Is Nokia G22 Kutil’s Dream Come True? – A Review by mobilenet.cz

The Nokia G22 with a recommended price of 179 euros (ie roughly 4,300 crowns) is aimed at less demanding customers who are primarily looking for a reliable device with the possibility to repair it themselves and will appreciate, for example, a guarantee of software support. You will find out how the novelty is used on the lines below.

Package contents: cable and squeegee?

The Nokia G22 is housed in a relatively compact box made of recycled paper, which contains, in addition to the phone (with a protective case), only a USB-C/USB-C cable. We also find here a nicely crafted tool for pulling out the SIM slot, paper manuals, and that’s the end of the list of accessories. A small detail is storing the phone itself in a paper foil, not plastic, as is the case with the Galaxy A54, although Samsung is also a big promoter of an environmental approach.

Design processing: despite the repairability, IP52 is not lacking

The Nokia G22 doesn’t mess with anything in terms of design, it’s a fairly ordinary looking smartphone that doesn’t inspire anything, but at the same time it doesn’t offend either. In addition, it looks quite conservative, which could appeal to many customers. The all-plastic construction is made special by the fact that the frame of the phone is gray, while the back has a dark blue color with a glossy finish and a smaller but elegant photo module. In my opinion, it is important to mention in this price class that the mobile phone is quite comfortable to hold and the fingerprint reader is easily accessible with the (right) thumb. Its response is apparently appropriate for the price, i.e. there is no question of lightning-fast unlocking, but at the same time it won’t make you wait extra long.

The IP52 resistance and the ability to replace the battery, display or connector yourself if necessary can be positively assessed. I focused on this aspect in more detail in a separate article, but in general I can say that it is rather a bonus for DIYers and not everyone will find the replacement process meaningful (from several points of view). Although the phone is made of plastic, it does not bend or creak in any way, and in addition to the 3.5 mm jack on the bottom, it also has a slot that can accommodate two SIMs or a combination of one SIM and one memory card. eSIM is not supported for obvious reasons.

Display: teardrop notch with 90 Hz

As a panel, the manufacturer decided to use a 6.5″ IPS LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a maximum brightness of 500 nits, which sometimes may not be quite sufficient in bright sunlight and visibility can be a bit of a problem. A minor disappointment is only the HD+ resolution (1,600 × 720 pixels), because for the given price, the competition can handle even higher, what surprised me, on the other hand, is the presence of Gorilla Glass 3. This glass by Corning is still supposed to be the hardest glass in its offer, and I really wouldn’t expect it in such a cheap smartphone.

On the sides of the frames, expect a more outdated teardrop cut, but also a fairly wide chin. In the settings, you can activate the function to always display the time and information on the phone, which should work similarly to Always-On. After turning it on, it was noticeable that the IPS LCD display was on (lit), but it remained completely black and no information was displayed on it, so it is probably a software error. Other options in the settings include checking the phone by picking it up (it already worked) or the option to wake the screen by double tapping (also functional). Finally, I will add that the automatic brightness control worked without any problems.

Sound: only one

The Nokia G22 has a single loud speaker that plays only averagely and at the highest volume the sound is already quite distorted. It’s not a complete “rattle” and I’ve seen worse speakers in cheap phones. The presence of a 3.5 mm jack can slightly save the situation.

Hardware performance: a stumbling block?

The Nokia G22 is equipped with a Unisoc T606 processor, which we see in the cheapest (almost stupid) phones, and I am seeing it for the first time in a device for more than 4 thousand crowns. Unfortunately, the lower performance is immediately noticeable. At the beginning of the testing, when I was really worried about the usability of the device, I was partially (kindly) surprised that the mobile still works and is usable. However, after a long time, to be honest, the slowness of the device started to get on my nerves. You will have to wait a long time for a lot of things, and I’m not just talking about launching apps, but maybe just moving around in the settings or the response when unlocking the smartphone. Of course, it will also depend a lot on the lens through which you look at the phone. It is possible that, for example, users of the older generation will be satisfied with the speed (if they switch to the Nokia G22 from something even worse), but still I cannot recommend the Nokia G22 in terms of performance. The presence of 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage only completes the picture of the performance of this smartphone, and the support of memory cards with an above-average maximum size of 2 TB can be considered positive.

