Video: Nokia G10 Review

Let’s do things a bit differently for this review. The challenge will be to talk about the phone without mentioning any numbers (specifications). So if you’re a tech enthusiast watching this, I love you, thank you for sticking around, but this phone is definitely not for you. I do have something for you at the end of this video though regarding the G10 if you somehow manage to make it till the end!

If you’re an IT guy responsible for buying enterprise suitable phones for the staff, or a person who doesn’t spend a lot of time on your phone, want something to cover the basics, think benchmarks is something a sweaty bum would leave on a bench, and playing games on a phone is a stupid waste of time, you’re in the right place.

Nokia G10 Pros

It has a decent big screen that works well enough outdoors.

It has a ridiculously good battery life, pretty much impossible to kill in a single day no matter how many WhatsApps and emails,  you want to send, or how many Youtube videos you want to watch. You can easily reach the 3-day mark on a single charge with an average of 3 hours of screen time per day. It’s one of those phones you fully charge then forget about or want to take with you on a camping trip over the weekend without having to worry about it running out of juice.

It’s perfect for phone calls with good and reliable signal reception, supports 2 sim cards and a memory card if you want to store files on it.

The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is reliable, even if it isn’t the fastest.

Its camera is perfectly workable as long as there is acceptable light around, much better than what I was expecting to be honest even for its price range. Its video recording is a bit shaky but the audio clarity in the video is very good for its class.

Its using the most minimalist version of Android 11, the latest version of Android currently available, and it will get 2 major operating system updates which means that in terms of support, it will outlast almost all of its competitors and remain secure as well thanks to monthly security updates. Enterprise users will appreciate that.

Lastly, the phone is built really well for its price. It’s obviously best used in a phone case which luckily comes in the box, but you really don’t have to worry about babysitting it or for it to accidentally break because you dropped it or sat on it.

Nokia G10 cons

Speed is definitely not one of the G10’s strengths. If you’re coming from a more expensive phone you will definitely notice the difference. It’s also not very smooth under heavy load.

The phone doesn’t have NFC, so you can’t use it as a wallet replacement for contactless payments.

The G10 doesn’t have a magnetometer, so if you heavily use Google Maps and require walking directions, it won’t be the best solution. If you only use Google Maps while driving, it’s perfectly fine for that.

If for any reason you might wanna play a game on the G10, it will do it poorly. Dead cells for example only ran at a stable frame rate at the lowest graphical settings.

The phone takes approximately just over 3 hours to fully charge the battery. So it’s quite slow at charging.

Final Thoughts

If you’re an avid social media user and spend more than 2 to 3 hours per day on your phone switching between applications, the G10 won’t give you the best experience. For enterprise users, you’ll be okay with the 3 gigs of RAM version, but if you’re a regular user, get the 4 gigs of RAM version. It makes a difference in performance that you will definitely appreciate. Or pamper yourself and get the more expensive G20.

Now for you techies, if you want a second phone and what I just described sounds good enough for you, the G10 is worth considering. If you’re a gamer, avid user, impatient and expect everything to be as smooth as possible and for apps to open in a blink like myself, you’re better of buying the 3.4 if you wanna save money, or the 5.4 which might not have the same battery life, but is definitely a better-rounded phone and more suitable for your needs. The G10 doesn’t compete with these 2 phones, it’s aimed at a different group of people, so don’t go buying it just because its newer. Instead, focus on whether you think this phone is suitable for you or not.

I know some people will want a more technical analysis of the G10, and if you’re one of them, feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!