We have used Nokia G20 4GB RAM Indian variant as our daily driver for over 3 weeks and this is our detailed review of the smartphone. It may help you in deciding whether you should really go for Nokia G20 as your next if you really wanted to own one and are still undecided.
Nokia G20 sits below or replaces Nokia 5.4 in the Nokia smartphones lineup depending upon markets, though HMD Global has not decided to discontinue Nokia 5.4 so far. Nokia G20 is priced very similar or slightly less than Nokia 5.4 in most of the markets including India.
Nokia G20 Design:
Nokia G20 brings a premium feel because of its design. The back has a curved shape. It has Nano-textured back design with matt finish that gives it a more robust feel in hand. Due to the back design and Nano-textured finish, the Nokia G20 feels steady in your hand.
Nokia G20 mates the fingerprint sensor to the power button which is nice touch above Nokia 5.4, that came with a rear fingerprint sensor. But HMD global has dropped the punch-hole display of Nokia 5.4 in support of the center V-notch display on Nokia G20.
Though it is a big smartphone, because of its 20:9 display ratio, it still fits just fine in your hand. Display looks good with deep black color levels and good contrast.
Nokia G20 Display & Audio output Quality review:
Nokia G20 comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ display. Here are our observations after playing with Nokia G20 as a daily driver.
- The display is bright and ideal brightness level is around 40-45% in most of the cases.
- Adaptive brightness learns your choices quickly.
- Outdoor readability is also quite good on Nokia G20.
- Viewing angles are excellent.
- Blacks are deep and color reproduction good
You can control white Balance on Nokia G20 to add saturation to Nokia G20 display. Fingerprint resistance is a very nice feature of Nokia G20 display and you don’t need to wipe it time and again. The display is good for media consumption and gaming with the real-estate it offers.
The Nokia G20 audio output quality is good. It is loud and doesn’t break even at the loudest the speaker has to offer. It offers a good video watching and gaming experience.
Nokia G20 camera review:
Nokia G20 rear camera performance is strong for a mid-range smartphone. The 48MP sensor provides ample amount of resolved details with accurate colors in most of the cases. We have provided Nokia 5.4 samples to compare against Nokia G20 samples below. The ultra-wide camera is also a great addition for capturing landscapes and provides really good results. You can check more full-size comparison samples by clicking here.
In daylight conditions, both Nokia 5.4 and Nokia G20 cameras perform admirably well and provide nearly similar results in terms of resolved details and keeping colors real. In low-light however, Nokia G20 camera performs better than the Nokia 5.4 camera. It captures more illuminated images in both normal and night modes. Night mode is faster than before and is a improved version of the Night mode available on older Nokia smartphones.
Nokia G20 daylight sample:
Nokia 5.4 daylight sample:
Nokia G20 wide-angle shot:
Nokia 5.4 wide-angle shot:
Nokia G20 Bokeh sample:
Nokia 5.4 Bokeh sample:
Nokia G20 low-light:
Nokia 5.4 low-light:
Nokia G20 Night mode:
Nokia 5.4 Night mode:
We must mention that the camera is really good at capturing Bokeh, Portrait and closeup macro images that will make you happy.
Nokia G20 front camera is also a good performer. It captures natural looking selfies.
We have also provided daylight and low-light video recording samples captured by Nokia G20 below.
Nokia G20 daylight video recording sample:
Nokia G20 low-light video recording sample:
Default 1080p-30fps video capture is quite good. The imaging stabilization works well and takes care of movements while capturing videos. The low-light videos also come illuminated and stable. OZO Audio support is a great feature for recording some impressive audio.
Nokia G20 camera rear and front cameras provide stellar results. In low-light conditions, it captures more light as compared to Nokia 5.4 camera. We recommend it as a capable smartphone camera with clearly visible results.
Nokia G20 Performance review :
Nokia G20 is powered by the Helio G35 processor and packs stock Android. Many wanted to know how well Nokia G20 performs with the Mediatek processor.
Nokia G20 is good at handling basic and advanced smartphones tasks. Be it browsing, gaming or multitasking with many apps and games open in the background, it remains at ease. Games and apps also resume well from background with device under stress.
Though, it could have been better for Nokia G20 to come with a better processor when it has been launched against Nokia 5.4 in most of the markets. Nokia 5.4 certainly has its advantage over Nokia G20 when it comes to power-hungry games.
Nokia G20 Battery Life, Fast charging & Call quality:
Nokia G20 has shown excellent battery life during our review. In real-life conditions, I have been getting around 42-46 hrs of battery life with heavy “blogger” usage of the device. This involves lots of browsing, streaming, gaming, apps testing, attending calls and daily chores.
It may be around 45-49 hrs for a moderately heavy usage scenario and that is really very very impressive. Screen-on time typically varies between 10 hrs – 12 hrs for different usage scenarios. Nokia G20 certainly shows its big advantage over Nokia 5.4 when it comes to battery life.
Nokia G20 offers stellar call quality because of its innovative Antenna design. Call reception is usually very good. I didn’t face any issue like call drops etc and it holds well even during long conversations.
Nokia G20 Gestures, Face Unlock, Display settings:
Nokia G20 comes with Face unlock, some cool gestures and also ability to alter display color saturation.
Face unlock works fine out of the box and unlock is really quick. It has three settings to control when to use Face unlock.
Nokia G20 comes with many gestures including turn over to reject call, mute on pick-up, double-tap to wake up phone. Swipe fingerprint for notifications and jump to camera also are very useful gestures too.
Nokia 5.4 Positives & Negatives:
Negatives
- While Nokia G20 doesn’t disappoint in day to day tasks, it deserved a better processor.
- To compete in price and specs-sensitive markets like India, display resolution must have been kept higher.
Positives
- Imaging quality wise Nokia G20 rear camera really impresses. Rear Camera exceeds expectations and offers good performance in all lighting conditions. It betters Nokia 5.4 rear camera in low-lighting conditions.
- Premium looking unibody design with nano-textured matt back.
- Battery life is one of the best you will get from an Android smartphone. Can easily go through two days on a single charge.
Nokia G20 Conclusion:
We subjected Nokia G20 to our trademark rigorous and detailed evaluation. After using it as our daily driver for over 3 weeks, we recommend it as a reliable mid-range smartphone that excels in battery and imaging.
Nokia G20 comes with an attractive and robust design, excellent cameras and great battery life. Even the display that has been panned for not being Full HD especially in India is good and offers good sunlight readability, good viewing angles and media consuming experience.
Nokia G20 comes running Android 11 out of the box and has guaranteed two years of OS updates and three years of security updates support.
Nokia G20 officially starts at Rs 11,999 for the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant in India. It is priced at USD 199 in the US for the 4GB RAM/128GB storage variant, at £134.99 in the UK for the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant.
