Nokia XL review - Basic 5-inch smartphone for the masses

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The Nokia XL is the bigger brother in the range of Nokia X smartphones designed to bring the Windows Phone experience to the masses through an Android smartphone. As such, it features a simplified interface and Nokia's tough Lumia polycarbonate design that should make it great for everyone to use. The main question here is, does it deliver for you? Read our full review on the Nokia XL below to find out.

Design - Big, tough and sturdy

If you liked how the Nokia X looked then you'll probably like the Nokia XL as it is more or less a bigger version. Both have the same tough polycarbonate backside casing in bright neon colours. Both have the same black screen. The only differences are an LED flash near the rear camera and a larger 5-inch screen. The Nokia XL is also larger, thicker and heavier. At 190g it is nearly as heavy as the last generation of 6-inch tablets which tend to be around 200g or more.

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The Nokia XL is big and wide

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It is also quite thick

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The microUSB port does all the charging and file transfer

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The controls are made from the same tough polycarbonate

As expected of Nokia, build quality is excellent and the Nokia XL feels very solid. While the rounded polycarbonate backside does not get scratches very easily the back casing can be popped off and replaced with one of the other colours which includes black, blue, green and white (our review unit was a bright neon orange). The controls are made from the same tough polycarbonate plastic and the Corning Gorilla Glass covering the 5-inch screen probably means you don't have to worry about sticking the smartphone in your pocket with some keys. My only issue with the design is that you can only access the dual SIM and microSD card slots after you remove the battery. Some of the newer phones let you do this but I guess if it isn't broke, Nokia won't fix it.

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The Nokia XL sports a 5MP rear camera with LED flash and rather loud speakers

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The polycarbonate back casing can be changed easily

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While this Nokia XL offers dual-SIM support you still have to remove the battery to access the slots

Tech Specs and Features - Simplified and optimised

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, 768MB RAM and 4GB storage with support for expandable microSD flash memory, the Nokia XL has tech specs that are standard for a basic entry-level smartphone. However, the 5-inch display is definitely a bit larger than most and lays between the entry-level and midrange with features that include IPS technology, an 800 x 480 pixel resolution and multitouch capabilities. Rounding up the tech specs is a 5MP rear camera with LED Flash and Autofocus along with a 2MP front camera. The smartphone supports 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, Stereo FM radio and Dual-SIM along with a 2000 mAh battery. Measuring around 141.4  x  77.7  x  10.9 mm and weighing in at 190g the smartphone is wide and quite heavy.

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The interface is simplified and easier to use

The Nokia XL runs a forked version of Android called the X platform version 1 which doesn't allow any Google Play market or other Google apps such as YouTube, Google Maps or even Google Now. As such, these functions have been taken over by either Nokia apps or third-party apps. Google Maps for example is replaced by HERE Maps and so forth. The interface is also different with basically one screen for app shortcuts and one screen for the Nokia Fastlane, which is basically a big long list of all the recent apps and activities done on the smartphone. It makes for a simpler and more intuitive interface but offers a little less control and similarity than normal Android.

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The Nokia XL packs in it's own set of apps like HERE Maps to replace Google Maps while the Fastlane offers quick and easy access to past activities and recent apps

Performance - Good... as long as you stay in the Windows

Like all of the Nokia X smartphones, the Nokia XL seems rather underpowered, despite having the best tech specs of the bunch. As the number of pictures you take and the stuff that you do on the Nokia XL increase so does the listings on the Fast lane and you will begin to notice some lag. The platform does not crash but it does seem to hang sometimes, moving again when you're just about to restart the smartphone, which is definitely better than some other Android smartphones which just crash. In terms of pure benchmarking numbers the Nokia XL managed a score of 7456 on AnTuTu which is basically equal to the most basic of entry-level smartphones currently around. That being said, the Nokia XL still delivers good and reliable service as long as you stay within the Windows Phone like environment Microsoft have set up for the smartphone.

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The Nokia XL gets a score of 7456 on AnTuTu

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Plants vs Zombies 2 plays well but there are signs of optimization where the image is rather blurry to help make it smoother

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All apps downloaded from the app Store run well but tend to have some lag

The best example of this is to see the bundled games that come with the Nokia XL. Most of them have been optimised to run on the system smoothly. Plants vs Zombies 2 runs relatively smooth but lacks definition around the edges, making it seem rather blurry. Endless runner Danger Dash has pixelated obstacles but also runs relatively smooth. Whatever you can find and install  from the app store will probably run but expect some lag in performance or some form of feature to be cut down somewhat. While you can sideload apps as APK files these don't always work and aren't very easy to install for the generally non-technical masses. This makes the main feature of being able to run Android and Nokia X apps from Microsoft on the same smartphone a bit more difficult than it could be. Nokia have also disabled most Google apps such as YouTube, Google Now and Google search which more or less makes it a crippled Android ecosystem.

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Movies play well

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While it is smooth be prepared for some loss of sharpness

Still, the available optimised apps are quite a solid bunch and should satisfy the target audience well. I can definitely see normal users enjoying some tunes on the Nokia radio, chatting and or listening to music. The speakers are  quite loud with good quality audio and no static while movie playback is smooth as long as you don't mind the lack of sharpness. The cameras are also quite solid with the 5MP rear camera working  really well in outdoor daytime situations. However, it does not work very well in low light  conditions without the flash. Battery life is acceptable with about 2-3 hours of continuous heavy usage but the smartphone really shines in terms of standby time as we could leave it one for 5 days to a week without needing a recharge.

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The Nokia XL performs surprisingly well in daylight

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As long as there is enough light, the Nokia XL camera does very well

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200 percent zoom

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However, in low-light conditions the 5MP camera isn't very good unless you have flash on

Price - too little, too late

At RM599 the Nokia XL is priced well, if it came out early last year. However, there are many more newer smartphones in the market that offer better tech specs and performance for either the same amount or less. The Huawei Honor 3C and ASUS ZenFone 4 or ZenFone 5 smartphones come to mind. None of these Android smartphones offer the same solid build though, but since the Nokia isn't really offering the full Android experience it isn't really an Android smartphone to begin with. If all you're looking for is the solid Nokia design then the Nokia Lumia 525 is the Nokia XL's biggest rival. A quick check at Mobile Mega Mall reveals that pricing for the Nokia XL has gone down somewhat to as low as RM535 which should make it more viable.

Conclusion - A big, loud and solid smartphone

Overall, the Nokia XL is a big, loud and solid smartphone with a simplified and more intuitive interface than most Android smartphones. However, newer more affordable smartphones, rather high pricing along with Nokia's decision to disable most of the Google apps make it rather hard to recommend. To top it off, Nokia recently announced that the first generation of Nokia X smartphones won't be getting the latest Android X 2.0 platform. We're certain that there will be buyers who want a big, loud and more reliable smartphone and the Nokia XL is perfect for that. However, be warned that you won't be getting any new or improved features as time goes on. The existing features delivers solid performance though, so if those are enough for you then you should definitely check out the Nokia XL.

Check out our unboxing video of the Nokia XL

See the Nokia XL up close in our hands-on video

*TechNave.com would like to thank Microsoft-Nokia Malaysia for providing us with a Nokia XL review unit. It allowed us to do a more in-depth review and highlight more features.

Nokia XL Specs & Price >