Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsLooks and feels premium, performs mid-range. Turn Dolby off for decent sound at low volume.
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2018
EDITED REVIEW: Originally I gave this phone four stars, and had determined I was going to downgrade it to two stars, because I found the sound quality at low volume to be terrible, with lots of hissing, popping and distortion that made listening through earphones actually quite an unpleasant experience.
I discovered that the problem of noise and hissing can be resolved completely by turning off the Dolby Surround Sound option in Settings. I did that and now the sound is clear as a bell. True, you lose that more three-dimensional feeling, but music and spoken word recordings actually become listenable and enjoyable. With this problem overcome, I think this phone is great for the price and deserves a five-star rating. Here is the edited version of my previous review:
This phone looks and feels like a premium model, with its beautiful display and solid aluminum body. Unfortunately, the illusion is only visual, as the phone performs like an average model in its price range. So you can look at this as a negative, or as a positive. I prefer to think I'm buying a mid-range phone and getting a premium look and feel as a bonus. So it's a plus.
The processor is just not strong enough to power through multitasking. Even brand new and with very little installed on the phone, it's hanging up quite a bit in some applications. Like trying to stop music playing - you can press the stop button a few times but there is a big delay to actually stop it. Or Facebook refreshing on startup. Things like that just take too long - which means waiting 5-10 seconds sometimes. Seems like an eternity, but i remind myself that these are definitely first world problems.
I have revised my view on the sound quality - see intro above. Sound quality for music playback through headphones/earphones is actually very important to me. When I was looking at phones to replace my antiquated HTC One M8 Harmon Kardon, the Dolby system on this Nokia phone was a selling point for me. I took heart in Dolby's presence. Little did I realize that Dolby is a definite minus on this phone, rather than a plus. It creates terrible hiss and distortion at low volume. Just shut it off in Settings.
My other complaint is fairly minor - the headphones. These are of the "why even bother" variety. Very poor quality, poor build. Sound like a tin can. Totally useless.
Overall, an attractive mid-range phone that performs OK and looks wonderful. Recommended in this price range.
