Nokia revives the legendary 6310 phone with a larger, curvy display

There was a point in history, at least in my mind, when Nokia 6310 was the best phone you could get. More advanced than the 3xxx series and yet not as bulky as the Communicator, the Nokia 6310 was the phone to get in the early aughts if money was no object, and getting things done was the priority.

Now, HMD Global, which owns the Nokia brand, has launched a remake of the Nokia 6310 under the same name. As is typical of Nokia’s remakes, it’s a cheap, little, basic phone that sort of looks like the original (more on that later) but has been updated to be more usable today.

In terms of specs, this means the Nokia 6310 has a 2.8-inch display with curvy edges, a numerical keypad, 8MB of RAM, 16MB of storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD cards), a rear 0.3-megapixel camera, and FM radio. Yes, it’s very, very basic.

One good thing about a phone as simple as this one is that its 1,150mAh battery can last for “weeks” between charges — just like the one on the original 6310.

Whip up this baby out of pocket, and literally no one will know that it’s a remake of the old Nokia 6310.
Credit: NOKIA

The design, unfortunately, has little to do with the original Nokia 6310. That phone had a three-tone look (it came in a couple of flavors; my favorite was the light grey/dark grey/gold combo) which, while obviously outdated, still seems to say “I’m a flagship device for serious businessmen,” or something like that.

The new 6310 bears almost no likeness to the old one — the shape of the device is different, the buttons are different, even the color schemes are different (the new phone comes in four colors: dark green, yellow, black, and (only in India) light blue).

The new Nokia 6310 and the old Nokia 6310 (pictured; technically, it’s a 6310i but they’re very similar) aren’t exactly peas in a pod.
Credit: Shutterstock

The new Nokia has revived several of its old, famous phones like this. I liked the Nokia 3310, which was fairly similar to the original, but was underwhelmed with the Nokia 8110, also known as the Matrix phone. Those two devices, however, at least bore some resemblance to their forefathers; the new Nokia 6310 is similar to the old one only in name. OK, there is one other thing: The new phone also has Snake.

Alongside the new 6310, Nokia also launched a couple of new smartphones.

The Nokia C30 is an entry-level device running Android Go with a 6.82-inch display, a 13-megapixel camera on the back, a 5-megapixel selfie camera on the front, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage (expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card). The phone’s highlight is its 6,000mAh battery, which should keep the phone running for “up to three days.”

Nokia C30 is a cheap smartphone with a massive battery.
Credit: NOKIA

The Nokia XR20 is a rugged smartphone made to MIL-STD-810H standard and with IP68 water and dust resistance, meaning it shouldn’t break when you drop it or submerge it underwater.

Nokia XR20 is the brand’s most durable smartphone yet.
Credit: NOKIA

It has a 6.67-inch display, a 48/13-megapixel camera, an 8-megapixel selfie camera, 4/6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of storage (expandable up to 512GB via a microSD card), and a 4,630mAh battery.

Availability dates for these devices haven’t been announced yet, but we know the prices in the UK and Europe. The Nokia 6310 will cost £49.99 ($69) in the UK and 40 EUR in Europe, the Nokia C30 will be available for £99 ($136) in the UK and 99 EUR in Europe. The Nokia XR20 will cost £399 ($549) in the UK for the 4/64GB version, and £449 ($618) for the 6/128GB version. The average price for this model will be 499 EUR in Europe, Nokia says.