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Up close with the affordable Nokia 5.1, 3.1, 2.1 phones

See the inexpensive trio with features that may surprise you.

Perla Shaheen
Perla Shaheen is heading into her junior year at UC Berkeley and spends her spare time hiking or reading. She's been captivated by tech and all its advancements since age 10, when she got her first hot pink Motorola Razr flip phone. And after 19 years as a Southern California native, she still cannot surf, but that doesn't mean she'll ever stop trying.
Perla Shaheen
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A new trio of budget Nokia phones -- Nokia 5.1, 3.1, and 2.1 -- comes your way, starting in June (or July, depending on the phone). These wallet-friendly phones refresh last year's models.

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Which one's which? From left to right, you're looking at the Nokia 2.1, 3.1 and 5.1.

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Nokia 5.1

The 5.1 sells in June -- the 16GB version costs 139 euros (around $162) and the 32GB model will go for 169 euros (about $197). 

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The 5.1 has an upgraded 5.5-inch display with a higher resolution than the 5.2-inch Nokia 5 of yesteryear. 

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It's got a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 8-megapixel wide angle front-facing camera. 

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The Nokia 5.1 even uses the trending 18:9 screen ratio.

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Another change from the previous model: The fingerprint sensor has been moved from below the screen to the back. 

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This placement of the fingerprint sensor frees up space for a larger display.

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The handset runs on Android One, the most "pure" version of Google's OS that isn't on a Google Pixel phone.

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Unlimited photo uploads to Google Photos is an extra perk. 

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Yup -- that's a Micro-USB charger port you're looking at, not the USB-C standard that most new phones adopt.

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The Nokia 5.1 has an aluminum body. Right now you're looking at the satin copper color, but it also comes in blue and black.

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For comparison: the temper blue and the satin copper colors side by side. 

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Next in line we have the Nokia 3.1, which takes a step down from the 5.1 with a 5.2-inch screen display.

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Nokia 3.1

The Nokia 3.1 has a 13-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel wide-angle front camera, but it doesn't offer unlimited uploads to Google Photos. 

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At its core is the same processor as the 5.1, Android One.

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You can see the Android One logo on the back.

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Light enough to balance on a succulent! (The Nokia 3.1 weighs 4.9 ounces.)

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It has an aluminum frame with plastic backing, less sleek than the 5.1 but also less smudgy. 

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No need to fret, the headphone jack is still here; you'll find it at the phone's top edge.

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The plastic backing may not be shiny, but the aluminum frame proves that the devil's in the details. 

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This is the first of the three new Nokia phones to go on sale; you'll be able to pick up the Nokia 3.1 in June. 

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The 16GB version costs 139 euros (around $162) and the 32GB model will go for 169 euros (about $197). 

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Nokia 2.1

Finally, here is the Nokia 2.1, the most budget-friendly of the bunch. Surprisingly, its screen is a 5.5-incher, a larger display than the more expensive 3.1 (but the same size as the Nokia 5.5). 

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In contrast to the other models, the Nokia 2.1 runs on Android Oreo Go software, a simpler version of Android designed specifically for inexpensive handsets.

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The Nokia 2.1 holds an enormous 4,000mAh battery, which promises to run for two full days on a single charge. That's pretty huge for a budget phone.

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There's an 8-megapixel rear camera, with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. 

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Like the Nokia 3.1, the 2.1 here has a plastic backing -- but hey, at least it won't shatter?

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As the cheapest of the trio, the Nokia 2.1 sells in July, for 115 euros (about $134).

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See what we think about the Nokia 5.1, 3.1 and 2.1 here.

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