Value and compelling camera tech has always been part and partial of a Nokia smartphone purchase and this does not change with the X20, which is a big phablet that packs great battery life and photo capturing abilities for a decent price. It measures in at a lofty 168.94 x 79.7 x 9.1 mm, making it quite a handful even for front-row rugby players while tipping the smartphone scales at 220 g.
The first big benefit of this phablet-sized phone is the tablet-esque display that measures 6.67″ and is a FHD+ (1080×2400) screen offering lots of detail and good colours. Moreover, the brightness offered might come in at a typical 450 nits, but it does sport a party trick in its Sunlight brightness boost which makes the display quite visible outdoors in direct sunlight.
The other big benefit of a big phone is the large 4470 mAh battery that offers a theoretical two-day battery life for casual smartphone users and around a day and a half for power users, while also boasting a subtly 18W fast charging capability.
Our review unit was wrapped in a fetching classic Nordic Blue colour and the retail box came with an unusual but eco-friendly 100% compostable case that also makes for a nice change over the usual transparent cheap-feeling ones you get on some other Android OEMs.
Also worth a highlight is the fact that Nokia includes monthly security updates for three years with the Nokia X20 along with three Android OS updates. We can attest that it is also one of the fastest OEMs working with Google to update their devices since our review unit came with Android 11 but got upgraded to Android 12 around a week and a half before this same update arrived on our long-term Xiaomi Note 10 Pro.
Powering the device is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 5G Mobile Platform, meaning you get a future-proof device capable of 5G connectivity when it arrives within more areas and you opt for a 5G-enabled SIM that is.
Suitably capable snapper
In terms of optics, you get a versatile 64MP quad camera setup (64 MP Main + 5 MP Ultrawide + 2 MP Depth + 2 MP Macro) with that renowned and familiar to Windows Phone powered Nokia users – ZEISS Optics – as well as new Dual Sight multi-cam mode to shoot using the front and rear cameras simultaneously (ala director’s view on top-end Samsung smart mobile devices) that bloggers and vloggers really dig.
Selfie lovers and addicts will also love the impressive 32MP front-facing camera on a crisp Full HD+ punch-hole display. A host of colour grading tools, AI, depth-based imaging technology and watermarking assists in bringing pictures to life. Below is a selection of shots from the cameras of the Nokia X20.
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- Selfie time
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- SMETechGuru power couple
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- Stereotypal foody shot
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- SMETechGuru #NextGen
Also onboard for the R7,999 recommended retail pricetag is 128 GB worth of internal storage that is expandable via the MicroSD card slot that supports cards up to a monstrous 512 GB in size (for those who can afford it) plus 8 GB worth of RAM that supports the CPU in keeping things smooth and snappy within Android 12.
So ultimately value for your bucks, longer term software support, enhanced photo and video capturing capabilities, good battery life, and a big enough screen to watch Netflix/DStv Now/Showmax/Amazon Prime Video series or YouTube movies on is all part & partial of that approachable R8k pricetag. Well worth it in our opinion!
