The Nokia X20 was the flagship option in Nokia’s April 2021 budget-focused launch, with a great-looking design, extended battery life, Zeiss cameras, and three Android OS upgrades beginning at under £299.
However, although the Nokia X20 may entice customers with a stock Android experience, lengthier software updates, and a three-year guarantee, performance concerns prevent it from realizing its full potential.
Nokia smartphones often have the same design shape, so anyone hoping for anything different with the Nokia X20 may be surprised. From a Nokia standpoint, it’s business as usual, with a more straightforward approach, compared to the likes of Realme and Xiaomi. Which prefer to peacock with their goods, giving dazzling finishes, curved screens, and more to tempt users.
That’s not to say it’s boring; the Nokia X20 has a reflective matte coating on the back that looks beautiful and feels wonderful in the hand. Also helps to keep those pesky fingerprints at bay. However, with a thickness of 9.1mm and a weight of 220g, it is one of the bulkier smartphones on the market.
The luxury metal band wraps around the outside, complementing the color of the rear. Either the bronze-tinted Sun or deep Nordic Blue. Also, the Zeiss-branded camera setup housing just on the back let the X20 sparkle. It’s evident that this isn’t an entry-level Nokia, but that line would have been more clearly defined if Nokia had chosen glass over plastic for the rear.
Volume rockers and a fingerprint scanner are located to the right of the 6.67 display. While a SIM card tray and the Google Assistant button — another Nokia smartphone hallmark – are located to the left. And, like every other Nokia, it’s not remappable, making it essentially useless unless you actively utilize Google’s virtual assistant.
The Nokia X20’s front panel features a 6.67in IPS LCD display with a Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) resolution and 319ppi.
The display is bright and crisp, with a maximum brightness of 523nits, making it ideal for surfing around social media and viewing TikTok videos. Albeit it lacks the punch of OLED and AMOLED-enabled equivalents.
The 20:9 aspect ratio, while not nearly as wide as the 21:9 ultrawide used in Hollywood blockbusters. Ensures the display is huge without being too wide to operate one-handed – but you might struggle to reach the very top of the panel with your thumb. With bezels and a visible Nokia-branded chin, it’s not an edge-to-edge experience.
The biggest letdown in the display section is the refresh rate, which is limited to 60Hz whereas cheaper smartphones like the £249 The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro has a 120Hz AMOLED display that has been updated. While high refresh rate screens were formerly considered luxury technology, that is no longer the case in 2021.
Although Nokia offers a stronger software offering than Xiaomi, with multi-year upgrades and a near-stock OS, display technology is important to you. There are more competent choices available at a comparable price.
The Nokia X20 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 engine, which is combined with either 6- or 8GB of RAM according to the edition you choose for transparency. Supplied with the 8GB variant for benchmarks. While most manufacturers often increase storage and RAM between versions, Nokia has defied the trend by selling both 6. Also, 8GB editions of the X20 with the same 128GB of storage are expandable through microSD.
The inclusion of the Snapdragon 480 has advantages, including a 5G connection, although it is not Qualcomm’s most competent processor. It’s also weak in comparison to similarly priced competitors, such as the Snapdragon 765G-enabled Realme X50 5G. In reality, the Snapdragon 480 is available in the £219 Oppo A54 5G, which is £80 cheaper than the entrance Nokia X20.
The Nokia X20 will not be competing with premium cellphones anytime soon, but it is enough for daily usage. It can easily handle social networking platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. As well as some light gaming, but don’t expect it to run AAA mobile titles such as Genshin Impact at full graphics settings.
However, there is the occasional slowdown while launching and closing apps, highlighting the Snapdragon 480’s limits.
While the performance may not be the best for the price, you will receive pure Android 11. A lot cleaner experience than Xiaomi’s MIUI – and Nokia has pledged three complete OS upgrades as well as three years of security patches.
The Nokia X20 has a 4,470mAh battery that, when combined with the relatively low-powered yet energy-efficient Snapdragon 480, will get you about 1.5 days of use with average use – that is, scrolling through social media, and messaging. Also taking the occasional snap though you could probably get two days out of it with lighter use.
Although not as fast as the 65W fast charging seen in more costly alternatives, should be enough to get you untethered from the wall quickly. The Nokia X20 went from zero to 40 percent in 30 minutes. Also, a full charge takes roughly 90 minutes.
What’s the catch? There is no charging brick included in the packaging. It’s hardly surprising considering that businesses like Apple and Samsung have been doing this for quite some time. However, Nokia does provide a biodegradable cover in its stead.
If you absolutely need a wall charger – which, according to Nokia, the typical UK home has three – you’ll soon be able to buy one from Nokia, with proceeds going to Clear Rivers. A charity to help keep rivers and seas clean. However, it does not appear to be available on the Nokia Store at the time of writing.
The rear-facing Zeiss-branded camera system is one of the Nokia X20’s primary selling points. It has a quad-camera combination with a primary 64Mp snapper, a 5Mp ultrawide, and twin 2Mp depth and macro sensors — a rather common camera layout for a mid-ranger in 2021.
The primary 64Mp snapper is, obviously, the strongest of the group. It employs pixel-binning technology to combine pixels and produce a 16Mp image with better detail. Also, it typically works well, however you can take massive 64Mp shots if you really want to.
Focus on the 16Mp output since that’s what the majority of consumers will use.
Also, the good news is that it’s a joy to use, producing crisp, bright images with superb dynamic range – especially in well-lit circumstances.
As light levels drop, performance suffers, with creeping noise and decreased resolution. Although there is a nightscape mode to try to squeeze every last bit of light out of a picture. If there’s enough usable light for the phone to focus, there’s a chance for acceptable low-light shots. But you’ll probably have to attempt several times to obtain the right photograph.
When coupled with the depth sensor, the primary camera produces excellent portrait mode images. Line detection is often precise, especially along hairlines, and the bokeh effect may give a professional touch to your photographs.
The Nokia X20 is available in two configurations: £299 with 6GB of RAM and £329 with 8GB of RAM, the latter of which is only available through Nokia’s online shop. Those in the United States, on the other hand, appear to be out of luck. Also with no intentions to ship to the country at this time.
However, cheaper 5G devices will be available in 2021. The entrance Nokia X20 is available via Amazon and most UK carriers, while the top-tier variant is only available from Nokia.
You may also utilize your Nokia X20’s IMEI number to participate in a Nokia campaign to plant trees. It’s a great touch, but it’s not specified on the box or in the in-condition documents, it’s only acknowledged just on the Nokia website.
However, as previously stated, no charger is included, and wireless charging is not enabled. The IPS LCD display is likewise unimpressive. It’s dark, and a screen size of 6.67″ isn’t really practical when the resolution is just 2400 x 1080 pixels.
Because of the embedded NFC capability, the Nokia X20 NFC Android 5G smartphone can scan and utilize numerous NFC tags and items. The front-facing cameras on the 220-gram Nokia X20 allow you can unlock your smartphone via face unlock.
To match the X20, Nokia offers three years of updated software, security updates, and an extended warranty, and you can even plant trees using the phone’s IMEI number. But for most people, it won’t compensate for the mediocre technology concealed under the premium-looking skin.
There are cheaper phones with brighter screens, better cameras, and quicker charging. Also, an overall superior smartphone experience, making it difficult to recommend the Nokia X20 to anybody other than the most ardent stock Android aficionados.
Don’t get us wrong: Nokia’s extended support is a big improvement over other manufacturers. But the hardware has to be more comparable to receive a recommendation.
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