Nokia X20 review: the allure of guaranteed updates
Guaranteed software updates for three years are a good argument for getting the Nokia X20. Here’s what else you can expect from this large, mid-range smartphone.
Nokia has changed the naming system for its smartphones (article in German). While the X20 is only a mid-range device, it’s the best-equipped model among the new spring launches. It’s not a direct successor to the over one-year-old Nokia 8.3, despite the visual similarity of the backs.
Big display and average performance
The Nokia X20 is very big with its 6.67-inch screen. That’s why I’m all the more surprised by the comparatively wide bezel around the touchscreen – it makes the smartphone a giant in your pocket or purse.
The screen’s Full HD+ resolution with 2400×1080 pixels ensures a sharp image. On the other hand, the brightness leaves more to be desired. It becomes a problem especially in sunshine – even at maximum brightness, I can just barely make out what’s on the screen. And now that summer has finally started for real, I don’t want to have to pray for clouds just to be able to use my smartphone.
The Nokia X20 runs on Snapdragon 480 and 8 GB of RAM. In Geekbench 5, the X20 scores 512 and 1,689 points in the single- and multi-core benchmark, respectively. These are perfectly average scores – neither outstanding nor terrible. In practice, this means you can use the smartphone without any issues. Apps launch quickly, and only particularly CPU-intensive processes can take a second longer than on better hardware. If that’s not a deal-breaker, you should be perfectly happy with these specs.
By the way, the Nokia X20 does also have 5G. You can expand its 128 GB of memory with a microSD card. But if you do, you’ll only have room for one SIM card. It’s either dual SIM or microSD.
Four lenses, three cameras and many shooting modes
There are four camera lenses on the back of the Nokia X20. It’s no secret with whom Nokia’s collaborating – see the «Zeiss» lettering in the middle of the camera bump. The main camera features a 64-megapixel sensor. But the X20 downscales captured photos to a resolution of 16 megapixels by default. This process is called pixel binning. The idea is that merging four pixels into one improves image quality. The other cameras allow you to take wide-angle photos at 5 megapixels, provide data for depth of field in portrait mode and allow you to take macro shots (though only at 2 megapixels).
It’s a good idea to keep the HDR mode on the Nokia X20 on. It makes the blue sky and clouds actually visible instead of being an overexposed area of white. It tunes down the contrast, makes colours appear more vibrant and delivers good detail.
The wide-angle camera allows you take pictures from a different perspective, but this comes with a significant drop in quality. The shots are less detailed than using the main camera. Five megapixels are simply not enough.
The 2x zoom – which effectively zooms in using the high 64-megapixel resolution – looks much better. The 8x zoom, on the other hand, is purely digital. That means it’s essentially nothing more than a cropped version of the image (which you can just as well do yourself).
In macro mode, you can get very close to the subject. But the 2-megapixel camera delivers such poor quality that it’s actually better to take a picture from further away using the main camera, and then crop it as desired.
Night mode gives you much sharper and brighter photos in the dark thanks to its longer exposure time. There’s no night mode for wide-angle shots or the zoom, and the results are correspondingly dark.
The front camera, located in the little hole in the screen, takes 32-megapixel photos. It takes decent selfies in terms of detail and colour. It’s a good idea to use the HDR mode here as well. However, it doesn’t eliminate the problems the front camera has with strong contrasts. The sky in the background was sunny, blue and slightly cloudy – not white.
You can also take selfies in night mode. It brightens the images but doesn’t improve the poor quality in the dark.
Three years of software updates
Nokia offers Android in its purest form without an additional user interface. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a weighty argument for Nokia phones. If I want a launcher, I’ll install it myself along with any apps I want. Pre-installed apps are unnecessary.
Pure Android offers another advantage. Namely, the effort Nokia has to make to offer any OS updates on its phones is comparatively low. This is one reason why the manufacturer guarantees three years of software updates for the X20. The smartphone is shipped with Android 11 and will be updated accordingly until Android 14.
Fingerprint sensor, battery and some sustainability
The fingerprint sensor is located on the side of the Nokia X20 – on the power button. So, turning on the phone and unlocking it works in one go. You don’t need to fumble around on the back or look for the sensor underneath the display. In everyday use, the sensor reliably detects my fingers and unlocks the smartphone very quickly.
The X20 comes with just a USB charging cable; the power adapter is no longer included. Nokia hopes to protect the environment by doing this and, as an added benefit, can certainly also cut costs. Since you’re quite likely to have at least one power adapter at home, this isn’t a huge deal. The Nokia X20 doesn’t rely on any particular fast charging technology. This means the charging speed depends on the interaction between your power adapter and the X20.
I was satisfied with the charging speed of the 4,470 mAh battery that I experienced. Not as impressive as, say, WarpCharge by OnePlus (article in German), but again, fast enough that I don't have to charge it overnight. When fully charged, the battery usually lasts me a full day.
According to Nokia, the case included with the X20 is meant to compensate for the missing power adapter. The case is simple and made of bioplastic, meaning it should be compostable. While it is more sustainable than conventional plastic, it still takes significantly longer to decompose than organic materials.
Unspectacularly good
The Nokia X20 is an average smartphone with advantages (pure Android and update guarantee) and disadvantages (display size and brightness). Many things about it are okay but not outstanding: performance, battery, picture quality. There are plenty of mid-range smartphones with similar features and a similar price. Although the Nokia X20 offers some advantages, it’s not at the top of my recommendations.
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When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
