Nokia C32 is the latest C-series smartphone from Nokia to arrive in India at a price of Rs 8,999 for the 4GB + 64GB model and Rs 9,499 for the 4GB + 128GB version. While the pricing is attractive, can the Nokia C32 justify it and be the ultimate recommendation in its price segment? Let’s try to find out.
Nokia C32: Design & Display
The Nokia C32 comes with a toughened glass back panel and an inner metal chassis for a premium in-hand feel and protection against drops. Not only that, but the phone is also IP52 rated for dust and water resistance. We would say that the smartphone is actually well-built for its price and is definitely on the premium side.
The beach pink colour we got is definitely an eye grabber. Even though it has a glossy finish, the back panel of the Nokia C32 doesn’t attract fingerprints and gives off a nice reflective look when light falls on it. Overall, the design is worth the price and is on par with the competition while also being better than some.
As for the display panel, it has a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a 1600 x 720 pixels resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. It’s bright enough indoors but lacks when you take it under direct sunlight. While it’s also not the sharpest panel, it can reproduce decent colours. However, the competition, including Realme Narzo N53, offers a better panel in almost every aspect, including a higher Full-HD+ resolution, 180Hz touch sampling rate and a refresh rate of 90Hz.
Nokia C32: Performance & Software
The smartphone is powered by a Unisoc SC9863A1 Processor paired with up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage, which is further expandable up to 256 GB. We got the top-end model of the Nokia C32, and as expected, the device struggled a lot, even with day-to-day tasks.
The animations throughout the system were choppy, and the App opening times were considerably high. Even though it is stock Android, some amount of bloatware is present, which can fortunately be uninstalled. On the other hand, we feel the Narzo N53 is once again a better pick, not only because it gets a slightly more capable chipset, but it also has a 90Hz panel which should further help with the smoothness of the experience.
Connectivity performance remained optimum while the fingerprint on the side also worked without any issues. However, the speaker on the bottom is barely usable while playing music, as most of the sound is muffled.
Nokia C32: Battery backup
The smartphone packs a 5,000mAh battery with 10W charging. As Nokia claims, the smartphone can last up to 3 days on a single charge. While we cannot back the claim, we can say that it can easily get you through Day 1 and halfway into Day 2, sometimes even more, with light usage.
With this device, most of your tasks would be less demanding, considering the smartphone can only handle that much. Charging the smartphone easily takes more than an hour. Further, if we compare the Nokia C32 with Narzo N53 in the battery department, the latter proves to be a better option with the same battery capacity but faster 33W charging.
Nokia C32: Cameras
The Nokia C32 has a 50MP primary camera sensor, a 2MP macro sensor at the rear, and an 8MP front camera. First, there’s a decent amount of shutter lag in the camera app, so you will have to keep your hand stable for a second or two after clicking the photo.
The snaps from the primary camera look decent at best, even in outdoor conditions with plenty of light. The detailing in the photo is fine, while the colours are also natural. The dynamic range is decent but could have been better.
Photos under low lighting have some noise, while colours are good. Shots under artificial lighting have impressive colours, but the shutter lag ruins the photo, and most of the time my photos come out blurry. However, the bokeh effect is picked up well in portraits and regular shots.
Selfies from the front sensor handle skin tones fine, but the HDR is overdone at times. Detailing and sharpness could also have been much better. Portraits have poor Dynamic range, thanks to which bright backgrounds are blown out. However, EDGE detection is well handled.
