Nokia G21
Specifications
Secondary Camera: 8 MPix Videos @1080p/30fps
Price comparison
Average of 19 scores (from 28 reviews)
Reviews for the Nokia G21
With an extra-long update promise, the Nokia G21 aims to stand out from the crowd of low-priced 4G phones. Compared to its predecessor, the Nokia G21 finally gets faster Wi-Fi and a stylish casing. We take a closer look at this under-200 Euro mid-range smartphone in this review.
Source: Expert Reviews
That being said, I don’t think the Nokia G21’s cameras can do enough to outweigh the phone’s long list of negatives. Yes, the design is rather nice and the clean Android installation is always a positive, but the phone’s so-so performance and weak battery life don’t help the Nokia G21 pull away from the competition. Besides, we haven’t mentioned the display. I don’t say this often, but the Nokia G21’s screen is really quite poor, and that alone is enough to stop the phone from earning any sort of recommendation, no matter how cheap it might be. Do yourself a favour and pick up the Moto G31 instead – it might not have a 90Hz display like the Nokia, but it’s an OLED, so your eyes (and sanity) will thank you for it.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 02/17/2023
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Expert Reviews
That being said, I don’t think the Nokia G21’s cameras can do enough to outweigh the phone’s long list of negatives. Yes, the design is rather nice and the clean Android installation is always a positive, but the phone’s so-so performance and weak battery life don’t help the Nokia G21 pull away from the competition. Besides, we haven’t mentioned the display. I don’t say this often, but the Nokia G21’s screen is really quite poor, and that alone is enough to stop the phone from earning any sort of recommendation, no matter how cheap it might be. Do yourself a favour and pick up the Moto G31 instead – it might not have a 90Hz display like the Nokia, but it’s an OLED, so your eyes (and sanity) will thank you for it.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/29/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Mobygyaan
Now that we know about all the important details and specifications of the newly launched Nokia G21, let’s answer the most important question: whether or not you should consider getting the Nokia G21 for yourself? The shortest possible answer is yes, the Nokia G21 offers a stock-android software experience along with smooth performance during the day to day usage. Meanwhile, the 5050mAh battery paired with a relatively capable processor allows more work to be done in between charges. This leads us to say that the Nokia G21 only makes sense as a daily driver if you have a pretty limited budget and are particularly looking for a clean UI experience paired with a large battery and an adequately powerful processor or if you are a brand loyalist. However, if you are ready to increase your budget a bit you can get your hands on some better alternatives like the Moto G52, Redmi Note 11 or Oppo K10.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 06/01/2022
Source: The Indian Express
If your budget is strictly in the Rs 12,000 range, and you want Android without bloatware experience, the Nokia G21 is an option to consider. This is perhaps okay for someone getting their first smartphone. But remember, Motorola also has its G31, now available at a lower starting price of Rs 10,999. This one too has a ‘clean’ Android experience to offer coupled with a better processor. Nokia G21’s other problem is that many of the older Redmi 10, and Realme 8i are retailing in a similar price zone, and offer better processors and specifications.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/23/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: 91mobiles
The Nokia G21 is not the most ideal choice for a budget smartphone as it falls short in terms of performance, cameras, and display quality. However, the device excels in providing a clean software experience, decently good battery life, and a robust build. Users with more processor-intrinsic needs can look to the POCO M3 Pro 5G (review) but brand loyalists can consider the Nokia G21.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/15/2022
Rating: Total score: 70% performance: 60% display: 60% mobility: 70% workmanship: 70%
Source: Trusted Reviews
It’s been said again and again, but only becomes more true with every passing month: the budget smartphone market is enormously competitive. In 2022, it takes more than ever before to remain relevant and stand out – and on balance the Nokia G21 achieves neither. Pairing a weak camera, poor performance and an underwhelming display for the asking price of £149.99 leaves the G21 feeling like a time-traveller from years past. Other than its sturdy build quality, promise of long software updates and great battery life, it has few qualities to its name.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/02/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: The Mobile Indian
Nokia’s budget smartphone portfolio has been slowly expanding in India off late. The latest one the Finnish company added to its G-series family of phones is the Nokia G21. The Nokia G21 price in India starts at Rs 12,999 and looks to be a promising smartphone. But how does that convert to practical usage? Let’s have a look. The Nokia G21 is definitely a good smartphone for its price and offers a very good battery backup. Having said that we feel camera performance could have been slightly better.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/27/2022
