For just $168, the T-Mobile-exclusive Nokia G310 5G seems like a good deal at a glance. This is further sweetened by the fact that many of its parts, including the back cover, battery, and screen, are replaceable through a partnership with iFixit. But other aspects, including unimpressive performance, mediocre battery life, an outdated version of Android, and below-average cameras, make it difficult to recommend over the competition. The Samsung Galaxy A15 5G ($199.99) remains our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable phones because it offers more power, better cameras, and long-term software support. Design: A Plastic Build That’s Somewhat DurableThe Nokia G310 5G measures 6.50 by 2.98 by 0.34 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.88 ounces, which makes it slightly taller and thicker than the Galaxy A15 (6.30 by 3.02 by 0.33 inches, 7.09 ounces). It’s almost identical in size to the $179.99 TCL 40 X 5G (6.47 by 2.97 by 0.35 inches, 6.88 ounces).
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
The G310’s 6.56-inch screen has a resolution of 1,612 by 720 pixels. The TCL 40 X matches that screen size and resolution, while the $199.99 Motorola Moto G 5G has a 6.6-inch panel with the same resolution. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A15 has a smaller 6.5-inch screen with a sharper display of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels. The Nokia has a 90Hz refresh rate much like the TCL 40 X and the Galaxy A15, but the Moto G ups things to a smoother 120Hz.
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(Credit: Sarah Lord)
The screen gets bright enough to see it clearly indoors, though I had trouble making out details outdoors under direct sunlight in testing. It reaches a typical brightness of 450 nits and a peak level of 560 nits. The Moto G 5G tops out at a dimmer 430 nits, while the Galaxy A15 runs up to 800 nits.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
Svelte bezels mark the side edges of the screen, though the top and bottom are thicker. The selfie camera is contained in a small notch at the top of the screen. The sides and back panel of the phone are entirely plastic. I find the Midnight Blue finish (the only one available) pleasant to look at, but the material feels cheap and slippery. It also collects fingerprints easily. A raised rectangular camera module features a reflective, glass-like plastic that seems more suitable for a toy phone. You should consider putting a case on the G310 for protection and to improve your grip.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
The bottom of the phone includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C 2.0 port, and a single speaker, while a power button and volume rocker sit on the right edge. Both buttons are firm to the touch and feel satisfying to press. A slot for the SIM card and microSD card is on the left side.In terms of biometric security, the phone has a fingerprint reader in the power button and supports facial recognition via the selfie camera. The fingerprint reader worked more reliably in testing, though, as a lefty, its placement on the right rail made it difficult for me to comfortably scan the correct finger.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
With an IP52 rating, the phone can resist a moderate amount of dust ingress and handle splashes of water. It’s not waterproof, but neither the A15 nor the TCL 40 X come with an official durability rating at all, while the Moto G carries the same IP52 certification.Performance: UninspiringThe G310 comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and you can add up to 1TB via microSD card. It uses an older Snapdragon 480+ chip and performance suffers because of it. The phone takes a long time to boot up and tends to stutter, especially when multiple apps are open at once.
(Credit: Geekbench 6, GFXBench)
On Geekbench 6, which evaluates CPU power, the phone scored 751 on the single-core test and 1,822 on the multi-core test. The Galaxy A15, which has a MediaTek 6835 chip, turned in a lower single-core result (704) but a higher multi-core mark (1,855). Similarly, the TCL 40 X, with its MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor, hit scores of 718 and 1,959. The Moto G, which runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 platform, got better results on both—814 and 1,957, respectively.For the 1440p GFXBench Aztec Ruins test, which measures graphics performance, the G310 reached 6.5 frames per second (fps). This is better than both the Moto G, which couldn’t run the test at all, and the TCL 40 X, which managed 5.7fps. The Galaxy A15 also reached just 5.7fps. The PCMark benchmark would not run at all on the G310.Playing graphically intensive games like Genshin Impact proved challenging on the Nokia G310. The game took a long time to load and gameplay lagged even on the most basic settings. The stuttering got worse during combat, though I never found the game to be totally unplayable. The phone had a much easier time running less intensive games such as Alto’s Odyssey. It never overheated during these gaming sessions.Although the Nokia G310 is competitive on benchmarks, its real-world multitasking and gaming experiences reveal the limitations of its processor. The Galaxy A15, for instance, feels much faster in daily use.Battery Life: Could Be LongerThe Nokia G310 comes with a replaceable 5,000mAh battery. HMD Global, which makes Nokia-branded phones, has partnered with iFixit to offer replacement parts, tools, and step-by-step instructions for the G310 and other phones. You can purchase a battery fix kit for $29.99, for instance, which includes all the parts and tools you need to replace the battery. The G310’s battery kit isn’t in stock as of this review, however, and inventory appears low for the other kits. As mentioned, the screen and back cover are also replaceable via kits of their own.I tested the battery by playing an HD YouTube video over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness. Under these conditions, it lasted 10 hours and 12 minutes on a single charge. This result is dead last among similarly priced phones with 5,000mAh batteries. The 40 X managed 11 hours and 13 minutes, the Moto G ran for 12 hours and 9 minutes, and the Galaxy A15 kept going for 14 hours and 3 minutes under the same testing parameters.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
