Nokia G22 is a smartphone from the lowest price range – it offers the user 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of space for files. Such a large capacity is rarely found at a price below a thousand zlotys and this is what distinguishes this model. However, it is not the specification that is the most important feature of the new Nokia. The manufacturer places great emphasis on environmental protection. The plastics in the G22 are 100% recycled. The most interesting, however, is establishing cooperation with iFixit, which provides tools for self-repair of the phone. Nokia G22 is the first smartphone of the manufacturer, for which you can also order spare parts on the iFixit website: back cover, battery, USB port and screen. Parts prices range from €19.95 for the charging socket to €49.95 for the display. There are also instructions on the iFixit website how to do the repair yourself. Unfortunately, they are only available in English. According to the manufacturer’s assurances, if we use original parts and tools, self-repair will not void the warranty and will be considered authorized. This is to extend the life of the device and thus reduce the negative impact on the environment. Still, the question remains, is the phone good enough to buy?
Production quality
The Nokia G22 has carefully matched components, looks good and fits comfortably in the hand. The housing is made entirely of plastic, which is a common standard in this price range. My main reservation concerns the shiny back of the housing, which emphasizes lint, scratches and traces of touch. If the housing had a rough structure, it would be more practical and more suited to the idea of long-term use.
On the side of the housing, on the power button, Nokia placed a fast fingerprint reader. On the bottom edge we find a mono speaker, with satisfactory sound and volume. There was also a headphone jack.
I’m just wondering if the manufacturer couldn’t give users the option to replace the battery without tools? I really appreciate the possibility of replacing the screen and charging socket on my own, but a replaceable battery used to be a standard that could be returned to in devices focused on many years of use. The need to use tools in this case is a significant impediment.
display
The Nokia phone has a 6.52-inch screen made in IPS technology with a resolution of HD+ 1600 x 720 pixels, supporting a refresh rate of 90 Hz. This is not a bad display on a phone for less than a thousand zlotys. When we look at it from an angle, the brightness drops noticeably, it also does not have a high maximum brightness, but it is enough for everyday use. The frames are a bit too wide. However, you can get over it.
The problem arises when we compare it with the competition. In our previous test, Redmi Note 12 showed what a lower priced phone can do. In Redmi we have a much brighter AMOLED screen with a larger diagonal and a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which outclasses the Nokia G22 screen in every respect. There will be more such comparisons in this test and almost all of them will be to Nokia’s disadvantage.
Specification and system
Nokia is equipped with the Unisoc T606 octa-core processor. The processor is supported by 4 GB of RAM. The user has up to 128 GB of memory for the system and files. This is the main advantage of Nokia over the competition. The aforementioned Redmi Note 12 version has half as much memory for files. The memory can be expanded with a micro SD card, but then we deprive ourselves of the possibility of using dual SIM, and in Redmi the card slot is independent of two SIM cards.
Unfortunately, the performance of the Unisoc T606 processor is poor. In the Antutu benchmark, the Nokia G22 scored less than 200,000 points. This is the lowest figure we’ve seen in a long time. Costing the same Redmi Note 12 with over 321,000 points is almost 40% more efficient than Nokia. Low efficiency can also be noticed in everyday use. Unsmooth system animations accompany the user almost constantly. After the next system update, it will probably turn out that the phone is simply too slow to use it. In my opinion, such a risk is very real.
The communication package does not stand out from the competition and includes LTE, WiFi ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. There is also an FM radio. However, the sensor package lacked a gyroscope. It is not even simulated by the accelerometer and as a result looking around by tilting the phone in 360/VR video does not work at all. Here again Redmi Note 12 did not have this limitation.
Location is possible with support for GPS, GLONASS, BDS and Galileo.
Unfortunately, the system is also not the latest – it’s Android 12. It’s a pity, because here the phone from Xiaomi turned out to be better and already has Android 13 on board at the start. It’s good that the security is up to date – from March this year. Nokia boasts that it provides two years of Android updates and 3 years of security updates. Today it is no longer impressive and even Samsung, once resistant to updates, offers four new versions of Android and 5 years of support updates. Even if it does not apply to the cheapest models, in my opinion this is no longer an aspect that should be bragged about and certainly does not distinguish Nokia from the competition.
Camera set
Nokia G22 has three lenses on the back of the housing, but only one of them is useful on a daily basis. The other two are 2 megapixels each and are added for marketing purposes. One of them is a macro camera, the other is used to detect the depth of the scene. There was no wide-angle camera that we find on Redmi Note 12. The specification of the cameras is as follows:
- 50 MP, f/1.8, PDAF
- 2 MP – macro
- 2 MP – scene depth detection
- 8 MP, f/2.0 – aparat do selfie
In good lighting, the quality of photos from the Nokia G22 is at a good level in terms of color and detail. In more contrasting scenes, the tonal range is too small. There is no information on the manufacturer’s website whether the main camera is equipped with a phase detection focusing mechanism, but guessing from the effects, the AF is based only on contrast detection. G22 is the first smartphone in a very long time that had problems with focusing even in the most favorable conditions. Focusing takes a long time and is not always successful. In the gallery of photos taken with this phone, there were several pieces of completely out of focus, ordinary, stationary views. This is not a common problem, but the competition has not been present for years.
The night mode looks really bad, the photos are devoid of contrast, they look like they were taken through fog or with a dirty lens.
The 1080p video quality is very basic with little detail and no stabilization.
Sample pictures:
Battery
The Nokia G22 has a capacious 5050 mAh battery and supports the basic PD 3.0 20W charging standard. However, there is no charger in the box.
I also noticed that the phone discharged faster than competitors with a similar battery capacity during the YouTube video streaming test with the screen brightness set to half. While both Redmi Note 12 series models had 50% battery after more than 12 hours of use, Nokia only had 28% battery left. As a result, instead of 24 hours of playback, we can expect closer to 17 hours. This is still enough to maintain comfort, but it is below the expectations and capabilities of the competition. Apparently, the Unisoc T606 processor is less efficient at saving energy.
Conclusion
I like the courage with which Nokia goes towards environmental protection. I think the partnership with iFixit is an interesting move. The set of supplied tools is complete and of high quality. Being able to repair the screen and USB socket yourself is a great thing. The repair manuals on the iFixit website are of the highest quality. I hope other manufacturers will follow this path as well.
Unfortunately, I can’t say as many positive things about the phone itself. It resembles phones from the lowest shelf from a few years ago and is worse than the competition in almost every respect – from the screen, through performance and camera, to battery life. The only strong feature of the Nokia G22 , apart from the environmental aspects, is the large storage capacity for files. This is the only parameter that is better in Nokia than in Redmi Note 12 . You can get the impression that both phones differ in price by several hundred zlotys, but the recently tested Redmi in the promotion costs exactly as much as the Nokia G22.
