Nokia 1.4 launched: This cheap phone gains in size, but is it a Xiaomi rival?

HMD Global has sometimes struggled to match up to Chinese brands like Xiaomi and realme when delivering value for money budget phones, but is this the case for its latest smartphone?

The company has just announced the Nokia 1.4 in Europe and the UK, and it features a few upgrades over the Nokia 1.3. For starters, the screen size has increase from 5.71-inch HD+ to 6.5-inch HD+, while the battery size has increased from 3,000mAh to 4,000mAh. Unfortunately, the Nokia 1.4 opts for a non-removable battery compared to its predecessor though.

The other major upgrade is the addition of a 2MP macro lens, while still maintaining the older phone’s 8MP primary camera and 5MP selfie shooter. Thankfully, HMD has turned to Google Camera Go for its camera app needs, with the app touting a portrait mode and a night mode.

More reading: The best budget phones you can currently buy

Other noteworthy features include a very lightweight Snapdragon 215 processor (quad core Cortex-A53), rear fingerprint scanner, 16GB to 64GB of expandable storage, 1GB to 3GB of RAM, microUSB port, and Android 10 Go Edition. You’re also getting Bluetooth 4.2, a Google Assistant key, and an FM receiver.

Expect to pay €99 or £89.99 for the 1GB/16GB Nokia 1.4 when it goes on sale, with Fjord, Charcoal, and Dusk colorways on offer.

So how does this compare to the likes of Xiaomi? Well, the €99 or £99 Redmi 9A offers a more modern Helio G25 processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage as the bare minimum, and a bigger battery. But HMD’s phone offers a macro camera.

Which company do you think offers the better budget smartphones in general? Let us know via the poll below.