Nokia’s phones have long been among our top picks for budget and mid-tier smartphones, but things began to turn sour late last year with the Nokia 8 V 5G UW ($699.99). Originally scheduled to launch in early 2020, it was delayed by the pandemic, and HMD released it in November with a staggering price tag. At the time, we chalked this misfire up to bad luck, but the Nokia 5.4 ($249.99) is another overpriced flop. Had the 5.4 been released in the US last year, it would have ranked among our favorites in this price range. In 2021, however, capable performance and good build quality don’t make up for middling battery life, ho-hum cameras, and a lack of 5G. Skip it and go with the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G ($279.99), our Editors' Choice among sub-$300 phones.Bright Display Save for a few minor tweaks, the Nokia 5.4 boasts the same aesthetic as last year's Nokia 5.3 ($199.99). It measures 6.3 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches (HWD), weighs 6.4 ounces, and comes in blue or purple. The back and chassis ar...

The Nokia 5.4 performs well and comes with promises of multiple OS upgrades, but it doesn’t begin to live up to its price tag.

Capable performance; Durable build for its price; Excellent audio

Poor value for the price; Slow OS upgrades; Mediocre battery life

Looks good and gets the basics right

The Nokia 5.4 provides an all-round competent budget phone experience, and we’ll always appreciate Nokia’s pure approach to Android.

Stock Android, Solid Nokia design, Decent battery life, Adequate main camera

Dull, soft 720p display, Sluggish performance, Slow charging, Terrible ultra-wide camera

The Nokia 5.4 provides an all-round competent budget phone experience, and we’ll always appreciate Nokia’s pure approach to Android.

Stock Android; Solid Nokia design; Decent battery life; Adequate main camera;

Dull, soft 720p display; Sluggish performance; Slow charging; Terrible ultra-wide camera;

nokia 5.4: The Nokia 5.4’s budget price comes with a few too many caveats to earn a recommendation

Great price, Quad cameras for less, Eye-catching design

Too similar to Nokia 5.3, Battery life could be better, Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T is better in almost every way

The $249 price tag attached to the HMD Global Nokia 5.4 makes it leap off the page in this time of flagship smartphones costing $1,000 or more. But look closer and it’s actually $50 more than the Nokia 5.3 it replaces. Now that it’s more expensive, it needs to provide evidence that it’s worth the extra by improving on the specifications of the old model and curing some of the issues it had too. In reality, the Nokia 5.4 isn’t all that different from the Nokia 5.3, and that’s not great news. Let’s go into more detail. From the back, the Nokia 5.4 looks very similar to the Nokia 5.3 and many other Nokia phones. It has a circular camera module at the top, a fingerprint sensor underneath, and on my review model, a pretty blue color scheme called Polar Night, which looks great in the right light. The phone is made of plastic and can get quite greasy with fingerprints. It should prove quite hardwearing though, but it’s not water-resistant. At 181 grams it’s not very heavy, and the body is mo...

Build quality is excellent; Camera is adequate;

Poor quality screen; Mediocre performance; Android 11 not installed;

The Nokia 5.4 looks great on the surface, but compared to its predecessor and much of the budget competition, it's a hard sell.

Stock Android 10; Great main camera performance; Long battery life;

Downgrades compared to Nokia 5.3; HD resolution isn't great; Slight increase in price;

The Nokia 5.4 is the brand’s latest budget contender. Though it has a sturdy, attractive design, its poor cameras, inconsistent performance, underwhelming screen, and lack of personality mean it is poor value compared to its closest rivals at the price point.

No bloatware; Good battery life; Sturdy design; ;

Bad cameras; Low-resolution screen; Underwhelming performance

Great day-to-day performance and battery life that any mobile user would love to pieces

24+ hours of on-time; 7+ hours of screen-on time; Sleek modern design language; 3.5mm audio jack; 48MP quad camera; 16MP front camera are greatly improved; Dedicated Google Assistant key; 4GB RAM/128GB storage; Near-stock Android 10

HD+ screen (720 x 1560 pixels); Bluetooth 4.2; rather than 5.0 or 5.1; LTE category 4 only; no 5G; Performance from the Snapdragon 662 gets a bit laggy in even moderate games; Speaker audio is better this time around; but still not great

Puristic. With Android One and a dedicated Google Assistant button, the Nokia 5.4 tries to separate itself from the rest of the competition in the mid-range space. However, users, who were hoping to see a significant improvement over the Nokia 5.3, will be left bitterly disappointed…

The Nokia 5.4 scores some major points thanks to its beautiful design, decent hardware and a solid I...

IPS panel with a high contrast ratio; good battery life; no overheating; NFC; triple-card slot;

slow Wi-Fi; haptics; slow storage; 720p screen;