Even when the world feels like it’s spinning out of control, we can always rely on one constant — Nokia’s handsets that’ll put a smile on any fan’s face. Yesterday, HMD Global, the Finnish company that manufactures Nokia phones these days, announced six new handsets that’ll make it to market this year.
The newly announced lineup is made up of two flagships (the X10 and X20), two mid-rangers (the G10 and G20), and the budget entries (the C10 and C20). All of the incoming devices run on Android 11 Go edition. Before Google’s Pixels were readily available in South Africa, Nokias were the closest thing we got to the vanilla Google/Android experience. All of them also come equipped with a dual-SIM tray (for Nano-SIMs) — one of the main reasons to invest in a dedicated data SIM.
HMD hasn’t confirmed local pricing for its new range for SA yet, but we can expect all of them to be well-priced for their categories. We’ll update once local pricing is confirmed, but in the meantime, let’s pop open the hood on each of these and see what they’ve got going for ‘em.
Meet the Nokia C10 and C20
The budget buddies will launch with less-than-satisfactory specs, but this is exactly what Nokia’s focus is. Make them as budget as possible but still useful tools for those who can’t afford to spend more than R5k on a phone.
Both the C10 and C20 are fitted with a 6.51in HD+ display with a 2D Panda Glass protection, while the C20 is fitted with HDR support and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-backed beautification when snapping pics. The C10 is powered by the lesser-known quad-core Unisoc SC7331e SoC, and the C20’s got the SC9863a SoC running things. Both are backed up by up to 2GB of RAM, which is fairly small. You’ll find a single 5MP camera sensor at the back, with an f/2.2 lens and an LED flash and a 5MP front-facer.
Then there’s the 3,000mAh battery keeping everything running, along with 10W charging capability. Both feature 32GB of onboard storage, expandable up to 256GB with an SD card.
Meet the Nokia G10 and G20
Coming in smack-bang in the mid-range, you get the G10 and G20 devices. These are aptly equipped with MediaTek SoCs — the G10’s got the Helio G25 while the G20’s powered by the Helio G35. Both tote 4GB of RAM, 6.5in HD+ displays and a nest of cameras around back.
The G10’s back is complete with three camera sensors: a 13MP main sensor, a 2MP macro sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. The G20, on the other hand, has four of the buggers, which includes a 48MP main sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide sensor, a 2MP macro shooter and a 2MP depth sensor.
These both come in a 64GB storage option, while the G10 also comes in 32GB and the G20 in 128GB. As always, you can increase capacity at will with a memory card.
Meet the Nokia X10 and X20
Here are the prized devices (also the ones you’d probably prefer in terms of spec). We’re happy to announce the X10 and X20 are powered by the highly capable (but not best-in-class) Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. Both fitted with the Snapdragon 480 SoC, while the X10 boasts 6GB of RAM and the X20’s got 8GB of RAM. Around back, they both pack some brilliant Zeiss lenses in a four-camera array.
The X10’s camera setup includes a 48MP main sensor, a 5MP macro shooter, a 2MP depth shooter and a 2MP macro shooter. The X20 features the same config, but with a 64MP main sensor. These are 5G-ready and pack a larger 4,470mAh battery which should get you through a day of intensive use.
As always, South African pricing and availability will be reported once it’s available.
