HMD Global, the parent company of Nokia, dropped the budget successor of the Nokia G20 over the weekend. The new Nokia G21 is already available in Europe and should be rolled out to other markets soon. We’ll briefly review its features and pricing here.
Nokia G21’s design is the most striking change over the Nokia G20. For years now, HMD Global has relied on centered donut-ring camera housings and curved casings to help their version of Nokia stand out. But the G21 features a common domino-style camera plate, off-center. The rounded bump contains three lenses and an LED flash. You’ll also note the edges that are soft and flat now.
Plus, the casing has a muted matte texture that resists fingerprints and enhances grip. Power button doubles as a convenient fingerprint scanner. The frame also includes a volume rocker and a button for summoning the Google Assistant. You can pick from Nordic Blue and leather brown colors.
Turn the phone over to find a notched screen — no surprises there. It’s a 6.5” IPS LCD that still tops at 720P resolution (1080P is the modern standard, even for budget phones.) But, the refresh rate has been bumped up to 90Hz. It should make media consumption and UI navigation a pleasant experience at an affordable Nokia mobile price.
The camera embedded in the screen notch is 8MP. We find a triple-camera on the back, featuring a 50MP wide-angle shooter and two 2MP macro and portrait lenses.
An obscure Unisoc silicon engine does all the number crunching. And everything is powered by a 5050 mAh battery. HMD promises at least three days of usage out of a single charge, thanks to the underpowered display and battery.
The Nokia G21 supports 18W charging, but you’ll need to buy a fast-charger separately since it’s shipped with a 10W brick. HMD has slightly bumped up the price too. The phone starts from €170 (~ Rs. 33,800.) but as the European prices are always on a higher side we expect it to be a bit cheaper if/when available in the local market.
