All Sections

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Which is best for me?

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: We compare the newly launched Nokia 6 and Moto G5 Plus with the OnePlus 3T and Samsung’s Galaxy A5 2017, two of the best mid-range mobiles around right now. Are the cheaper Nokia 6 and Moto G5 Plus just as good as these feature-packed handsets?

Nokia is bringing its latest flagship phone, the Nokia 6, to the UK in early 2017. We’ve already gone hands-on at MWC 2017 for our first-look Nokia 6 review and so far we’re impressed at the value for money on offer.

However, Lenovo will be launching a direct rival in the form of the Moto G5 Plus around the same time. This similarly-priced mid-range mobile boasts premium design, innovative camera tech and a streamlined user experience, giving the Nokia 6 a serious run for its money.

So how do these affordable mobiles compare and can they stand up to two of the best mid-range handsets around, the OnePlus 3T and Samsung’s Galaxy A5 2017? Here’s our full Nokia 6 vs Moto G5 Plus vs OnePlus 3T vs Galaxy A5 comparison review so you know which is best for you.

Read next: Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3, which is best for me?

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Specs

  Moto G5 Plus Nokia 6 OnePlus 3T Samsung Galaxy A5
Screen size 5.2-inches 5.5-inches 5.5-inches 5.2-inches
Screen resolution Full HD (1920×1080) Full HD (1920×1080) Full HD (1920×1080) Full HD (1920×1080)
Water resistant? No No (splash resistant) No Yes
Fingerprint sensor? Yes Yes Yes Yes
OS Android Nougat 7.0 Android Nougat 7.1 Android Nougat 7.0 Android Marshmallow 6.0
Processor Snapdragon 625 Snapdragon 430 Snapdragon 821 Exynos 7880
Memory 2-4GB 3GB (Arte Black 4GB) 6GB 3GB
Storage 32/64GB 32GB (Arte Black 64GB) 64/128GB 32GB
MicroSD? Yes Yes No Yes
Rear camera 12-megapixel 16-megapixel 16-megapixel 16-megapixel
Price From £259 €229 (Arte Black €299) £399 £359

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Design

The Nokia 6 offers a throwback design reminiscent of the old Lumia phones, complete with a rectangular build and flat edging. However, the aluminium unibody and diamond-cut chamfering offer a reassuringly premium finish.

Like the OnePlus 3T, the Nokia 6 is a 5.5-inch mobile that’s tricky to use one-handed. Especially so in the Nokia’s case as the OnePlus offers a more rounded design, which affords a comfortable grip. With the OnePlus 3T you once again get a solid metal frame, which is just as resistant to scuffs and scrapes. It’s a smart but rather serious design, which can thankfully be made more interesting with a range of official cases, including an attractive wooden effort.

The Moto G5 Plus is the first Moto G device to rock a metal frame, again with a premium precision-cut finish. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy A5 2017 sports a glossy glass rear, broken by some metal edging. That glass is a fingerprint magnet, but also a welcome break from shiny silver surfacing. Both the A5 and Moto G5 Plus are slightly more compact than the Nokia and OnePlus phones at 5.2-inches, which makes for easier one-handed operation.

Read next: Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus, what’s the difference?

Samsung’s handset is the only phone here to offer full water resistance, so you can dunk it in the bath and it’ll happily survive. The Nokia 6 is merely splash resistant, while the others can also survive a rain storm and not much more.

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Screen and media

All four phones in this round-up offer Full HD visuals, while their spacious screens are a solid enough way to enjoy a movie on the move. Both the OnePlus 3T and Galaxy A5 2017 offer AMOLED panels which are pleasingly vibrant. You can expect rich hues that really shine from these screens, bringing photos and video to life.

That said, the Moto G5 Plus’ IPS LCD screen also delivers surprisingly punchy colours. You get strong contrast levels and deep blacks too, so this phone is definitely a close match for the more expensive handsets here.

Nokia also offers a respectable media performance with the Nokia 6. This is a more traditional IPS display, offering realistic colours and sharp, detail-packed visuals. You also get Dolby Atmos support, for a rich audio experience (where supported).

