Review of Nokia G22 in 2023. There are several inexpensive smartphones from Nokia to select from. The G22, however, stands out from its competitors in the range and the market at enormous thanks to an exceptional selling point.
Review of Nokia G22 in 2023:
Because the G22 was built with repairability in mind, you should be able to swap out the battery, display, and other parts at home without visiting a specialized store.
Theoretically, this should save both time and money. It also complies with HMD Global’s pledge to develop environmentally friendly products in its capacity as the current manufacturer of Nokia-branded smartphones. But how does this inexpensive purchase fare? Everything you need to know is provided here.
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Design & Build:
- Repairable build
- IP52 rating
- Headphone jack
Two colors—Meteor Grey and Lagoon Blue, the one I tested—are available for the Nokia G22. The recyclable plastic back is shiny and has a lovely sheen, however, it is easily fingerprinted. Additionally, it doesn’t have the same premium appearance as some other Nokia phones, such as the C32 with its glossy glass back, but that is the price to pay for a build that can be fixed.
Although it isn’t the slimmest phone I’ve used, the phone weighs only 195g, which is quite a bit. Even so, it can be used with one hand and will fit in larger pockets. The phone comes with a clear casing and is protected against some light water spray thanks to its IP52 rating, but it won’t hold up to being submerged.
There is a side-mounted power button with an embedded fingerprint sensor that I found to function fairly reliably. If you’d rather, you can merely use a passcode or face recognition.
Thankfully, this phone still has a headphone jack, which is a welcome feature given that many other smartphones have switched to USB-C earphones and wireless earbuds. The dual SIM slot allows you to utilize two physical SIM cards, or you can use one SIM and a microSD card to increase the phone’s storage.
Now for the Nokia G22’s main selling point: its repairable construction. The battery, display, charging port, and rear cover should all be replaceable in the event that they are harmed or stop performing over time.
A construction kit or parts are not provided with the phone by Nokia. Although a kit only costs £26.99, purchasing the additional components should still be less expensive than visiting a store. In actuality, if you have a Phillips screwdriver, a pair of tweezers, and a guitar pick, you should be able to perform certain repairs at home without the need for a tool kit.
I made the decision to replace the battery by taking it out and putting it back in because I didn’t have a replacement part. I followed the iFixit instructions, which state that you can complete this task in under five minutes.
Although I’ve seen a Nokia representative finish the task this time, it’s unlikely that the average user will do so as quickly, especially if you’re overly cautious like I am. To lower the risk of fire, you must first switch off the phone and ensure that the battery is at or below 25%.
It was difficult to take the clips out of the rear cover, especially in the corners. Then, after removing the motherboard cover and fingerprint sensor, removing the battery from the extremely strong adhesive required almost more strength than my feeble arms could muster.
After having a small panic episode since I hadn’t properly reattached the battery connector, I realized that the phone was still functional and as good as new.
The instructions are quite detailed in the iFixit guides, so even though the process is a little intimidating at first, I did feel more competent after one attempt. But for beginners, this isn’t a simple, five-minute task. With all the fiddling and waiting, it took me more than 30 minutes.
Screen & Speakers:
- Unimpressive 720p display
- Up to 90Hz refresh rate
- One speaker with OZO playback
Nokia has compromised on the display in order to keep the price within reach. The G22 has a 6.5-inch, 720p LCD display. While it is adequate for web browsing, videos, and images are not fully utilized. A lot of glare makes it quite challenging to read the display in direct sunshine. Here’s Review of Nokia G22 in 2023.
If you stream a lot on your phone, I’d suggest looking at rival phones from companies like Poco because they have far superior screens.
Although the phone can refresh at a rate of up to 90Hz, you can only set it to adaptive (which alternates between different refresh rates) or at 60Hz. There is no option to set it to be on high by default.
One bottom-firing speaker with OZO playback, a Nokia-developed technology intended to provide multidimensional audio, is included in the G22. While the audio is generally loud for a phone without stereo speakers, it lacks the depth and vibrancy of more expensive models and sounds quite tinny. However, it worked just fine for Twitch streams and podcasts. Review of Nokia G22 in 2023.
Specs & Performance:
- Same processor as the G21
- 4GB RAM/128GB storage
- Laggy performance
The nokia g22‘s use of the Unisoc T606, the same processor as the Nokia G21 from the previous year, is one of its main drawbacks. The opinion we had at the time about this chip hasn’t altered. This phone’s performance is noticeably sluggish for many tasks, especially during startup.
The Nokia G22 will perform admirably for simple web browsing and social media use, while it stutters when scrolling quickly via apps like Facebook.
The phone has 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. If you require more capacity, the microSD slot may accommodate up to 2TB.
