Nokia mobile brand has grown by leaps and bounds after HMD Global took over the ownership of making phones for the brand. There have been many phones that the brand brought out in the past few years that have been reliable and trustworthy in terms of the really smooth and light experience they provide. I spent time with their latest offering – Nokia G20. Here is my review of this phone.
Nokia android phones have been very refreshing in terms of how comfortable they are to use and how well they age once you buy one. The nordic design is a key factor in this. The Nokia G20 has clean lines and pleasant curves. The phone is made of polycarbonate and rear has a very nice striped matte finish. The phone is very comfortable to hold and the rear side does not get smudged with fingerprints owing to the surface design.
The front face of the phone is mostly just the screen with a drop notch in the middle that houses the front camera. The right side has a volume rocker and a power button that doubles as the fingerprint scanner. The left side houses a SIM tray that supports two SIMs and you can also expand storage here. Then there is a dedicated Google Assistant button below this on the left side. The top of the phone has a 3.5 earphone socket. The bottom houses a USB type-C socket and a speaker. All in all, the design, crafting and materials used are very good and are definitely a plus for the phone.
Nokia G20 has a lightweight, slim-line, durable casing which will be available in two unique colours – Night and Glacier. I got the Night Version with 4GB/64GB configuration and this review is based on this variant.
Powered by the Mediatek G35 processor, The company claims that the Nokia G20 brings the reliability of three days of battery life which will enable you to do more, connect more and create more, without worrying about running out of power. The pre-installed Android™ 11 will enable you to use and switch between multiple apps in a seamless manner. It also includes improved security features such as face and side fingerprint unlock. HMD Global’s commitment to provide three years of monthly security updates and two years of software upgrades is definitely a plus for the user.
I put the battery through my usage which is considerably above average, with a lot of streaming videos, gaming and social media usage. On a single charge, the phone lasted more than a full day and half for me and that is a very good thing if you want to be productive with your phone without the botheration of intermittent charging and battery anxiety.
On the performance front, I found that the phone was more than satisfactory when it came to handling multiple processes and decent gaming. I did not notice any issue when I was streaming videos with it. The phone comes with all the usual connectivity options. The phone gave me good call quality and VoLTE support was very good. There were absolutely no call drops. Also, it is worth noting here that there were absolutely no heating issues. The phone runs very well and does not hurt your hands with heat. The 5050 mAH battery is a tad bit heavy, but then again, it is feels very comfortable in hand and not difficult to hold at all.
The new Nokia G20 comes with a 48MP quad camera and 8MP front camera. It also has an impressive 6.5” HD+ screen, with a teardrop display and a handy brightness boost. Along with the OZO spatial audio, the Nokia G20 is the perfect tool for the modern creators who need seamless technology experience and utility for unleashing their creativity and passion.
The camera setup in the back is on a circular pattern. The four cameras together deliver decent and well fleshed out images consistently without any issues. The fact that the images look very close to real life colors and Nokia has not over highlighted anything makes the camera experience and image quality better and refreshing. This is a welcome change from other brands that tend to over render colors to make the images look a tad bit dramatic. A detailed camera review is coming soon and we will discuss more about the camera in that post.
Verdict
The Nokia G20 that is available on Amazon and the Nokia mobiles website for a best buy price of INR 12,999 is a very good package if you are looking to buy a phone that offers a clean and smooth android experience with good cameras and a strong battery. This is the kind of phone that you can buy and keep for a long time without pinching a hole in your wallet. I am very happy with the experience and very strongly recommend this phone.
