Nokia G10 & G20: Paying a premium for the name

The budget smartphones - Nokia G10 and G20, were launched in November 2021 by HMD Global Bangladesh. Despite being assembled in Nokia's factory located at the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City, the smartphones are marketed as "made in Bangladesh" products.  

The Nokia G10 and G20 are expected to be around 30 percent cheaper than smartphones of similar range; yet, is it enough for people to buy Nokia phones again over the host of competition? 
Let us find out. 

The Nokia G10 is an entry level budget smartphone focused on fulfilling users' basic needs while the G20 borders on the lower mid range segment. 

Processor

The G10 is powered by a MediaTek MT6762G Helio G25 chipset and the G20 comes with a slightly faster chipset - MediaTek MT6765G Helio G35. The processors for both the models might be the biggest Achilees heel, given its' price tags. 

Mediatek's Helio G25 and G35 are perfectly fine for budget phones, however, the conversation becomes more one-sided if we look at the competition. 

Official smartphones of brands such as Realme - Narzo 20 and 30A, are cheaper than the G10 and G20 and yet, sport a much stronger chipset - Helio G85. If compared head to head with Nokia G20, the Infinix Hot 11s comes with a Helio G88 processor.  

Display

Both the Nokia G10 and G20 come with 6.52-inch, 700x1600 pixel, LCD 60 HZ displays, which is acceptable to an extent as the competition in this price range has similar offerings. There is not much to describe the display - it is a simple budget 720p display. 

Software

Nokia uses Google One's stock android interface and comes with Android 11 out of the box. This clean, ad free software is probably among the best software experiences consumers can enjoy. Furthermore, Nokia and Google One guarantees two years of Android version updates and a further year of security patch updates. 

This could have been a unique selling point for Nokia, however, if we are to follow Nokia's trend globally over the last few years, the smartphone manufacturer delays roll out version updates, or even security patches. Thus, we would advise potential buyers to be patient for updates.

Camera

Nokia was never famous for its camera performance despite the heavy marketing and the G10 and G20's case is no different. 

The G10's main 13MP camera barely makes it to the average category and is probably the only reliable one among its triple camera set up.

The G20 offers a quad camera set up. Its 48MP camera is quite good, however, if we are to compare, much cheaper phones offer the same 48MP camera with better image post processing. The full potential of G20's 48MP camera cannot be utilised due to the weaker image signal processing offered by Helio G35. 

Battery and Charging
 

Both the Nokia G10 and G20 come with a 5,050mAh battery which will easily last over a day and maybe even two on light usage due to the low powered processors inside. Yet, please do note they both support only 10W charging and therefore will take a long time to charge. 

Memory Options

Both the Nokia G10 and G20 come with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. While 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage may not be up to 2022 standards, both the devices sport stock Android user interface, and thus, it is acceptable. 

The memory for both devices can be further expanded using micro SD cards, the Nokia G10 and G20 support up to 512GB of storage expansion.

Pro tip: In the camera settings, choose the SD card as the default storage path for images instead of the internal storage to keep your phone less laggy.

Who should buy the Nokia G10 or G20?

The Nokia G10 and G20 cater to the needs of users looking for a phone that works just for long term usage. Both the devices could be perfect second phones for office or business. However, there are much better offerings out there in this segment from brands like Realme, Infinix, and Samsung, to name a few.

However, this is not the same Nokia brand that we grew up loving. It is a new Nokia by HMD Global offering strictly average smartphones at premium prices, thanks to the brand name and the nostalgic sentiments that comes with it. 

The Nokia G10 is priced at Tk13,499 and the G20 comes with a price tag of Tk14,999.

Even if the devices came at a price range within Tk10-12,000, it would have been a hard sell. Be that as it may, people still have a soft corner for the Nokia brand name and it might aid in selling sufficient units.

We can only hope to recommend the G10 and G20 if there is a significant flash sale, however, that appears unlikely since we could not find these devices on popular online shopping platforms.

Upon reaching out to a leading smartphone store in Bashundhara City - Jack n Gadget, its owner Arefin Jack stated customers have shown minimal interest in the G10 and G20 due to better competitive options available in the market.

Where to Buy: https://www.mobileworldbangladesh.com/