The mid-range Nokia 5.4 is here to take on the affordable Moto G9

Unfortunately for Android power users, this is not the high-end sequel to the universally derided Nokia 9 PureView we’ve been waiting for since early 2019. Instead, the Nokia 5.4 follows in the footsteps of a mid-end 6.55-inch smartphone released just six months ago.

For the time being, there are no official words on US availability for this brand-new Android mid-ranger, but seeing as how the Nokia 5.3 is up for grabs from major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo Video, we expect the same to be true for the 5.4 soon as well. 

In the meantime, the 4G LTE-only 6.4-incher is going on sale in “select” European markets starting at a “global average retail price” of €189, which sounds fair for a 4GB RAM/64GB storage configuration. At less than $200, this thing should be able to go directly up against the likes of the Moto G9, which by the way, is also not confirmed for a US release yet. 

The two handsets are powered by the same middling Snapdragon 662 processor, mind you, and they also come with extremely similar HD+ screens. But the Nokia 5.4 is slightly smaller and arguably prettier compared to the notched 6.5-inch Moto G9, thanks to a trendy hole punch housing a 16MP selfie shooter and some very eye-catching Polar Night and Dusk color options.

Interestingly, HMD’s latest smartphone is billed as a 2-day battery life affair despite packing a considerably smaller 4,000mAh cell than the Moto G9. The Nokia 5.4 also features 10W fast charging technology, which isn’t very impressive by late 2020 mid-range standards, as well as a quad 48 + 2 + 5 + 5MP rear-facing camera setup with Zeiss optics that sounds objectively great for the sub-$250 price segment. 

While the Nokia 5.4 is “ready for Android 11 and beyond”, Android 10 is likely to run the software show at launch, although if it makes you feel any better, you’ll get three years of monthly security patches in addition to two years of major OS updates.