One thing I was surprised about last year was how well even the inexpensive phones performed
when put head to head with premium phones.
The performance margin between premium hand sets and budget phones is getting smaller,
and I think that's a good thing.
The less money you end up spending on a smartphone that satisfies your needs means more money
you'll have to spend elsewhere.
Today we're going to be durability Nokia's cheapest smartphone – the Nokia 1.
Is that a removable battery?
I've partnered with Bill and Melinda Gates for this video.
Nokia has never failed one of my durability tests before in the history of eve, so it'll
be interesting to see how their cheapest smartphone holds up.
Let's get started.
[Nokia start-up jingle tune]
[Intro]
Out of the box it's a pretty lightweight phone.
The screen brightness is turned all the way up.
The Nokia 1 costs about $70 right now, which is 7% the cost of the latest $1,000 flagships,
while still accomplishing all the basics.
We're here for durability though, so let's commence with the scratch test.
Like always, I have a set of Mohs mineral picks, and on an inexpensive phone like this,
I was expecting plastic for the screen.
But as we can see, there are no scratches at a level 3 like we would normally see on
plastic.
The Nokia 1 scratches at a level 6, with deeper grooves at a level 7.
Meaning it's using tempered glass.
The top shiny logo is underneath that glass.
And the 2 megapixel front selfie camera is protected under there as well.
I was initially skeptical of the 2 megapixels, but it's really not that bad.
The earpiece is covered by a little piece of cloth mesh gently adhered inside the phone.
I doubt the little guy will be sticking around for too long.
There are no physical buttons on the front though, just one little cut out for the microphone
hole down at the bottom.
We do find buttons, however, over here on the side of the phone.
A long white volume rocker made from plastic, and a smaller power button, also made from
plastic.
Plastic seems to be the build theme of this phone, since the sides and back panel are
also constructed of the same material.
It's a little easier on the ears at least then metal would be.
Plastic is easy to manufacture, mass produce, and it's still a durable material, even if
it might not have that premium feel.
There is an old school micro USB port at the bottom, but take a look at this, a headphone
jack.
That's worth $70 all by itself.
The Nokia 1 has 8 gigs of built in internal memory, but also has an SD card slot that
can expand the memory to 128 gigs.
For the rear camera, we have a whopping 5 megapixel sensor that can film in 480p and
is covered with plastic, which could very well be an issue in the future because there
are no raised edges to protect the lens.
The plastic will rest flat on whatever surface it's set on, making it super vulnerable to
scratches.
The inlaid Nokia lettering is kind of like a thick metallic foil – pretty easy to remove.
Definitely more easy than the Tesla key card I tore down a few days ago.
This means that letters will probably fall out on their own with normal use as the phone
gets older.
One thing we sometimes forget with smartphones is that they aren't just social media or networking
devices, they are useful tools.
Bill and Melinda Gates write a letter to the world every year with their thoughts and goals.
And this year part of the letter mentioned cell phones specifically.
I'll put the link in my description.
They say that smartphones are game changers in developing countries, especially for women,
giving them access to information, mobile banking, and a free place to learn new skills
from sites like YouTube.
Income potential improves dramatically as access to education expands.
And cheap smartphones like this are perfect for that connection to the internet.
A budget smartphone can do 90% of what a premium phone can...it's just not as quick or flashy.
Mobile technology creates opportunities to fight inequality, lift people up, and increase
that earning potential for people who have them – especially for women in poor countries
who never had access before.
It's a developing market for sure.
Check out the annual Gates letter with the link in the description.
It's kind of like a status update on the planet written by one of the most influential couples
on the planet.
So it's worth a few minutes of your time.
And thanks to Bill and Melinda Gates for sponsoring this video.
The little screen on the Nokia 1 is 4.5 inches, with a resolution of 480x854.
Like I said earlier, this is definitely not an expensive, flashy, high end phones.
It's a bare bones key to the modern age, and a way to access information.
A budget phone with a budget price.
The LCD screen goes black after about 22 seconds, and it still able to recover.
A budget phone, no matter how cheap, should still be well constructed in my opinion.
Nokia has never let us down before in terms of build quality, and the bend test will show
us if they slacked off on this cheapest smartphone.
The initial flex has the screen protruding very far out of the frame, but no cracks or
damage.
The phone locks out and stops bending.
A bend from the other direction also shows some flex, but still no damage.
The phone's holding itself together...even if it's kind of bending like a soggy black
and white Oreo.
The internals are probably all made from plastic, but the thing that saves this phone is the
hard square rigid battery that doesn't flex, and locks out inside of the frame, keeping
the phone in one piece.
Either way, for a phone that costs 7% of a modern flagship with a headphone jack and
expandable memory, I can't really complain.
Nokia has made another survivor and a perfect candidate for connecting people from the poorest
countries with the Internet.
The Bill Gates and Melinda Gates letter is linked in the description.
Check it out.
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Thanks a ton for watching.
I'll see you around.