Those of a certain vintage will remember when Nokia phones were the must-have devices. After a period in the doldrums, Nokia is enjoying something of a resurgence, offering affordable tech that doesn’t cut corners on the specs. They rank among the best smartphones available for savvy buyers looking to step away from the saturation of Samsung and Apple phones on the market.
Offering good photography and an excellent array of hardware, Nokia has been quietly manufacturing excellent smartphones for some time now, and for those in need of a great budget fix to keep them scrolling on they're ideal.
Best Nokia phones at a glance:
• Best overall: Nokia XR21 – View at Amazon
• Best budget: Nokia X10 – View at Amazon
• Best for photography: Nokia G60 – View at Amazon
For a midrange phone, most people will look to spend £500 or under. You'll find a fantastic array of devices in our roundup, some of which are half that price and still great performers.
The best Nokia phones of 2024:
All prices are correct at the time of writing. Prices, stock and deals are subject to change without notice.
1.
Nokia XR21
Best overall
For performance and resilience the XR21 is the best Nokia smartphone on the market.
Nokia's XR21 is made to last. It boasts military-grade durability (hence its appearance in our tough phone roundup) and has a fantastic battery life of approximately 48 hours under moderate use. You'll have plenty of power in a pinch for scrolling through socials and chewing through Candy Crush. All of which you'll see with ease thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate which provides a silky-smooth responsiveness unseen in many phones.
As for photography, there's certainly some room for improvement. Pictures often appear too sharp (likely thanks to the XR21's AI processing), giving an artificially high-resolution look on occasion.
The Nokia XR21 remains a breath of fresh air for midrange phone shoppers, offering so much excellent hardware at such a great price. This hardy phone is not only the best Nokia phone of the year but one of the best smartphones full stop.
Read our full Nokia XR21 review.
Pros
- Tough military-level durability
- Smooth 120Hz screen
- Fantastic battery life
Cons
- Average camera
2.
Nokia X10
Best budget
Nokia phones are all about great value, durability and a smooth user experience, and the Nokia X10 is no exception. This nifty budget phone has plenty to offer users for its low price.
With a solid camera, an impressive 36-hour battery life (with moderate use), and a bright full-HD screen for great-looking video playback, it puts plenty of other budget phones to shame.
Understandably as a phone under £200 there are some performance issues, especially around particularly demanding games such as Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. However, gaming potential with less demanding titles shouldn't be an issue, and you'll be more than fine if social media scrolling is a greater priority.
Pros
- Excellent value smartphone
- Solid design
- Reliable battery
Cons
- Slowness while multitasking
3.
Nokia G60
Best camera
Nokia's G60 smartphone is yet another impressive budget phone from Nokia, with some of the greatest hardware for a phone under £200 we've come across.
Let's start with the screen – it's an FHD+ LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate, giving you a better hand feel than most high-end phones on the market. 120Hz gaming is a joy to experience, and while the G60 can't handle demanding MOBAs too well, it'll definitely carry you through a huge number of games with ease.
The G60 has a particularly solid triple camera with AI upscaling, giving photographers something to rejoice over for less than £200. Phenomenal for the price.
Pros
- Great value phone
- Solid triple camera
- Ultra-smooth 120Hz screen
Cons
- Low RAM
4.
Nokia X30
Best screen
Nokia's X30 boasts great performance, a solid AI-enhanced camera, and a great battery life – but it's the screen that's captured our attention.
Equipped with an FHD+ AMOLED screen to rival phones triple its price, the Nokia X30 has a display that's truly beautiful. Browsing is a breeze thanks to its 90Hz refresh rate and 6GB of RAM to top it off, giving Nokia fans plenty of power to enjoy.
That being said, as a phone under £300, the Nokia X30 isn't equipped with the finest processor in the world. When multitasking between a game, Instagram and a photo shoot you might find yourself waiting for it to catch up.
Pros
- Gorgeous FHD+ screen
- Solid design
- Great battery life
Cons
- Sluggish performance
5.
Nokia G21
Best affordable Nokia phone
NokiaFor those in need of a fairly basic but reliable phone for a fraction of the price of even budget smartphones, the Nokia G21 is a sturdy option that'll last you through thick and thin.
If you’re realistic about what to expect, then this phone won't let you down. It’s affordable and functional, with strong battery life of roughly three days. True, its 720p screen, lack of 5G support and limited RAM might mean that it's hard to get excited over and limits its future use beyond two or three years.
"If you find yourself in a pinch and have modest expectations requiring a phone that performs across its basic smartphone applications, you’re in safe enough hands with the Nokia G21." Tried and tested by William Lobley.
Read our full Nokia G21 review.
Pros
- Solid ultra-affordable phone
- Very good battery life
- Incredibly durable
Cons
- Weak camera
Best flip phone
Argos/NokiaFor a much simpler option, you could back off a bit on tech with this Nokia 2660 Flip. That's right, this is a modern flip phone with actual buttons. It's easy to understand and use, and since it's not as powerful as a smartphone, it's also more affordable.
"You might assume that the audio quality would be middling at best for a phone of this price range, but I'm pleased to say that it was very solid in my experience. In my testing, I didn't hear any significant difference in sound quality from a phone call with the 2660 Flip compared to the Google Pixel 7 Pro I usually use. It's more than capable of keeping up with the pricier competition." Tried and tested by Kyle Purves.
Read our full Nokia 2660 Flip review.
Pros
- Amazing value for money
- Brilliant battery life
- Impressive audio quality for the price
Cons
- Camera quality is unimpressive
7.
