Nokia should be commended for its approach to repairability with cheap replacement parts, easy-to-remove components and a partnership with iFixit for guides, and it’s something I’d like to see on more smartphones.
The Nokia G22 may look like a standard budget smartphone, but it has a trick up its sleeve – it’s easy to repair.
With its latest G-series phone, Nokia has focused on repairability, making it easier than ever for consumers to replace the battery, screen and USB port – the three components that tend to break on smartphones – requiring only basic tools and cheap spare parts. from the renowned iFixIt brand.
Repairability aside, the Nokia G22 looks like a decent budget option with a large battery and 50MP snapper for just £149.99. I spent some time with the Nokia G22 at a pre-launch briefing and here’s what I think so far.
Design and screen
- Mostly made of plastic
- Easily fixable
- The HD+ display is fine, if not a bit dim
The Nokia G22 is a budget-oriented smartphone and this is largely reflected in the overall design. It’s made mostly of plastic, including the frame that sits between the display and the back, though it feels surprisingly sturdy. The use of plastic also means it’s quite light in the hand.
That said, it has great build quality with little features like a slightly curved back that helps the phone sit more comfortably in the hand and a display that disappears into the bezel rather than having a sharp edge like some budget options.
Nokia also claims that it is quite durable with the ability to survive more than 100 drops before it stops working completely.
But that doesn’t really matter. Unlike virtually every other phone on the market, it is designed to be easy to repair and further extend the life of the phone.
Nokia claims you can replace the battery with just a SIM eject tool, a guitar pick and an 00 screwdriver in less than five minutes – and this was demonstrated when a Nokia representative gave a media presentation at the same time. In fact, he did it in 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
It looks really simple, there are no adhesive parts to stick, and the company has partnered with iFixIt to provide replacement parts, tools, and step-by-step instructions.
It’s not just about the battery; you can also replace the display and USB-C charging port with very little effort. Spare parts are also cheap, with a battery for £22.99, a charging port for £18.99 and a display for £44.99.
That display, by the way, is a 6.5-inch panel with HD+ resolution. This might sound disappointing on paper, but in real life, text is still relatively sharp and fairly bright, although colors seem a bit washed out. After all, it’s a budget smartphone, so something has to be sacrificed.
At least the 90Hz refresh rate makes things a little smoother in use, which is helpful since it’s not exactly fast. A little more on that in a moment.
Cameras
- Main rear camera 50MP
- The 2MP macro lens doesn’t offer much
- Camera AI developed by Nokia
At under £200, you shouldn’t expect flagship-level camera performance from the Nokia G22 – although it’s still not as bad as its budget Android competition.
The rear camera lineup consists of a 50MP main sensor along with a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. While it’s technically a dual-camera offering, the 2MP macro lens is probably just there to bump up the numbers a bit and make it seem like a more enticing option. The test shots I took during the hands-on tutorial with the macro lens were uninspiring and quite soft, confirming my suspicions.
The main 50MP sensor has some promise, with Nokia claiming it uses the AI algorithm that powers the more capable Nokia X30. This includes Nokia’s custom-developed night mode, which it claims is much better than the budget competition, although it’s not something I could test in a bright boardroom.
That said, it takes a fairly decent photo in well-lit environments with a decent amount of detail, although focus can be a bit unfortunate at times.
Flip the phone over and you’ll find a single 8MP selfie camera, which should be enough for WhatsApp video calls and the occasional selfie, but that’s about it.
Performance
- Unisoc T606 is not that fast
- Android 12 with 2 OS updates planned
- Three-day battery life
With the relatively unknown Unisoc T606 chipset at the heart of the Nokia G22, it’s safe to say it’s not a processor – although with such a low price and focus on repairability, that’s not too much of a surprise.
This is paired with 4GB of RAM, and the phone is able to take an additional 2GB of RAM from ROM storage to boost performance when needed, such as when taking photos or trying to play a simple game, although that’s not something I’d want. I really recommend it with the G22. It’s a useful feature, especially at the budget end of the market where RAM is traditionally rather limited.
In my short time with the phone, I found the Nokia G22 to be perfectly usable for browsing the web through Chrome, browsing Instagram, and sending texts, but don’t expect it to run anything particularly demanding without lag or stuttering. I’ve already noticed the occasional slowdown, even for fairly basic things like accessing the multitasking menu.
The G22 comes with Android 12, which is a bit of a surprise considering the cheaper Nokia C22 and Nokia C32 come with Android 13 Go and Android 13 respectively.
I asked about this, and a Nokia representative explained that it was simply because the phone had been in development for quite some time – until improved repairability – although I was assured that it would be one of the last Android 12 devices from Nokia to hit . market.
At some point, it will get the Android 13 update, with two OS upgrades and three years of security patches that Nokia has promised, but it’s not known when that might happen.
Still, even with Android 12, the smartphone delivers a near-stock experience that truly rivals the likes of Google and Motorola, with a clean OS free of bloatware and unnecessary features.
According to Nokia, the phone should last up to three days, and it should hold this maximum capacity longer than many rivals. It also claims to last up to 800 cycles at peak efficiency compared to 500 cycles for most of the competition. Although with a 20W charging speed, it will probably take a while to get from flat to full.