Software and User Interface
Nokia 5 – Software and User Interface
With new entry into Android smartphone manufacturing HMD decided to go for plain stock software experience with a little bit custom touch. Nokia 5, like Nokia 3 and 6, packs with pure Android features that Google ships with its own set of apps.
Nokia 5 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat software straight out of the box with its own theme and blue icons. The user experience is mostly similar to the Google Pixel. Very first look at the home screen tells that there is no icon for app launcher in the sticky row of apps on the bottom. Instead, a little caret provided right above that row of app icons that you can simply tap once or more pleasantly pull it up to open the app drawer. Similarly you can swipe the app drawer down to close it.
Just like Nokia 3, you can not customize themes on Nokia 5 and you have to stick with just that blue icon pack. Coming over at the user interface (GUI), Lock screen is also simple with the options to unlock with swipe or a short cut to swipe from a camera icon on the right-bottom corner which takes directly to the camera app. That camera shortcut on the lock screen actually by-passes any security and takes you to the camera app. However that only allows to take photos or record videos, as you can not go beyond the camera app in case if the security is in place.
Lock Screen and Security
Lockscreen also presents notifications in standard Nougat style – grouped, expandable and quick actions like replying to messages. Based on security, you have set up, the notifications can be set to “content hidden” on lockscreen to prevent privacy loss.
Home Screen with Nokia Blue and App Drawer
Then comes the home screen which gives you a blue shot at once when you unlock the phone. All system icons reflect Nokia’s blue color. And certainly, you can not change them. You can get use to with the same/single colored/circled icons but at first it could be hard for you to identify what you are looking for.
Google apps icons have their own standard color which you normally know them with. Similarly the third party apps also come with their own icons. The system, however modifies the icons only to mask them in circular shapes – that’s good.
Everything is pretty much same in experience like choosing app icons from the app drawer and placing them onto home screen or organizing them into folders. Adding, removing home screens and placing widgets in those home screens, etc.
Customizing Home Screen, Background Tasks, Split Screen
Home screen can be turned into edit mode by just a long press in a free space or by a pinch-in gesture on the screen.
The task switcher or recent apps view appears the standard Android rolodex of app snapshots which you can swipe away to close. A cross button is also provided on each snapshot. All apps can be closed with a single tap on “Clear All” which appears only if you swipe down the rolodex – that’s not really convenient.
Split screen can be initiated by a long-tap on “recent apps” key when you an app is already open. Even though Nougat has provided the built-in support for split screen, but frankly, you don’t want it on a small screen with not enough resolution.
Google App (Google Now) and Google Assistant
Far left home screen offers Google App (Google Now) by default, which can be turned off via settings from edit mode.
Google App on home screen is quick and fluent like it’s just one of the screens. It doesn’t give a kind of impression for being an app at all. You also don’t see it in currently running apps, it’s just a part of home screen. While a long-tap on the home button initiates the Google Assistant.
Status bar and Notifications
The top status bar is the stock one that you can pull out by swiping down. It’s the two way pull-down panel with a quick set of toggles and the notification below them. The second swipe-down on the panel will expand the quick toggles section to provide more options with more glance. With the second pull-down, you also get access to the brightness controller. However you can not turn on/off the adaptive/auto brightness. For that you have to go to settings > display.
The quick actions or toggles can be customized right from there by editing them and adding or removing them. Standard Android “users” feature is also available on Nokia 5 and can be reached right from the status bar. More settings are available in “Settings” app.
Add-on Gestures & Motions
Last but not the least, there are some gestures and motions which can be accessed from Settings > Accessibility. Only a couple of “Mute on pickup” and “Turn over to reject call”.
If you have been a fan of Nokia’s dedicated camera shutter button, then we are sorry that the new Nokia Androids do not feature that button. However the software allows you to use Power button to open the camera app, when you press it twice.