Rating: Total score: 73% performance: 80% display: 70% mobility: 85% workmanship: 70%
Source: Think Digit
The Nokia G21 is priced at Rs 12,999 and is available in two colours: Nordic Blue and Dusk with 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage. We have been using the Nokia G21 for more than a week now, testing its real-world performance and seeing how it handles day-to-day tasks. Let’s take a look.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/26/2022
Rating: Total score: 56% price: 55% performance: 48% workmanship: 62%
Source: Techradar
The Nokia G21 is an affordable 4G Android phone, the kind that may make a lot of sense if you want to buy SIM-free, putting an end to the days of paying big mobile bills each month. We’re always game for this kind of Android, but the Nokia G21 isn’t one of the best. The screen is too dull to keep up with rival headsets. It’s something you’ll likely notice every time you use the phone outdoors. Display color is slightly weak, too, although may not prove off-putting if you like a laidback appearance. The Nokia G21 also has an unusual Unisoc processor that means you miss out on 5G. Handling demanding games isn’t this phone’s forte, and in this regard the speaker doesn’t help either; it isn’t loud and it’s rather thin sounding.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/17/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: T3
Delivering a verdict on a phone at this price isn't easy: of course, it's a long way behind the best smartphones on the market, but then it's also a fair margin behind other budget phones that for only a small sum more will deliver much greater results. In terms of its performance and camera quality we might give the Nokia G21 two stars out of five, but as far as value for money goes it's more like a four-star phone. Still, that sums it up as a low-cost letdown overall. That said, if you're not going to ask much from a basic handset – and this Nokia will send messages, take calls, and browse the web happily enough – then the G21 may find a place with some buyers where it fits the bill.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/17/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Tech Advisor
With three-day battery life, a balanced processor, and a big screen, the Nokia G21 feels like a solid smartphone on the budget end – but it won’t excite. A restrictive 720p resolution and a camera that’s got plenty of megapixels but not a lot to show for it, however, render it a competent work phone that you won’t readily be reaching for after the day is done.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/29/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Expert Reviews
That being said, I don’t think the Nokia G21’s cameras can do enough to outweigh the phone’s long list of negatives. Yes, the design is rather nice and the clean Android installation is always a positive, but the phone’s so-so performance and weak battery life don’t help the Nokia G21 pull away from the competition. Besides, we haven’t mentioned the display. I don’t say this often, but the Nokia G21’s screen is really quite poor, and that alone is enough to stop the phone from earning any sort of recommendation, no matter how cheap it might be. Do yourself a favour and pick up the Moto G31 instead – it might not have a 90Hz display like the Nokia, but it’s an OLED, so your eyes (and sanity) will thank you for it.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/28/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: OI Spice Tech News
The Nokia G21 launched in the UK not too long ago, while the expected price of this phone would be around $199 (Rs 14,999 in India) approx. With that said, let’s head toward primary specs. In terms of design and display, the phone looks good and offers a 6.5-inches HD+ IPS LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and 400 nits brightness. On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera and on the back, there is a 50MP main camera setup supported by a 2MP depth and 2MP macro lens. Under the hood, you are getting a 12nm Unisoc T606 entry-level chipset with a great processing power for daily uses. The phone runs on Android 11 OS without any custom UI support. With this, you will get a Li-Po 5050 mAh battery with an 18W fast charging. The Nokia G21 smartphone is available in Nordic Blue and Dusk color shade options.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 02/17/2022
Foreign Reviews
Source: Inside Handy
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/20/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Chip.de
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/26/2022
Rating: Total score: 84% performance: 87% features: 77% display: 84% mobility: 97%
Source: A1 Blog
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/19/2022
Source: Tech Stage
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/09/2022
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Computerbild
DE→ENPositive: Large battery capacity. Negative: Poor cameras; dark display; low performance.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/23/2022
Source: Tudo Celular
PT→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/20/2022
Rating: Total score: 50% price: 50%
Source: Techprincess IT
IT→ENPositive: Excellent autonomy; nice design; great built quality; microSD card slot. Negative: Weak processor.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/14/2022
Source: Computer Totaal
NL→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/02/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: ITHardware.pl
