Nokia has officially introduced the G21, a replacement for the G20 that brings some improvements over the previous generation, but not much beyond that. The main improvement is the option to opt for some 90 Hz refresh. However, the appropriate choice is to allow the phone to select the refresh rate dynamically in order to enable its great promise – work for up to 3 days without charging using its 5,050 mAh battery. This is a promise that HMD Global also made at the G20.
There are a few more improvements around the battery. It now supports charging with a maximum power of 18 watts instead of 10 watts, although the charger in the box is suitable for the old charging version and this means another suggestion for those who want to take advantage of the faster charging. In addition, although it has the same working volume as the previous phone, the G21 offers a thickness of 8.5 mm instead of 9.2 mm of its predecessor. And there is one more change: two battery saving modes, one that goes into action – if approved – when it reaches the 20% level, and a more aggressive second that goes into action at the 10% level.
Beyond that it is again a phone call to the entry market. Its 6.5-inch LCD screen offers only HD + resolution, and the processor – although it offers much improvement over the previous generation Helio G35 – is still a relatively weak processor: the Unisoc T606, which is produced in 12-nanometer lithography and offers Two Cortex-A75 cores and six Cortex-A55 cores. It does not include a 5G modem, but only 4G, and next to it has 4/64 GB of memory.
The photography set-up was not really improved, and in some respects even worsened. The sensor of the main camera has been enlarged from 48 to 50 megapixels, but this time there is no super-wide camera, and there are only two 2-megapixel cameras, one for macro and one for setting a field of view.
The phone comes with Android 11, which is ready for Android 12, and will sell for 169 euros.