Nokia G10 Review: Looks Good But Could Have Been Better

Nokia G10 Review: The Nokia G10 is part of Nokia’s new G-series. The company unveiled this new series back in April and the first devices to be introduced were the G10 and G20.

The G series according to the company promises three days of battery life on paper and two years of OS updates. 

We managed to get our hands on the Nokia G1O that we have been using for the better part of last month. If you’re looking to buy one then you can get it from mobile retail stores, as well as Safaricom shops. It comes in Night and Dusk shades and in 4GB RAM/128 GB configuration starting at Ksh 14,990.  

At that price you can tell that this is an entry-level device featuring a pretty good display, good battery and of course the multi-year OS upgrades, but should you really buy it? This article should help you make that decision.

Design and Build Quality – Nokia Got it Right

Last month, I posted a tweet saying how I have seen so many reviewers trashing the Nokia G10 build quality, well, I had a different opinion.  The phone has a plastic build similar to what we have seen in nearly all budget smartphones. The Nokia G10 however feels solid and the back has this textured, matte finish that gives the phone a nice grippy look and texture.  

The display is a 6.52-inch IPS LCD with a teardrop notch for the selfie camera dominating the front of the phone. The bezels are also quite minimal apart from the bottom where there is a small Nokia logo. The display comes with a low 1,600-by-720-pixel (269ppi pixel density) resolution, and just like we have seen on all other Nokia devices, the colour display is just fine. The screen is however not bright enough to use in direct sunlight. 

At the back top, there’s the circular camera module and prominent Nokia logo etched at the center of the back panel. 

At the top edge we have the headphone jack, while the USB-C charging port and the speaker grille are at the bottom. 

On the left side, there’s a Google Assistant button and a dual SIM/microSD slot. The power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor is on the right side, along with a volume rocker. 

Specs, performance, and battery life – We are torn

The Nokia G10 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G25 processor. It comes with 4GB of RAM. The Nokia G10 runs Android 11 and as part of the new G-series of smartphones, HMD Global says the phone unlocks the potential of pure Android™ 11 and guarantees monthly security updates for three years and two letter OS upgrades. 

When it comes to performance, the phone performed everything just fine. We however experienced some sluggishness when navigating between apps and even loading content in the apps. It was even worse when it came to videos or pages that included heavy files videos. The phone was also a bit slow when reacting to touch.  

The MediaTek Helio G25 is a powerful chipset so I am not sure why I was still experiencing this sluggishness. That said, the phone comes with a Mali-G52 video card, which offers a realistic visual experience, there is nothing to really complain about here. 

The UI on the Nokia G10 is clean just like you would expect in any Nokia phone. 

The battery life is where the Nokia G10 takes the crown. On a single charge,  the 5050mAh battery and USB Type-C charge will keep you powering through.  Nokia says the G10 is a three-day battery powerhouse and well, if you don’t use the phone too much you can actually last those three days, it does a decent job. 

I also need to mention that we are getting a night mode on the Nokia G10.

Cameras

When it comes to the cameras, the Nokia G10 on the rear packs a triple camera setup consisting of a 13-megapixel primary camera; a 2-megapixel camera, and a 2-megapixel camera. There’s a single front camera setup for selfies, featuring an 8-megapixel sensor. 

We are also getting some camera shooting modes including portrait, night among others. 

For a phone at that price point, the Nokia G10 takes some pretty good photos. We also have a night mode. 

Outdoor shots are pretty decent and we were able to get some rather clear and vibrant pictures. Colors remained true to life. Check some sample shots below. 

Portrait shots came out really nicely— not what we expected for a phone at that price.

Is the Nokia G10 a good buy?

Just like any phone at this price point, you will be getting what you’re paying for. The Nokia G10 does a good job at the basics.  If you’re the kind of person who is more focused on a device that does these basics, features a good battery, and can get you online, on social media, and take photos on occasion,  the G10 is a good fit. 

I however feel the competition offers better. The slow performance is a little bit frustrating especially if you’re someone who’s always using their phone all the time like me.

As I mentioned earlier, the Nokia G10 is now available in mobile retail stores, Safaricom shops and comes in Night and Dusk shades and comes in 4GB RAM/128 GB configuration starting at Ksh.  14,990.   

Nokia G10 Specs

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