Nokia 3210
Best feature phone
HMD Globalwww.hmd.com
Who doesn’t love a trip down memory lane? If you’re old enough to remember the iconic Nokia 3210 then the newly-revamped model will be familiar. Amid something of a 'dumb phone' renaissance, it’s a perfect reminder of simpler times, while still having access to some up-to-date features.
The point of a phone like the 3210 isn’t to compete with smartphones. It’s to provide an alternative, which disconnects us from the constant noise and distraction smartphones have made commonplace. Featuring a 2.4-inch TFT LCD screen, a 2MP main camera, and 128MB of internal storage (expandable to 32GB with an SD card), it’s a basic phone. But, if all you want is a simple handset that offers calls, texts, and Cloud Apps (which offers access to news, weather and YouTube Shorts) this is all you need.
Of course, the 3210 wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t have Snake included. And rest assured, you’ll be able to try and break your high score from the turn of the millennium. Will this phone be for everyone? No. But, if you want a handset that helps you switch off from the digital world, has a battery that lasts for days and throws a hefty bit of nostalgia into the mix, this little gem is available for £74.99.
Pros
- Battery life lasts for days
- You can play snake on it
- Cloud Apps provide access to news, weather and YouTube Shorts
Cons
- Incredibly basic camera
- Limited apps
The best Nokia phones: Buyer's guide
If you aren’t sure which Nokia phone to go for, here are our top tips to help you narrow down your choices.
Budget
Think about how much you’re prepared to spend and stick to it. The XR21 is undoubtedly Nokia’s best phone, but the £500 RRP means it won’t be perfect for everyone. There are several very respectable handsets that you can pick up for under £200, such as the X10 and G60 models.
Features
As important as your budget is what features you regard as essential. If you want plenty of RAM in order to play games, for example, you may need to look at a more expensive handset. Alternatively, if the only game you think you’ll play is Snake, then a cheaper device will be suitable (although check it actually has Snake in the first place!). Other features worth considering are the camera, the screen, and the battery.
Usage
Finally, it’s important to think about how you intend to use the phone. There's a growing trend for so-called 'dumb phones', which don’t offer loads of apps. These are perfect if you’re trying to limit your screen time, but not ideal if you want your phone to send WhatsApp messages or emails, for instance.
FAQs
Who are Nokia?
Nokia has had a complicated history in the smartphone world. Once the dominant manufacturer, with a market share of 49.4% in 2007, Nokia struggled to compete as smartphones replaced the handsets they were known for. By 2013, its market share was just 3%, at which point Microsoft purchased Nokia's phone division. In 2016 Microsoft then sold the Nokia brand to HMD, a new company formed by former Nokia employees in Finland.
HMD, or Human Mobile Devices, is now responsible for the manufacturer of Nokia phones. According to its website, the company aims to build phones that are "tough, fun, secure, fast, and affordable."
What's the best Nokia phone?
There are plenty of reasons to grab yourself a Nokia phone this year – they're cheap, they're tough and they're reliable, but which smartphone should you pick?
For our money, the Nokia XR21 is far and beyond the best smartphone of the bunch – it has military-grade durability, an excellent camera, mind-blowing specs, and more. It's absolutely worth its price.
Why are Nokia phones so strong?
Nokia phones have been known for their strength since the release of the 3310 over 20 years ago.
The secret to a Nokia phone's strength is simple – quality manufacturing, using the finest materials and expert engineering to produce a phone that can endure extreme heat, cold and being submerged in water for over an hour.
Nokia vs Samsung – which is best?
Nokia phones have great battery life, solid designs and some decent photography, but how do they compare to the ultimate Android phones – the Samsungs?
Samsung phones are perhaps the best Android phones on the market, with great performance, great cameras, and gorgeous designs to dazzle any tech-head, but their greatest downside is obvious – they're pricey.
Nokia offer similar performance at a much lower price than its Samsung counterparts, which is why so many people are switching back to the beloved brand.
Are Nokia phones about to disappear again?
Interestingly, while HMD has owned and used the Nokia brand on its phones since 2016, it looks like this may be about to change. Recently, the Nokia XR21 has been rebranded as the HMD XR21 – the same phone, but with a different logo. And speculation suggests that HMD may be preparing to stop using the Nokia brand altogether – the license to use the Nokia brand is set to end in 2026. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Nokia will cease to exist once again, it is a possibility.
The verdict
Nokia has plenty of great affordable phones on offer, so there’ll almost certainly be something to suit your needs. If you want the best of the best, the XR21 is the one to go for, offering flagship level specs at a mid-range price point. For a more wallet-friendly option, the Nokia G60 has one of the best cameras in a Nokia device, and costs less than £200.
How we chose
When creating our shortlist, we looked for Nokia handsets that offered good specs and good value for money. We considered important features such as their cameras, screens, processors and battery life. We also considered the price of each of these handsets, and whether we felt that what they offered was fair for the price.
Ryan Houghton is a commercial content writer for What’s The Best, known best for his expertise in gaming, with a particular soft spot for PC gaming, audio tech, televisions and smartphones.
Diligently writing for What’s The Best for almost two years, there are very few tech products Ryan hasn’t had his hands on to review; televisions, headphones, folding phones and even LEGO, if it’s nerdy, he’ll be there.
His well-versed history as one of the resident techies at What’s The Best has kept him keen to uncover the very best deals, savings and offers for those in need of a cracking deal to upgrade their setup.
In his downtime, Ryan most likely has his nose buried in a fantasy book, or his eyes glued to a screen whilst playing a tough-as-nails Soulslike or leisurely RPG, indulging in most forms of escapism where possible.
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