Back in April, Nokia revealed six new phones to its new lineup. The X series is its most high-end, followed by the mid-range G series and then the entry-level C series.
All lineups received new members, namely the X10/20, G10/20 and the C10/20. The X line has since been replenished with a premium, ‘life-proof’ member called the XR20.
However, today we are talking about the G20, which we have had in the house for a while now. And we are making the evaluation short and sweet so you can do other pressing things.
The G20 packs a 48MP main camera on its quad set-up at the back with a 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro shooter, and 2MP depth shooter.
The selfie camera is also 8MP like in the Nokia G10, which we also have but will assess at a later date.
Under the seal is a MediaTek G35 chipset, 4GB RAM capacity, as well as 64/128 GB storage options. We have the latter, and while there are bigger capacities, we haven’t really filled it up, bearing in mind that apps are ballooning, and people tend to have a lot of offline files on their phones. But for me, I tend to install my essentials, and everything else is accessed from the cloud. If that is not your style, then you should be lucky because the phone does ship with a dedicated microSD slot – and you still get two slots for your SIM cards.
And obviously, the G20 is 4G-capable, which, at its price, is very good – but there are competitors out there that have 5G-powered phones that cost just a few thousand more.
This is also the part where I remind you that you should not care about 5G – yet, because carriers such as Safaricom are building the necessary infrastructure for a mass rollout, and that will take a while to put in place. So, basically, stick around for 4G because it is still very fast, and will save you a lot in terms of data and device expenditure, as well as battery life.
Now, how does the 6.52″ screen look like? Honestly, I would have loved to see a 1080p panel here, but that ship has sailed because phone makers are sticking to their formula of building sub-KES 20K phones with HD+ panels. Don’t get me wrong though, because we have seen excellent 720 by 1600 panels, and they do a good job for the price.
The only issue I have is that the display does not get very bright, and you will have issues viewing content outside, bearing in mind that we have the sun back in Nairobi.
At near 200g, the G20 is not a light phone, but it also packs a large cell at 5050 mAh.
The body is well-thought-out, because it feels premium, with a slightly ribbed backplate that should see you secure it at hand rather than it slipping away. It also means that you can get away without a case, but just dress it in one if you want to keep the device protected.
I also forgot to mention that the display comes with a thin piece of plastic that should serve just right as a screen protector.
Also to note is that the G20 has some form of splash protection, and that is always good news even when it is higher up in the Ingress Protection charts.
Speaking of battery performance, you should not worry about its performance because this is easily a full-day phone, and frugal users should be able to squeeze another day from it.
The cell tops up at 10W, which is not the fastest charging technology but is serviceable nonetheless. The port of choice is USB-C – which we have in the G10 as well.
The top side of the phone has a 3.5 mm headphone socket for wired audio, but I know many of us are transitioning to wireless earbuds. Nokia also includes earphones in the box, but the company sells a host of wireless earbuds.
So, how about those many snappers at the rear? They do a good job. Images are decent for the price, and you shouldn’t expect more than that. You can snap depth snaps using the dedicated depth sensor – and the output is good.
Those interested in wide-angle photos can also do so thanks to another dedicated sensor for the same.
Here are some samples:
It would be a sad day here if I didn’t talk about the software. Nokia is among the very few Android phone makers that don’t touch the software and bring it to you as Google intends. There are no useless apps when you boot the device at first, and the whole experience is very good in my books.
Nokia also promises to update the device in the next two years, and security updates should be delivered for three years. There is no other manufacturer that does this for its phones because often, entry to mid-range phones do not pose a financial incentive to receive extended software updates.
In fact, we can outrightly recommend this device if software updates are important to you, and you have KES 19K or so around you.
So, in conclusion, I could have said a lot about the device, but I choose not to because the most important things about the G20 can be summed up as done above.
You get an excellent software experience in a package that actually looks good. Splashes wouldn’t hurt the device because Nokia has made sure that is not the case. And your battery is huge enough to complete a long road trip, and some more the following day.
Nokia has also kept some lifestyle features in the G20, including the headphone jack, and that goes a long way when manufacturers are trying to get customers to buy their wireless earbuds.
While the cameras could be better, I absolutely have no problem with them, and when held steadily, the phone churns out images that you can use on social media platforms.
That screen though… just upgrade the pixels next time and make it brighter.
Want it? The Nokia G20 will set you back KES 18900 (officially) or cheaper/higher elsewhere. Worth a buy? Yes, if you are into the features we have lauded precedingly.
Until next time!