All of the phones here with the exception of the OnePlus 3T offer storage expansion via microSD. Slip a memory card in and you can add plenty of extra space, for carrying around a massive media collection.

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: OS and features

All four phones here pack Google’s Android OS, presented in various forms and flavours.

Samsung’s Galaxy A5 2017 is the only phone in the lineup to come with the older Android Marshmallow. This means it misses out on some key new features found in Android Nougat, such as the ability to reply to messages through the notifications menu. That said, you still get some cool bonus features from Samsung. These include a tool for gamers to record their play sessions, the S Health app and gesture support for quickly answering or rejecting calls and accessing popular features.

The Moto G5 Plus sports a mostly vanilla version of Android Nougat. This comes with the aforementioned Nougat features, plus added gesture controls such as the ability to quick-load the camera with a double-twist. Likewise, the Nokia 6 hasn’t changed up Google’s OS too much, preferring to stick with a clean, overlay-free approach.

The OnePlus 3T was updated to Nougat in early 2017 and that split-screen feature certainly makes full use of the spacious 5.5-inch display. You also get some extra customisation, including the Shelf tool which keeps your favourite contacts and apps within easy reach.

All four phones here boast fingerprint sensor technology. In each case, these scanners are located in the home buttons and/or beneath the screens. They provide a fast and accurate means of identifying you as the owner and unlocking to the main desktops, to keep out thieving miscreants.

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Performance and battery tech

The Nokia 6 sports the most ‘basic’ chipset here in the Snapdragon 430, which still offers respectable everyday performance. The Moto G5 Plus is a step up with the Snapdragon 625, which is a more powerful chipset although both are 64-bit. Both handsets offer Quick Charge 3.0 compatibility, for powering up to full in roughly an hour and a half or hitting 50 percent charge in around 30 minutes.

If you want a bump in performance, Samsung’s own Exynos 7880 chipset is stuffed inside the Galaxy A5 2017. This isn’t exactly a huge leap over the Snapdragons, offering respectable mid-range performance, but we rarely see a stutter or pause when loading apps or blasting through the latest games. Battery life is respectable too, offering at least a day of pretty intensive use.

However, the true king when it comes to performance is the OnePlus 3T. Qualcomm’s powerful Snapdragon 821 processor, backed by 6GB of RAM, makes this one of the most capable handsets around. You shouldn’t see any signs of stutter for quite some time to come, while the excellent Dash Charge tech powers up the handset in no time at all – and keeps the phone cool, too.

Nokia 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 vs Moto G5 Plus: Cameras

While the Moto G5 Plus sports a 12-megapixel rear camera, the others here all boast a 16-megapixel snapper. That said, all four phones are capable of capturing detail-packed photos and the OnePlus and Moto G5 Plus both offer 4K video recording too.

The OnePlus 3T and Galaxy A5 2017 operate well across a range of conditions, providing respectable results even in dimly lit conditions. While only the OnePlus 3T boasts Phase Detection Autofocus, both mobiles can quickly find their subjects and keep them sharp. You can also shoot RAW images with the OnePlus, which is handy for on-the-fly editing. The Galaxy is slightly better at low light shots, however, with its f/1.9 aperture compared with the OnePlus’ f/2.0.

Check out our full OnePlus 3T camera review and Galaxy A5 2017 camera review for samples and more info.

We’re yet to fully test the Moto G5 Plus and Nokia 6 camera tech, but our hands-on sessions revealed a simple and intuitive user experience, plus some solid tech for achieving attractive results.

The Moto G5 Plus sports dual pixel focus technology, which certainly seems fast at snapping onto your subject. That f/1.7 aperture lens should offer particularly strong low light performance, good enough to rival any other phone in this group. Meanwhile the Nokia 6 packs PDAF, which again makes for a fast shutter action. In both cases, you get a two-tone LED flash as well.

Check back soon for our full Moto G5 Plus and Nokia 6 camera reviews, as well as our in-depth comprehensive reviews of both phones.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *