PERFORMANCE: While the Nokia 3.1 garners some high scores, many others score better. This phone could still be a good budget choice if you can get it at a good price or if you need only a basic smartphone. Ease of use on the 3.1 was very good. While not the best, the touchscreen was very good and it is easy to use. You should be able to get comfortable using this smartphone very quickly. Performance of the 3.1 was good. Some tasks on this phone may not be quick to respond but it will mostly be fast enough for most users. Call quality and convenience on the 3.1 were good. Many other phones we tested scored better. Sound while on a call was good in a quiet room and with background noise but you can get phones that do better. Your sound quality will vary due to many factors including background noise, if you are moving between cell towers, the quality of the phone on the other end of the call, and the quality of the cell tower and antenna.
DURABILITY: Overall, the durability of the 3.1 was Excellent. The phone scored an Excellent in our scratch resistance test. This phone passed our tumble test. The tumble test results are as follows: After 50 drops in the tumbler, our experts rated it as Excellent. The phone had some scratches. Overall, it was in good working condition. After our more strenuous 100 drops in the tumbler the screen and body proved they can take a serious tumble. Our experts rated it as Excellent. Overall, it was in good working condition. This phone passed our rain test where a gentle rain falls on the phone for 5 minutes. This phone is not IP rated for water intrusion and was not tested for that.
PORTABILITY/BATTERY: The 5.2-inch screen on the 3.1 comes in a body measuring 5.7-inches tall, 2.7-inches wide, 0.4-inches thick, and weighs 4.9 ounces. Those measurements mean the phone is smaller and lighter than most. At 28 hours, it has an above average battery lifespan. Its battery is not removable and the phone doesn't support wireless charging.
CAMERA: The main rear camera on the Nokia 3.1 measures 13-megapixels. The camera does not have optical image stabilization so handheld photos in low light may be blurrier than cameras with optical image stabilization. Overall the camera performance was good, below that of many other models but still good enough for most users to capture fine still shots. FALSE The 3.1 comes with an 8-megapixel selfie cam. Overall the selfie camera quality was poor, well below that of many other models and you may notice some quality issues in your selfies.
DISPLAY: Overall the display quality was good, The display resolution was barely high enough, close to 300dpi, so you see a smooth, but not very crisp image. The display showed some glare in daylight. Readability outdoors is a combination of brightness, measured in candelas per square meter, and reflectivity. The readability rating was good. The maximum brightness level measured 1 meter from the screen was a high 360cd/m² and reflective glare was minimal.