The phone supports wired fast charging at 20W, which is just slightly better than the 18W for the Moto G and TCL 40 X. The Galaxy A15 charges at up to 25W, though none of these low-cost phones offers wireless charging. Nokia doesn’t include a charging brick in the box, so you have to supply one yourself.In testing, it took 1 hour and 59 minutes to fully charge the phone. The Galaxy A15 (1 hour, 30 minutes) and Moto G (1 hour, 50 minutes) managed the same feat a bit quicker, while the TCL 40 X (2 hours, 25 minutes) took longer. Connectivity: Decent 5G, Slow Wi-FiAs mentioned, the Nokia G310 is a T-Mobile exclusive. It supports 5G, including C-band, but can’t access the carrier’s fastest mmWave frequencies. It doesn’t support eSIMs, either, so you need a physical SIM card from T-Mobile to get service.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
T-Mobile coverage in my area isn’t strong, but the phone managed respectable download speeds of 115Mbps but pokey upload speeds of 4.56Mbps. For comparison, an iPhone 14 Pro reached speeds of 110Mbps down and 21.8Mbps up on T-Mobile in the same location. The G310 supports Wi-Fi 5, not the newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 standards. It performed poorly when I connected it to my home Wi-Fi 6 network: It managed only 45.4Mbps down and 22.2Mbps up. The iPhone 14 Pro, which supports Wi-Fi 6, far surpassed it with speeds of 449.0Mbps down and 22.1Mbps up from the same location. When I took the Nokia to the edge of the Wi-Fi network, speeds dropped to 34.8Mbps down and 9.6Mbps up. The iPhone 14 Pro dropped to 20.5Mbps down and 8.8Mbps up from the same spot.As for call clarity, I didn’t have any problem hearing the person on the other end of the line, even in the wind. The earpiece was on the quiet side, reaching only 67.1dB, while the speakerphone got up to 86.8dB. Call volume was never an issue with either.The speakers aren’t ideal for music playback. They have a hard time bringing out the low notes in The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” producing muddy and undefined bass tones. This performance is typical of a phone speaker. For a better listening experience, connect wireless headphones or speakers via Bluetooth or plug wired headphones into the 3.5mm jack.NFC is available for contactless payments. The Galaxy A15 and Moto G both have NFC, but the TCL 40 X does not.Camera Quality: UnderwhelmingThe rear camera stack includes a 50MP main sensor, a 2MP depth sensor (that doesn’t take images), and a 2MP macro lens for close-ups.
Main camera (Credit: Sarah Lord)
The main camera doesn’t do a very good job of capturing detail even if you’re outside in sufficient light. The leaves in the photos above and below lack details, for example.
Main camera (Credit: Sarah Lord)
Similarly, the needles and pine cones on the tree below aren’t very crisp. The colors seem blotchy and artificial as well, with branches looking more vivid than they do in reality.
Main camera (Credit: Sarah Lord)
Meanwhile, the macro camera has trouble focusing on close-up subjects. It couldn’t quite grab the dead flower in the picture, and once again, the colors appear brighter than they do to the naked eye.
Macro camera (Credit: Sarah Lord)
The 8MP selfie camera produces passable results. I was able to get a decent photo of my dog under lamplight.
Selfie camera (Credit: Sarah Lord)
You can record HD video with the cameras, but shouldn’t rely on it for anything more than casual clips to share with friends due to the noisy overall look. The Galaxy A15 is a much better choice for mobile photography.Software: Limited SupportThe Nokia G310 runs on Android 13, which is a build behind the current version, Android 14. HMD Global has not clarified how many OS updates the phone will receive over its lifetime—nor if it will receive any at all.A security update did install itself during testing, but HMD doesn’t specify how long those will be delivered, either. Many other phones in this price range will receive at least one major OS update and multiple years of security patches. Samsung, for instance, promises four OS upgrades for the Galaxy A15 and five years of security updates. This is important because older versions of Android are inherently less secure than newer versions.
(Credit: Sarah Lord)
The phone comes with too many preinstalled apps. The list includes games like Merge, Monopoly, and Royal Match, and social media and shopping services, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Temu. You can delete everything, but I would prefer they not be there in the first place. Otherwise, HMD Global doesn’t enhance the Android system with apps or features of its own, meaning the experience is basic for an Android device.The Verdict: Good Price, Poor ValueThe Nokia G310 5G is affordable and we appreciate that several of its parts are user-replaceable. But uninspiring performance, bland cameras, and limited software support detract from the experience. You’re better off spending slightly more for the Editors’ Choice-winning Samsung Galaxy A15 5G, which outperforms the G310 in just about every way and benefits from a multi-year commitment to software updates.
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