HMD Global has today announced the launch of its latest budget-centric smartphone, the Nokia 4.2, in India. The smartphone comes with a price tag of Rs 10,999 and it will be available for purchase from Nokia’s official website along with other platforms.
With this, HMD Global is once again offering pure Android experience as the phone comes loaded Android One programme. The company has introduced a compact smartphone that bears a premium design. The phone is all set to enter a heavily competitive market and it faces stiff competition from the likes of Xiaomi, Realme, Asus and more. So, can it survive the heat? Let’s find out.
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Design and Display
HMD Global has made its reputation of building some solid-looking Nokia smartphones in the past and this one is no exception. The phone comes loaded with a glass design infused with a polycarbonate body. This makes it slightly different from the competition, which is going with polycarbonate panel disguised as glass. What we liked about the phone was its sheer compactness. The phone is just 71.30mm tall, though it is a bit thick with 8.39 thickness. That said, the phone does feel quite premium when you hold it in your hand and the compact size makes it easier to reach the corners of the display without much trouble.
Giving some info on ports placements, the right side of the phone is equipped with volume controls and power on/off button that comes with a white outline, thus, making it easier to distinguish between the buttons.
The left side is equipped with a dedicated Google Assistant button along with a SIM tray that houses two SIMs and a dedicated microSD card slot. The front of the phone is loaded with a 3.5mm Audio Jack along with a microphone, while the base is equipped with a micro USB port along with a speaker grille. The back features a dual-camera setup aligned vertically and just beneath it, you will find the fingerprint sensor. You can check the pictures of the latest Nokia 4.2 here.
That said, it is surely one of the beautifully-designed smartphones from Nokia at this price brand, however, it does come with its fair share of misses as well. First of all, the phone is a tad slippery in nature, meaning that if you keep it at a slight slanted slope, it will slide. The back panel is a fingerprint magnet, so a protective case is necessary, which does not come bundled in the retail box.
Coming to the display, the Nokia 4.2 is equipped with a 5.71-inch HD+ display with a screen Resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels. The display delivers some good results as the viewing angles are quite decent and the colour reproduction is to the point. However, we felt that the display is quite reflective in nature, which makes it a difficult job to see in direct sunlight.
Hardware and Software
On the hardware front, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 Processor along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The phone comes loaded with a fingerprint sensor and a face unlock feature. Although it is too early to comment on the performance of the device, the Chipset surely looks like an underdog when compared to its competition. We have Xiaomi Redmi Y3 that is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 chipset, while Realme 3 is loaded with a MediaTek Helio P70 processor.
On the software front, the phone has an EDGE over its competition. The phone is loaded with Android 9.0 Pie. However, what makes it ahead of its competition is the Android One programme. This means users will get pure Android experience, which is present in Pixel lineup. This also means that the phone will get timely updates and high chances of major Android OS update. That said, the user interface is quite smooth and free from bloatware. We will talk more about it in our upcoming review.
Camera
On the camera front, the Nokia 4.2 is equipped with a dual-camera setup, which comes with a combination of 13-megapixel primary lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For the front, it is loaded with an 8-megapixel shooter for selfies and video calling. Starting with the camera, it comes with a simple interface with limited modes including Video, Photo, Pro, Bokeh, Square, Time-lapse, Google Lens and Panorama. Sadly, it does not come with Bothie mode.
Talking about the camera performance, we clicked a few shots in low light and broad daylight. In our testing, we noticed that the phone was a bit slow in processing the images, which is quite odd. The shots came out to be just fine in our testing and we liked the fact that you can choose the bokeh effect according to your own. We will talk more about this in our review. Meanwhile, you can check the camera samples of the Nokia 4.2 here.
Battery and Connectivity
On the battery, the phone is loaded with a 3,000mAh battery with no support of fast charging. Considering the less power hungry processor along with lesser display resolution, one should ideally get a day of battery backup, though the actual battery test is yet to be tested out. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, GLONASS, FM Radio,NFC, Google Assistant button and micro USB port.