Nokia 7.2 review - When good enough isn’t good enough - Android
HMD Global’s sales figures might be a drop in the bucket compared to the likes of Xiaomi and Realme, but it has managed to carve out a niche for its Nokia-branded phones through a portfolio of well-built devices that deliver a clean user experience and long term support. The latest entry is the Nokia 7.2.
In our review of last year’s Nokia 7.1, we found the design pleasing and the cameras to be competent. The performance, however, left us unimpressed. Does the all-new Nokia 7.2 improve on this?
Find out in the Android Authority Nokia 7.2 review.
The Nokia 7.2 has an important role in HMD Global’s portfolio. It sits at that crucial transition from entry-level to mid-range hardware. This is a price-conscious segment, but also one where users start paying more attention to features like design and performance.
With the recent spate of launches, buyers now have ample options available. In India, this includes the absolute latest Redmi Note 8 Pro, as well as solid options like the Realme XT and Realme 5 Pro. In global markets, the Nokia 7.2 faces stiff competition from the Pixel 3a series, which has a series focus on imaging capabilities. Then there are phones like the Samsung Galaxy A50 that bring a large battery, a gorgeous AMOLED display, and plenty good cameras.
With most phones in this class now providing higher-quality cameras, top-notch displays, and fast processors, it becomes increasingly hard for HMD Global to justify its price tag despite the promise of long term updates.
Let’s dig into our Nokia 7.2 review.
The box contents of the Nokia 7.2 are as standard as they come. There’s no TPU case included, but you do get a barebones headset. Other contents include the charger, USB-C cable, quick start manual as well as a SIM ejector tool.
If there’s one thing you can’t fault about the Nokia 7.2, it has to be design. A classic Nordic design steeped in simplicity and without any of the glitzy gradients and colors, the 7.2 still manages to look sophisticated. From the matte glass back to the notification LED hidden under the power button, the phone oozes elegance — which is perhaps the phone’s most notable selling point.
The front of the phone looks rather basic with its waterdrop notch. The bezels on either side are minimal, but the chin at the bottom grabs your attention. I’d have liked a smaller chin here and the bold Nokia logo doesn’t do it any favors. Move over to the side, though, and you start to appreciate the composite materials used here.
The finish and tactile feel of the volume rocker and power button are on point. The same goes for the dedicated Google Assistant key on the left. The latest crop of Nokia-branded phones have integrated notification LEDs into the power button, and it works just as advertised. The side button glows a soft white shade when a notification pops up. It is discrete and retains functionality that many power users love.
Flip the phone over and you can see the sharp attention to detail. The appearance is unmistakably Nokia, and it fits right in with the design language across the company’s portfolio. The matte finish glass back feels luxurious. Bonus: It doesn’t attract fingerprints. We have the black variant here with us, but I found the Cyan Green shade particularly enchanting. The green colorway seems to channel the nordic lights, a throwback to the company’s Finnish heritage, and looks absolutely stunning.
That said, I did not like how much the camera module stood out. It constantly caught my pocket as I slipped it in. A fingerprint scanner is placed below the module and is easy enough to reach. There’s little else to add about the design. Something that did strike me was the quality of haptics on the Nokia 7.2. The haptics aren’t very precise, and typing on the phone doesn’t feel very reassuring.
Beyond that, there’s a headphone jack on top and a USB-C port on the bottom. This arrangement is common on most mid-rangers these days. The Nokia 7.2 makes a name for itself through its focus on a casual, elegant style that should sit well in most hands.
The display is where things get a bit interesting. The Nokia 7.2 comes equipped with what it calls a “Pure Display”. A marketing moniker for what is essentially an HDR-capable panel. The company also claims that it can convert standard-dynamic-range content to high-dynamic-range in realtime.
The display looks perfectly lovely when viewed head-on. Colors look punchy and vibrant. However, there’s something to be said about the black levels that you can only get on an AMOLED panel. Blacks look a deep grey here and it gets in the way when watching a dark show like Stranger Things on Netflix. Further, there’s visible color shift when you view the phone from sharp angles, which definitely isn’t attractive.
Outdoor visibility is perfectly good. We measured peak brightness levels of about 523nits, which is plenty enough for outdoor use. The display has a noticeably cool tone to it with higher than normal blue levels. The phone has a dynamic contrast mode that can adjust the color temperature and white balance depending on what applications you are running. Within apps, the effect is subtle. The phone can adjust the white balance based on ambient light, and the effect is similar to the night light feature on Android.
I’ve long talked about the benefits of software optimization compared to tossing in faster hardware, but a Snapdragon 660 is far from a cutting edge processor. It certainly isn’t the best option in this segment. In fact, the Redmi Note 7S packs the same chipset and costs half that of the Nokia.
Performance wasn't silky smooth, and I observed a few app crashes and lock-ups.
Performance is fine, but it just doesn’t feel quite as snappy as the latest breed of mid-rangers. In India, phones such as the Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Note 8 Pro, and the Realme XT definitely outpace the Nokia 7.2 in sheer power. All three are popular options with higher-end processors.
The Pixel 3a series packs a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 670 processor that gives you a bit more GPU grunt for not a whole lot more money. The Samsung A50 also gives you a bit more single-core performance that is noticeable in day-to-day use.
The 7.2’s iffy performance is most noticeable when apps launch and via frame rates in games. Unfortunately, I noticed a few app crashes and lock-ups as well. This was particularly evident in the camera app, which would get stuck fairly often. This could be chalked up to poor software optimization, but it speaks volumes about the kind of performance you can expect from the Nokia 7.2.
We ran a host of benchmarks on the phone and the results speak for themselves. In AnTuTu, the phone scores 203673 points which lags behind the 228519 points scored by the Redmi Note 8 Pro. The difference is particularly noticeable in GPU-focussed benchmarks. In the 3DMark benchmark, for example, the phone scores just 1351 points.
The Nokia 7.2 ships with a reasonably sized 3,500mAh battery. It doesn’t necessarily compare to the 4,000mAh and even 5,000mAh cells shipping in some competing mid-rangers, but it should easily get you through a day. We can thank this battery life on software optimization and the mid-range chipset.
The phone doesn't support fast-charging, and has one of the smallest batteries in the segment.
In my testing, the phone easily managed a full day, but I had to charge the phone each night. Charging isn’t the fastest around and topping off the 3,500mAh cell takes about 2 hours. In our WiFi browsing test, the phone managed just over 10 hours of continuous browsing, which is one of the lowest scores we’ve come across amidst mid-rangers.
Wireless charging is hard to find at this price point and you won’t find it on the Nokia 7.2.
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