Battery life: could be better

The Nokia G22 battery with a capacity of 5,050 mAh could theoretically provide great endurance, but in practice, unfortunately, this is not the case at all. The truth is that when you’re not using the phone, the battery percentages really go down very slowly, but once you’re using it in a regular way, the battery life is only average and you’ll probably charge it every day for 1.5 days of use at most. In my opinion, the reason is again the processor, which apparently (also due to the 12nm production technology) is not very energy efficient. It would be interesting to see how long the Nokia G22 would have, for example, with a Snapdragon 695 processor, but unfortunately we won’t know.

Of course, charging takes place exclusively by wire, and charging from 30 to 90% takes about 65 minutes. A complete charge from zero then takes approximately 100 minutes.

Connectivity: for FM lovers

Connectivity includes support for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo navigation systems, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 5. Unfortunately, 5G is missing, but someone may be pleased with the FM radio.

Camera: only for the very undemanding

The Nokia G22’s photo equipment is more of a mandatory feature than an “attraction”, given the price it is not too surprising that more or less only the main 50 Mpx sensor is worth mentioning, partly also the 8 Mpx selfie camera. A pair of 2 Mpx cameras is then classically limited only to the number, and it seems to me that sometimes perhaps only because of the design of the photo module itself.

Considering the price of the phone, one cannot expect any groundbreaking functions in the field of photo applications, but it will still offer, for example, a dedicated night mode, where we can also find a separate tripod mode, as well as the option to take a panorama, macro picture or time-lapse or slow-motion video. Classic video can then be captured in 1080p quality with 30 FPS, or 720p (also with 30 frames per second).

Read also

The Nokia G22 wants to make it easier for users to replace the battery and display, and it also surprises with its price

With the main camera, you can activate the automatic start of HDR, a watermark, take photos in the native resolution of 50 Mpx or choose from several aspect ratios, where the default setting is 4:3. It is with the photo application that you can often feel a lower performance of the processor, because the movement through the settings in it is not always completely smooth and the user has to wait. The quality of the images corresponds to the price – low. On the other hand, it could be enough for undemanding users (and this model is aimed at them). With a few exceptions, the photos are usually not very detailed, which is immediately noticeable even after a small zoom in on the resulting image, they are also sometimes strangely focused, however, in my opinion, I cannot directly criticize, for example, the color rendering, which does not look bad at all, and the phone manages to set up exposure. The 8 Mpx front camera also tries and is certainly enough for basic selfies.

Nokia G22 1080p 30 FPS

Software: two-year support

The Nokia G22 boasts a two-year software support warranty including two major updates, but it’s disappointing that the phone arrived (and at the time of testing) with the outdated Android 12. So owners will get Android 14, but the question is when and how system on such weak hardware actually work. The generally slower response of the phone is also related to the processor, but unlike Chinese manufacturers, the more or less pure Android environment can please you.

Evaluation

It is evident that the Nokia G22 is a phone for less demanding customers who are primarily concerned with the price and will appreciate the bonus of being able to replace the battery, display or connector on their own without losing the warranty. Despite this, the device does not lack IP52 resistance, a design that does not offend, or a 90Hz display. However, the manufacturer could have forgiven the 12nm Unisoc T606 processor and used a more modern solution instead, which would have resulted in faster operation, as well as endurance. Last but not least, I also praise the guarantee of two big updates, less so the fact that the phone arrived with the older Android 12.

Competition

For a relatively small additional fee, you can buy, for example, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12, which boasts a 6.5″ AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, as well as a more modern and powerful 6nm Snapdragon 685 processor or 33W charging support.

An alternative could also be the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G, which is equipped with a more powerful 5G processor and has the popular One UI superstructure.

Photo: Ioannis Papadopoulos, mobilenet.cz