Nokia announced three Android devices at Mobile World Congress at the beginning of the year as it began its fight back into smartphones. Since then, it has now launched a fourth model, looking to sit at the top of its portfolio, whilst taking on the other Android flagships in the market.

The line-up includes the Nokia 8, Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 models. The Nokia 6, 5 and 3 are designed to cut into the belly of Android, offering quality phones to those in the mid-range and budget market, while the Nokia 8 is the top dog with a higher price point.

Here's how the specs of these phones break down and exactly what the differences are between them.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Design and build

  • Nokia 6 is the largest, Nokia 3 the smallest
  • All are machined from aluminium, 3 has a polycarbonate back
  • All have Gorilla Glass displays 

The Nokia 6 is the largest of the new Nokia smartphone family with 154 x 75.8 x 7.85-8.4mm dimensions; the Nokia 8 follows at 151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9mm; the Nokia 5 is 149.7 x 72.5 x 8.05-8.55mm and the Nokia 3 is smallest at 143.4 x 71.4 x 8.48mm.

All four phones start life as a solid block of aluminium and are machined from this block. The Nokia 8, Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 have full metal bodies, while the Nokia 3 gets a metal core with a polycarbonate back added. No antenna lines can be seen on the rear of the Nokia 8 for a more seamless finish.

The Nokia 8 is therefore the most sophisticated of the bunch, followed by the Nokia 6, while  the Nokia 5 comes in a little rounder and the Nokia 3 loses some of the premium feel by opting for that plastic finish, though it still feels fairly solid. All have Gorilla Glass protecting the display.

All four models are also available in a range of colours, but the Nokia 8 has the most premium finishes with options like a polished copper and the Nokia 6 also offers an Arte Black special edition which is a little more exciting than the standard models.

The Nokia 8, Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 all have a fingerprint sensor on the front, while the Nokia 3 misses out on this feature. All four models have a 3.5mm headphone jack, though the Nokia 8 adds to its audio capabilities with Ozo on board.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Display

  • Nokia 8 has Quad HD resolution
  • Nokia 6 is largest, Nokia 3 the smallest
  • All have LCD panels

The displays on the Nokia models are a fairly predictable stepped positioning in terms of resolution, though not necessarily in size.

The Nokia 8 has a 5.3-inch display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution that delivers a pixel density of 554ppi, making it the sharpest of the four models but not the largest. The Nokia 6 meanwhile, is the largest with a 5.5-inch display but it has a lower resolution than the Nokia 8 at 1920 x 1080, resulting in a pixel density of 403ppi.

Smaller than both the Nokia 8 and Nokia 6 is the Nokia 5, which has a 5.2-inch 1280 x 720 pixel display, resulting in a pixel density of 282ppi, while the Nokia 3 is smaller still at 5-inches, with the same 1280 x 720 pixel display as the 5 for a slightly sharper 284ppi. 

All four models opt for IPS LCD over AMOLED and they all feature the standard 16:9 aspect ratio. None of the Nokia devices, not even the Nokia 8, offers Mobile HDR.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Cameras

  • Dual camera setup on Nokia 8, plus Zeiss lenses
  • 16MP camera on Nokia 6, 13MP on Nokia 5 and 8MP on Nokia 3
  • Nokia 6, 5 and 3 all get 8-megapixel front camera, Nokia 8 opts for 16MP

The camera department is where the Nokia 8 hopes to shine the brightest, not only compared to its Nokia siblings, but compared to other flagship smartphones too.

The Nokia 8 features dual 13-megapixel rear cameras, consisting of one RGB sensor and one monochrome sensor like the Huawei P10, with phase detection autofocus, f/2.0 and 1.12µm pixels. There is also a dual-tone flash.

On the front of the Nokia 8, there is a 13-megapixel sensor with phase detection autofocus, along with f/2.0, 1.12µm pixels, a wide-angle lens and a display flash. Nokia has partnered up with Zeiss for all the lenses on the Nokia 8.

Both the front and rear cameras can be used simultaneously in a new feature called Dual-Sight camera mode on the Nokia 8. In this mode, you'll be able to take a picture or video or both yourself and your subject at the same time.

Meanwhile, the Nokia 6 has a 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection autofocus, f/2.0, with 1µm pixels. It also has a dual tone LED flash.

The Nokia 5 gets the dual tone LED flash too, but drops down to a 13-megapixel sensor, keeping the PDAF, f/2.0 and growing the pixels to 1.12µm. The Nokia 3 settles for an 8-megapixel camera, with f/2.0, 1.12µm pixels and flash.

The Nokia 6, 5 and 3 devices all have an 8-megapixel front camera, which offers autofocus, 1.12µm pixels, f/2.0 and has a wide angle to capture your selfies.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Hardware

  • Nokia 8 has most advanced processor and USB Type-C
  • Nokia 8 and 6 get most RAM and storage
  • All have microSD support

The Nokia 8 sits at the top of the company's new smartphone portfolio, as we mentioned previously. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 platform, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage under its hood.

The Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 both have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset, but the Nokia 6 has more RAM and storage than the Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage as standard, or 4GB and 64GB on Arte Black model.

The Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 both have 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, but the Nokia 3 is powered by a slightly less advanced processor with the MediaTek 6737 chipset running the show. All the Nokia phones offer microSD card support to expand storage. 

In terms of battery, the Nokia 8 has a 3090mAh capacity, while the Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 have 3000mAh capacities and the Nokia 3 has the smallest capacity at 2630mAh. The Nokia 6, 5 and 3 are all charged via Micro USB, while the Nokia 8 is charged via USB Type-C with support for Quick Charge 3.0.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Software

  • Android 7.1 Nougat
  • No bloatware 

There's no difference in the main software offering across these four phones. All run pure Android Nougat and Nokia is promising the latest version of the software, with the benefit of monthly security updates.

There is no pre-loaded applications, except a Nokia support app, or bloatware, which means all devices offer stock Android. The only change that's made to vanilla Android is the camera app, which will be a little different on the Nokia 8 compared to the other three devices with the addition of some extra features, like the Dual-Sight mode.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Price

  • Nokia 8 is the most expensive
  • Nokia 3 is the cheapest

The Nokia 8 will cost €599 and it will go on sale from the beginning of September.

The Nokia 6 will cost you €229 in its regular form. Opt for the Arte Black edition and you'll be asked to part with a little more at €299, for which you get that glossy black finish, more RAM and more storage. 

The Nokia 5 will cost you €189, while the Nokia 3 is the cheapest at €139.

Nokia 8 vs Nokia 6 vs Nokia 5 vs Nokia 3: Conclusion

The Nokia 8 is unsurprisingly the winner on paper when compare to the other three Nokia devices, offering the most advanced processor, a dual camera setup with Zeiss lenses, a higher resolution display, the largest battery capacity and the most premium design.

That said, you pay a price for the Nokia 8, at least an extra €300 in fact. The Nokia 6 is the mid-ranger of the four devices, offering similar RAM and storage capacities to the Nokia 8, especially in the special edition model, while also offering a Full HD display, something the other two devices don't have.

The Nokia 3 meanwhile is the bottom of the Nokia bunch, but it is also the smallest and cheapest which might make it ideal for some. Ultimately, it depends on what your budget allows for and what features matter to you most.