Nokia 2 arrives in India with paltry specs, high price-tag

Nokia's comeback to the Android space hasn't been as meteoric as some had hoped. The company has been focusing on the mid-range and upper-midrange segments. However, with the Nokia 2, HMD Global is aiming to get the entry-level market interested.

From the brief time that I spent using the Nokia 2, I found it to lag a lot, app switching was a pain and you had to literally wait for seconds for some apps to open, including the camera. HMD Global has priced the Nokia 2 at Rs. 6,999, and at this price point, there are simply far better options available. Including those with similar or better battery life, and cameras.

The Nokia 2 competes directly with the likes of Redmi 4 and Redmi Y1 from Xiaomi. The processor on the Nokia 2 is Snapdragon 212, which is based on Cortex-A7 architecture, which is considered ancient by today's standards. It is far less efficient, generated more heat and simply doesn't perform as well as the newer-gen Cortex-A53 cores found on most other devices in this segment.

For instance, the Xiaomi Redmi 4 and Redmi Y1 Lite pack Snapdragon 435 and 425 processors respectively, which are far more efficient and powerful. Another huge pain point with the Nokia 2 it is lack of memory. It has only 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory, out of which just 4 GB is available to the user. On comparing with other smartphones in the segment, most come with 3GB RAM and at least 16GB internal storage. Although storage can be expanded on the Nokia 2, skimping on RAM is just not excusable. Larger apps including some of the built-in apps take ages to load and switch between. The phone just crawls through most tasks.

Nokia 2 vs Xiaomi Redmi 4 - Full Comparison

Coming to the rest of the specifications, the Nokia 2 sports a perfectly respectable 5-inch 720p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top. The device boasts of a 6000 series aluminum frame and a polycarbonate back along with IP52 certification which ensures that the phone is splash-proof. The biggest feature of the Nokia 2 is its massive 4100 mAh battery, which the company claims will give 2-days of backup. Although I didn't get to test the battery, given the low-end specifications, I am sure this would suffice.

There is no fingerprint sensor on the phone, while most others in the segment do offer one. But one thing going for the Nokia 2 is that it features dedicated slots for its two SIM cards and memory card. Much appreciated. It is also in line to get updated to Android Oreo, sometime next year.

The Nokia 2 will be available starting tomorrow, November 24, priced at Rs. 6999 in Pewter Black, Pewter White, and Copper Black color options.

You can avail additional 45 GB data on recharges of Rs. 309 or above till August 2018 from Jio by purchasing Nokia 2. Moreover, Servify is also providing 12-month accidental insurance on opening Kotak 811 saving account with an initial deposit of Rs. 1000.

Nokia 2 Specifications

• 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD LTPS Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Protection
• 1.3 GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 212 Processor
• Adreno 304 GPU
• 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, 8GB Internal Storage, Expandable with dedicated MicroSD card slot
• Android 7.1.1 Nougat, upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo
• 8MP Autofocus Rear Camera, LED Flash, 720p Recording
• 5MP Front-facing Camera
• IP52 rated splash proof body, Dual-SIM, FM Radio
• 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS / GLONASS
• 4100mAh Battery (Non-removable)