more time with the Nokia 5 and 6 since they are the crown jewel of the company.

As I worked my way from the Nokia 3 then the 5 and lastly the 6, I realized something quite intriguing, but before I reveal my findings, let’s first run down the specs to create a foundation.

	Nokia 5	Nokia 6
Screen	5.2 inches	5.5 inches
Resolution	720p HD	1080p Full HD
CPU	Snapdragon 430	Snapdragon 430
GPU	Adreno 505	Adreno 505
RAM	2GB	3GB/4GB
Storage	16GB	32GB/64GB
Rear Camera	13MP f/2.0 1.12µm pixel size	16MP f/2.0 1.0µm pixel size
Front camera	8MP	8MP
Battery	3000mAh	3000mAh

 

As you can see, the Nokia 6 has an edge over the Nokia 5 in its specifications. The 6 comes with a bigger display which has more resolution, more pixels in the camera and more RAM; so how exactly can the 5 be better?

Well, the CPU, GPU and battery is the same on both devices; however, since the Nokia 5 has fewer pixels to push on its display, it translates to a battery life that is much longer than that of the six. In fact, gsmarena did a battery test endurance of their own and the results speak for themselves.

The lower resolution of the Nokia 5 also makes it utilize only a small chunk of the graphics processor (GPU), the bulk of its power is left for games and other graphics intensive applications. In other words, the Nokia 5 is much smoother in gaming than the Nokia 6, loading times and frames are faster too.

Finally, at the launch, I took pictures with both phones. It was at night so low light photography was the main agenda. Apparently, the Nokia 5 has better color representation than the flagship 6. Also, if objects are moving, the flagship Nokia 6 produced blurry images due to longer exposure times, while the 5 made crisp snaps. One of the reasons for this difference in low light photography is the size of the pixels. The 5 has larger pixels than those of the 6; that is, 1.12µm vs 1.0µm respectively. More pixels equals to more light getting in hence better photos in dim conditions.

Lastly, the Nokia 5 comes at KES 5,000 ($50) lower than the price of the 6 (KES 19,999/$199 versus KES 24,999/$249). So there you have it; the decision boils down to your preferences. If you want a bigger display, more resolution on it, and more RAM then go to the Nokia 6 flagship otherwise, if you want more battery life, better camera, better gaming performance, a more compact one handed phone and still save KES 5,000 ($50), then the Nokia 5 is the best bet.