# Nokia phones

29 Hacker News commenters recommended Nokia phones and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 11 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend Nokia phones for their sturdiness, replaceable batteries and long battery life, though critics say the software is weak and the phones lack modern features.

## Why people recommend it

- Sturdy, survives drops (5 comments): "They looked fantastic, legitimately didn't require a case, and held up very well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46588522)) "The S40 devices were awesome, sturdy, trusty tools." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46658669)) "Dropped it a hundred times, still worked." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49518195))
- Replaceable batteries, long battery life (4 comments): "I never had to buy a new battery for all the nokias I owned all the way until Nokia the company died." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47100295)) "As much as I like the Nokia I had that went weeks without a charge" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49280415)) "Nokia phones used to be good phones with replaceable batteries" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47837437))
- Good phones overall (4 comments): "Nokia phones were the best, with the best sound systems." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49844122)) "They were the gold standard when it comes to phones" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49232885)) "Ericsson and Nokia making really good phones" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49061120))
- Good sound quality (2 comments): "the nice sound a friend's cool new Nokia phone made on incoming SMS messages" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48895489)) "Nokia phones were the best, with the best sound systems." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49844122))

## What people warn about

- Buggy, weak software and apps (4 comments): "they have obnoxious bugs, they drop calls, and lack basic modern-day compatibility features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48622047)) "the Symbian OS or KaiOS they use is lacking in many aspects" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48562332)) "the apps and services just didn't work that well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49849024))
- Missing US bands and modern features (2 comments): "they have obnoxious bugs, they drop calls, and lack basic modern-day compatibility features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48622047)) "non-Android Nokia phones don’t support enough US cellular bands" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48161166))
- Preinstalled bloatware and Facebook (2 comments): "they installed any bloatware just to keep their sales numbers high" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48903891)) "I was very upset to find FB and similar on recent Nokia products." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49670073))
- Behind the iPhone (2 comments): "too slow and bureaucratic and could not adapt to the iPhone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47217829)) "Their handsets were just janky compared to the slick iPhone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49836080))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Minimal Phone 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/minimal-phone-2.md): 34 recommend
- [Commodore Flip Phone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/commodore-flip-phone.md): 31 recommend
- [Commodore Digital Detox Phone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/commodore-digital-detox-phone.md): 14 recommend
- [Mudita Kompakt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mudita-kompakt.md): 8 recommend
- [HMD Touch 4G](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hmd-touch-4g.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Nokia+feature+phone+HMD&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.hmd.com/en_int?root=true)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Nokia phones", https://hackerapproved.com/p/nokia-phones/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).