Nokia’s last foray into a more premium device was admirable, and the device itself was great to use. This will be a retrospective look at the device as it’s not readily available for retail anymore, as well as its support being ended.
Performance
With GeekBench scores of 825 (single core), 2056 (Multi-Core), the Nokia 8.3 is not too shabby when it comes to typical tasks, but will not strike one as a high performer when it comes to intensive tasks. The 8.3 will handle the basic necessities quite nicely and served well as a capable Android smartphone.
Hardware
| Display | Aspect ratio: 20:9 Cover glass: Corning® Gorilla™ Glass 5 Features: Pure Display Size: 6.81 in Resolution: FHD+ (1080 x 2400) |
| Battery | Battery: 4,500 mAh Non Removable Charging: 18W fast charging compatible |
| Cameras | Features: PureView, ZEISS Optics, ZEISS Portrait, ZEISS Cinematic Effects, Dual-Sight, Night mode, Cinema mode, HDR, Beautification, Panorama, Watermark Front camera: 24 MP Rear camera: 64 MP Main + 2 MP Depth + 12 MP Ultrawide (120°FoV) + 2 MP Macro Rear flash LED |
| Dimensions | Height: 6.77 in Weight: 0.5 lb Width: 3.09 in Depth: 0.35 in |
| Cellular | Max network speed: 5G 2 Network bands (5G NR): n1, n2, n3, n5,n7, n8, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n78 Network bands (GSM): 850, 900 35 dBm; 1800, 1900 32 dBm Network bands (LTE): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8,12, 13, 17, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66, 71 Network bands (WCDMA): 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 25 dBm Sim size: Nano |
| Casing | Corning® Gorilla™ Glass 3 |
| CPU | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 765G Modular Platform |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | Internal storage: 128 GB1 MicroSD card support up to: 512 GB |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth: 5.0 Headphone jack: 3.5 mm Location: GPS/AGPS, GLONASS, Beidou USB connection: USB Type-C (USB 2.0) OTG WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n/ac NFC Supported |
| Operating System | Android 10 (Upgradeable to Android 12) |
| Dust/Water resistance | N/A |
Even with the basic plastic casing, the phone doesn’t feel too economical- it’s fairly light and durable feeling. The Corning® Gorilla™ Glass 3 has an extremely smooth texture and is pleasant and premium feeling to hold in one’s palm. It has some heft to it as well. Unfortunately, the extremely smooth surface can make it prone to slipping- both in one’s palms as well as on other surfaces too if not placed carefully. Users should seriously consider investing in a case for this smartphone.
The cameras can perform extremely well in well-lit situations, and for a Nokia phone, it has by far performed much better than other phones in Nokia’s line-up in less than ideally light situations. Video capture is limited to only 1080p at 60FPS and in optimal to even sub-optimal lighting, can produce okay FHD content with good audio. The particular device I have seemed to struggle with realtime video and audio speeds making the videos come out as just a smidge faster than reality. There were also instances of skipping and stuttering frames too. The 64MP main lens is actually capable of taking some fantastic shots especially in well-lit situations such as outside in the sunlight. Low light situations are fortunately not as challenging as other devices. To make the most of the camera’s full resolution, users have to select a more unorthodox resolution (full in the camera settings) as seen in samples below. The 2MP macro lens seems inappropriate and honestly not even worth including.
The screen is quite surprising. The 8.3’s display looks great and is bright enough to use outdoors. The sunlight boost with 450 nits does work.
Final Thoughts
The Nokia 8.3 on sale was a decent bargain and has some features that a lot smartphones are missing these days. As a competing Android device before November 2023, it held its own against many competitors from Samsung and Motorola with its plethora of features that many smartphones- especially those from Cupertino did not and still does not have. With features such as FM radio, expandable storage and even the 3.5mm headphone jack. Unfortunately, a big feature that the Nokia 8.3 itself is missing is water and dust resistance, and with security updates ending on November 2023, I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone to buy this phone unless they want to use the device without connecting to the Internet like an iPod Touch.
A couple of years ago, this could have been a good buy as a primary fully featured Android smartphone. The monthly Android updates, the copious features that many take for granted, the premium feel, fit and finish made this phone an amazing contender in its space. Nokia ought to be proud of themselves for making such a product. Even now, I still enjoy using it as small offline multimedia device and even occasional photography.