It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Nokia handset on-sale here in Australia, but Nokia is back and they’re looking just as good as ever.

Nokia will be bringing the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6, announced back in February at Mobile World Congress to Australia, where they will go on-sale at JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman from late July. While the handsets are heading to retail at this stage, Arto Nummela, Chief Executive Officer at HMD Global says they are working with operator partners to bring handsets to market that way.

Mr Nummela says the launch of Nokia handsets running Android is one that consumers have been waiting for, HMD is concentrating on the low to mid-range handsets with the launch in Australia. The Nokia 3, 5 and 6 all offer value, great looks thanks to that storied Nokia design language and a cruft-free Android experience that will remain up to date, for quite a sharp price.

The handsets launching are in the low to mid-range market, with quite aggressive pricing with HMD launching the Nokia 3 at $249, the Nokia 5 will be available at $329 and the Nokia 6 will be $399.

The introduction of these devices with a clean Android experience addresses a pain point in the Android device world, says Mr Nummela. He has guaranteed that devices will receive both feature and security updates for 2 years.

While Nokia has previously been known for their colourful handsets, HMD is bringing all three handsets into Australia in two colour options only: Matte Black and Silver. Mr Nummela, said that they will be looking at expanding the range of colours available on a market by market basis, so we may still see the Tempered Blue and Copper/Copper White options but likely not for this launch.

Specs for the handsets include Mediatek processor in the Nokia 3, while the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 both get Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC. The three handsets range in RAM and storage options, but all three allow for expandable storage using microSD card slots. HMD has also included Gorilla Glass on all their handsets, offering protection from the little accidents that may befall phones throughout their life.

Full Specs:

 Nokia 3Nokia 5Nokia 6
Release dateScreen size5.0-inch5.2-inch5.5-inchScreen technologyIPS LCDIPS LCDIPS LCDResolution1,280 x 7201,280 x 7201,920 x 1,080PPI294282400Rear camera8MP13MP16MPFront camera8MP8MP8MPChipsetMediatek MTK 6737Snapdragon 430Snapdragon 430Core config4x 1.3GHzRam2GB2GB3GBStorage16GB16GB64GBMicroSDYes, up to 128GBYes, up to 128GBYes, up to 128GBBattery2,650 mAh3,000 mAh3,000 mAhBattery removableConnectorMicroUSBMicroUSBMicroUSBHeadphone PortYesHeadphone LocationSpeaker ConfigurationNFCYesYesYesAndroid OSAndroid 7.0Android 7.1.1Android 7.0Vendor skinDimensions143.4 x 71.4 x 8.48 mm (8.68mm is camera bump)149.7 x 72.5 x 8.05 mm (8.55 with camera bump)154 x 75.8 x 7.85 mm (camera protruding part 8.4 mm)WeightColours
  • Silver White
  • Matte Black
  • Tempered Blue
  • Copper White
  • Tempered Blue
  • Silver
  • Matte Black
  • Copper
  • Silver White
  • Matte Black
  • Tempered Blue
  • Copper

Last, but not least: The Nokia 3310 – it won’t be coming to Australia. Mr Numella says that the phone, which is 2G only, isn’t really suited for our markets since we have no more 2G networks left – Vodafone will switch their 2G network off later this year. I raised the possibility of a 3G Nokia 5110, but I won’t be holding my breath.

We’re going hands-on with the Nokia range at their launch event in Sydney today, so stay tuned for some thoughts and pictures – and of course a full review down the track.

Are you excited for the re-launch of Nokia?

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    Is that correct that the 5 has Nougat 7.1.1 and the other two are on 7.0?!

    Also… I think the Moto G5 range is better value/more interesting, but maybe that’s just me.

    Do any of these have a fingerprint reader? If it does, I know what my next phone might be.

    EDIT: Never mind. Nokia 5 & 6 both have FingerPrint readers. I think I will be purchasing a Nokia 6 when it is released. Hopefully the camera is decent, especially in low light.

    Will the Nokia 6 be suitable for country users?

    Still waiting for the (rumoured) Nokia 9.

    I think the most exciting thing about these phones is that for the respective price category, the build quality is first class and secondly all of the following sensors are included as standard … accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass, gyroscope, proximity, NFC … with the Nokia 5 and 6 also offering a fingerprint sensor.

    Yes I am interested in the 6, even though it’s not a high end handset! Why do you ask? Well, Shamsung has been added to my list of Android manufacturers to avoid due to terrible customer service (one too many times). Already on that list are Oppo (rubbish software), LG (dodgy hardware) and all the other Chinese phones (software again).

    have a look at Sony phones. Xperia XZ Premium is a great phone! No idea what their customer service is though.