PL→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 06/21/2022
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: MobilArena HU
HU→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 04/25/2022
Rating: price: 60% display: 50% mobility: 90% workmanship: 70%
Source: Viettelstore
VN→ENPositive: Elegant design; big screen; nice display; high performance; great cameras; long battery life.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/16/2022
Source: FPT shop
VN→ENPositive: Large screen; beautiful design; great cameras; powerful processor; long battery life; good price.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/06/2022
Source: FPT shop
VN→ENPositive: Modern design; impressive price; nice display; good cameras.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 04/25/2022
Source: Viettelstore
VN→ENPositive: Stylish design; nice display; impressive autonomy; good price.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 03/10/2022
Source: Mobil.se
SV→ENSingle Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/09/2022
Rating: Total score: 64%
Comment
Model:
The latest to join the Nokia mid-range family is the Nokia G21. As far as its display is concerned, this phone has been equipped with an IPS screen with extended 720p resolution. However, it is worth noting that the slightly more expensive Motorola Moto G31 does stand out with its Full HD AMOLED screen. Still, it is undeniable that the IPS screen in this phone has great brightness levels achieving 484 cd/m² on average. But, the black value is mediocre with the dark tones appearing more grey than black when the screen is very bright. Apart from that, the screen in the Nokia G21 comes in with the touchscreen with a sampling rate of up to 180 Hz and a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz makes daily operation pleasantly smooth. In addition, a fingerprint sensor, which is installed in the standby button, can be found on the right side of the casing. The fingerprint recognition is rather reliable and the smartphone can be unlocked after a short delay. On the other hand, the face recognition feature can also be used.
In terms of its processor, this model has been incorporated with the Unisoc Tiger T606. While it is no longer the latest SoC out there, it can still keep up very well with the competition. The system can easily cater for daily usage without stutters. However, the Nokia G21 is in the midfield of comparison devices in terms of its graphics performance though. As for its casing, this model seems to have thinner casing than its predecessor, the Nokia G20. However, the camera module seems to protrude from the casing. While the design has become a bit more angular as compared to the G20, the polycarbonate chassis still sports a stylish design. In addition, a light line pattern runs across the back, which is available in dark Nordic Blue or Dusk colour variants. Overall, the smartphone has been sturdily built and cleanly manufactured.
In terms of its camera, the Nokia G21 carries a 50 MP high-resolution main camera. However, it is worth mentioning that the device usually only takes photos with a resolution of 12 MP. The phone uses pixel binning to create larger pixels with more light sensitivity although the camera can also be used at full resolution if desired. While there is no wide-angle lens, there is a 2 MP macro camera and another camera with the same resolution which supports bokeh effects. While the pictures from the main camera tend to become blurry when it is slightly enlarged, the 50-megapixel camera does a decent job overall for its price. In a nutshell, this is a great mid-range phone to be explored, depending on the need and preference of the user.
ARM Mali-G57 MP1: Integrated mid range graphics card with 1 clusters. Based on the Valhall architecture.
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
T7200 (T606): An entry level octa core SoC with two fast ARM Cortex A75 cores at up to 1.6 GHz and six power efficient ARM Cortex A55 cores at up to 1.6 GHz. The SoC further includes an LTE modem (TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE, TDSCDMA, WCDMA, CDMA, GSM), an ARM Mali G52MP2 GPU and a tri core ISP. The chip is manufactured by TSMC on a 12nm FinFET process.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
6.50":
It is a small display format for smartphones. You shouldn't be severely defective in vision, and you won't see much detail on the screen and only have a small resolution available. For that, the device should be small and handy, easy to transport.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Nokia: Nokia is a Finnish company founded in 1865 and headquartered in Finland. The company is known for its telecommunications equipment and cell phones. Nokia was one of the leading manufacturers of cell phones in the 1990s and has expanded its business into networking and technology solutions in recent years.
In 2011, Nokia partnered with Microsoft on Windows-based cell phones and sold the entire cell phone division to Microsoft in 2014, which limited the Nokia brand name to basic cell phones. In 2016, Finnish electronics manufacturer HMD Global entered into a licensing agreement with Nokia, bought the remaining Nokia name rights from Microsoft Mobile, and since 2017 has exclusively offered Nokia cell phones worldwide, which are based on Android, among other things, and are produced by Foxconn.
63.97%: Such a poor rating is rare. There are only a few notebooks that were rated even worse. The rating websites do not give a purchase recommendation here.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
