Nokia 6.2 review: Quick Specs
Here are the key specifications of our review unit:
Body: Polymer composite and glass with Gorilla Glass 3 protection front and back;Screen: 6.3-inch, 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 aspect ratio, HDR10, PureDisplay, waterdrop notch, IPS LCD screen, with Gorilla Glass 3 protection.Rear Camera: triple camera – 16MP f/1.8 + 5MP depth sensor + 8MP f/2.0, auto-focus lens; LED flash; 2160p video recording,Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0 aperture, 1080p video recordingChipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, octa-core CPU clocked at 2.2 GHz, Adreno 508 GPUMemory: 4GB RAM / 64 GB storage, plus dedicated microSD slot for up to 512GB expansionOS: Pure Android 9 Pie (Android 10 ready);Battery: non-removable 3,500mAh with 10W fast charging.Connectivity: Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS/BDS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, FM radio, microUSB 2.0 Type-CColors: Ceramic Black.Misc: Reverse charging.
Nokia 6.2 review: Quick Pros And Cons
Before we dive into the review proper, let’s have a look at the pros and cons of this device.
The design of the Nokia 6.2 is elegantGreat displayPure, bloat-free Android softwareGuaranteed software updates for 2 years and monthly security updates for 3 yearsThe phone is slippery and a fingerprint magnet.10W fast charging is a downgrade from 18W fast charging in its predecessor, Nokia 6.1.
Nokia 6.2 review: In the box
the Nokia 6.2 phone itself (our review unit is the 4GB/64GB model in Ceramic Black)getting started, and product and safety info pamphlets.SIM ejector pin3.5mm audio headset.USB Type-C cable.10W fast wall charger.
Nokia 6.2 review: Hardware And Design
There is glass everywhere. The Nokia 6.2 has Gorilla Glass 3 covering both the front and back sides of the phone. All of that glass makes it a slippery phone. The slippery nature apart, this is a beautiful, tastefully designed phone. HMD Global says the frame is made from a composite polymer that is twice as strong as polycarbonate and half as heavy as aluminium. In hand, it is a very light phone indeed. The summary of the Nokia 6.2’s design is that it feels and looks like it costs twice its ₦72,000 price tag. On the left edge is a hardware button for launching Google Assistant. On the right, you will find the volume up and down buttons, as well as the power button. The top edge houses the 3.5mm audio jack, while the bottom edge houses the USB-C port, speaker grills and microphone hole.
Nokia 6.2 review: Software
Software-wise, Nokia 6.2 runs stock Android 9 Pie. Nokia has carved a place for itself as the brand that is dedicated to stock Android and the Android One project. But beyond that, they are also committed to guarantted software updates for 2 years. Security updates will be pushed to the Nokia 6.2 for 3 years. HMD Global says that the Nokia 6.2 will get Android 10 before December 2019 rolls away. As at the time of this Nokia 6.2 review, our unit had the September 2019 security patch. There are no bloatware pre-installed on the Nokia 6.2, so you get to intall only the apps you need or want. The default apps are mostly Google apps. Unlike with most other Android smartphone brands, there are no duplicated apps and services on the Nokia 6.2.
Nokia 6.2 review: Network And Telephony
This is a dual-SIM, dual 4G LTE device. It supports Glo’s 700MHz band and putting in a Glo SIM quickly confirmed that Glo 4G works fine on the Nokia 6.2. Of course, it works with the LTE networks of the other 3 major mobile operators. Telephone call quality is very good and clear. We experienced no issues in this regard.
Nokia 6.2 review: Display And Multimedia
The 6.3″ FHD+ resolution IPS LCD display of the Nokia 6.2 is one of the finest in its class. It is based on Nokia’s new PureDisplay technology and is even more impressive than the display of some more expensive, competing smartphones. The support for HDR10 makes it one of the few phones in this price range to offer that feature that makes watching HDR video content a delight. I did a comparison with a few other competing phones and found that Nokia’s claim that it outperforms some OLED displays in some ways is not just marketing. It actually delivers great tones and much deeper blacks than most IPS LCDs do. In addition, the Nokia 6.2’s PureDisplay screen upscales SDR video content to HDR in real time, so you get to experience HDR quality videos even if the original content is not in HDR. You can turn it off in the phone settings, should you have no need for it.
Nokia 6.2 review: Photography
It is time to examine how good the Nokia 6.2’s cameras are. The selfie camera is an 8MP snapper, while the main camera has a 16MP main sensor + 5MP depth sensor + 8MP wide angle, triple lenses combination. It lacks the Zeiss optics of its identical sibling, Nokia 7.2. How well do both cameras perform? PS: feel free to click on the sample photos to have a look at a larger, higher resolution image. 8MP Selfie Camera: Colour reproduction of the selfie camera is very good. As with most selfie cameras, you will notice a little smoothening, but it isn’t excessive. Photos from the selfie camera are nowhere near as good as those from the main camera, and it is a general trend with smartphones. As I keep saying, if you want the best quality selfies, use your phone’s main camera instead. Look at the collage above. The photo on the left was taken with the Nokia 6.2. You can see good details, and the colour reproduction is very accurate (I can tell because I took both selfies). Also, there are no blown highlights. Looking at the selfie on the right (taken with another phone), you can see the bright/white-out sections where the sky should be visible. These are called blown highlights (also called overblown highlights). Rear Triple Camera: Here are sample photos taken with the rear triple camera. What do you think of the Nokia 6.2’s cameras?
Nokia 6.2 review: Multitasking And Performance
Performance is smooth. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset is tried, tested and dependable. Yes; it is dated, but it gets the job done so well the problem with it exists only in techies’ heads. App launching and switching is smooth with the 4GB of RAM. If interested in benchmark scores, here are some:
Geekbench 5.0: 278 Single-core score; 1185 multi-core score.AnTuTu: 124,630.
There is 64GB internal memory in this unit. Should you need more space for your files, you can throw in a microSD card of up to 512GB capacity. One issue with performance that irks a bit is with the fingerprint scanner. Sometimes, I had to try a couple of times before the fingerprint scanner would unlock the phone. Eventually, I restarted the phone and the issue stopped. But even after that, unlocking the phone with a fingerprint is still not as snappy as I have experienced with many other phones. Occassionally, ending a phone call is problematic, as the screen will not wake up fast enough even after applying a finger to the scanner or pressing the power button. I wonder if this is something a software update can fix.
Nokia 6.2 review: Battery life
The combination of USB-OTG and reverse charging allows you to use the Nokia 6.2 as a power bank to charge a USB accessory or other phone. I tried charging another phone with it and that worked too. Nice. Now, if only that 3500mAh battery were 5000. But the battery does a good job of keeping the lights on for long periods. If you are not a heavy user, you will go through a working day without running out of juice. Everyone else, myself included, will need to top up at least once during the day. I have two active email accounts, 3 instant messaging apps, 4 social networking accounts, some web browsing and a few phone calls to tend to daily, on two active 4G lines. Charging is via 10W standard. It is faster than regular charging, but I still long for 18W. The Nokia 6.1 has 18W.
Nokia 6.2 review: Final Words
Nokia 6.2 is a solid smartphone with good performance. It has everything covered and does not have any major failings. This is one of those phones that are good all-round performers. It offers nothing spectacular and you won’t get frustrated with it in any way. It is one of those dependable mid-rangers that everyone wants. This is a phone that I recommend if it is within your budget. Thank you for reading our Nokia 6.2 review. Do stick around for more useful and exciting content.
Don’t miss our reviews.Join our WhatsApp Group, to be notified of the most important articles and deals,Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