When it comes to performance and speed, the Nokia G22 is somewhat outperformed by comparably priced phones in its price category. The results of its performance in our official benchmarking tests are shown below:
Cameras:
- Decent shots under bright sunlight
- Struggles in dimmer conditions
- The bokeh effect on selfie mode is too strong
The triple camera setup of the Nokia G22 is its main feature. A 50Mp main lens with an f/1.8 aperture, a 2Mp depth camera, and a 2Mp macro camera make up the majority of this. Sadly, the G21’s successor does not include an ultrawide lens option.
The Nokia G22’s results are consistent with the results of other low-cost smartphone cameras. Some colors, like the pink on blossoming trees, perform best in bright daylight. Here, the AI enhancement works wonderfully.
However, even a cloudy day can cause images to lose some of their life and cause the tones to appear washed out. Large amounts of artificial or natural light are optimal for indoor photography. Details become hazy or blurry in dim lighting, and the night mode isn’t very noteworthy.
Although it has a 6x digital zoom capability, the images become very noisy and blurry when using this. Even though the 2x zoom has some fuzziness, it can be helpful for close-ups of scenic images.
With HDR mode activated, the 8MP selfie camera has a warmer tint and is suitable for video calls and the occasional selfie. If the default setting is used, the bokeh effect in portrait mode is quite intense, with numerous stray hairs merging into the background. However, if you so choose, you can change the object’s strength and shape.
The G22 can record video in 720p or 1080p at 30 frames per second. Although there are no stabilization modes, the built-in microphones capture a respectable amount of sound.
Battery Life & Charging:
- Up to two days of average use
- 20W fast-charging, but no brick included
- No wireless charging
The 5050mAh battery on this phone, according to Nokia, is said to last up to three days, however, I would argue it depends on how conservatively you use it, such as just making calls and taking the occasional snap.
Depending on how frequently I used the phone for streaming, video calls, shooting photos, and other activities, I discovered that I needed to plug it in every day and a half or every two days. This was utilizing the battery-saving modes as well.
It performed similarly to the G21 in our benchmarking using the PC Mark battery test, lasting 12 hours and 6 minutes.
Despite the G22’s support for up to 20W fast charging, only a USB-C cable is provided in the box. Nokia claims that doing this will decrease waste, but it does mean that charging from a PC will take a long time; with my laptop, I could only manage a paltry 10% charge in 15 minutes.
I juiced the phone from flat to 44% using a quicker charger I had sitting around the house. Although not supported, wireless charging is pretty standard for a phone of this price.
Software & Apps:
- Android 12, not 13
- Two years of OS updates
- Three years of security updates
The fact that this phone has a clean Android UI gives it a significant advantage over competitors like Poco and Honour. This indicates that there is no extra app bloat and that it is very user-friendly.
Although Android 12 rather than Android 13 is the default operating system, Nokia has promised two years of OS updates, so it will be updated to Android 14 without fail. Additionally, three years’ worth of security updates are promised.
These figures are comparable to those of brands like Asus and Realme, however, Google and Samsung both provide substantially longer battery life. It’s unfortunate because I would have thought that a durable phone would also deliver the same promise in terms of software.
It’s worth noting that the G22 only supports WiFi 5 rather than WiFi 6. It also doesn’t have 5G support.
Price & Availability:
When it first went on sale, the Nokia G22 was priced at £149.99, and retailers like Amazon and Argos in the UK are still selling it there. Nokia does not presently provide the opportunity to rent it through their Circular subscription program; instead, it is being sold by Nokia for £169.99. At the time of writing, it is not accessible in the US.
The price of parts and tool kits should also be taken into consideration if you plan to purchase this phone for its repairable design. The price of a back cover is £22.99, a replacement battery is £22.99, a new display is £44.99, and a charging port is £18.99. While an iFixit kit costs £26.99, you could get it by using tools you already have at home.
There isn’t really an affordable phone on the market that offers the same kind of build, so these parts are probably less expensive in the long run than what it would cost to take the phone to a shop. However, it’s difficult to suggest this phone for long-term, continuous use due to its sluggish performance and lack of updates over the past three years.
For a little bit extra money, you could choose a device like the Fairphone 4, which also has a repairable design and OS updates all the way up to Android 15. Or, you could choose a more durable but less repairable budget purchase like the Moto G62. For more options, see our list of the best budget phones.
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Specs:
- Android 12
- 6.5in, LCD, 720p, 20:9 aspect ratio
- Unisoc T606
- 4GB RAM
- 128GB storage
- microSD card slot
- 50Mp Main camera, f/1.8
- 2Mp Depth sensor
- 2Mp Macro lens
- 8Mp Front camera
- WiFi 5
- Bluetooth 5.0
- 4G/3G supported
- Dual SIM
- 5050mAh
- 165x76x19.48mm
- 195g
- Launch colors: Meteor Grey and Lagoon Blue