Nokia G60 unboxing and features explained (video)
The X30 might be getting all the spot light from Nokia’s recent event, but what if you don’t care about the flair and want something more affordable with a focus on practicality and ecology?
Then the G60 which is priced around the $329 dollar mark might tickle your fancy.
Video experience of X60 (Mr.Nokia)
Unboxing
Let’s start with the Unboxing. The box is your standard affair Nokia box. Inside is the handset, a SIM ejection tool, product booklets and a USB-C charging cable. You will notice there’s no charging brick included, but this is a regional thing so check your local Nokia website. The unit tested is an EU unit which historically comes with a lighter box. It’s also about time Nokia Mobile abandoned all the extra product brochures and just implemented a QR code or something, since you know, they are committed to the ecology aspect.
Hardware Tour
Anyway, the device itself has a couple of really cool sustainability aspects. The back for example is made out of 100% recycled plastic, while the frame, which is also polycarbonate plastic, is 60% recycled. The phone also comes with an IP52 splash and dust resistance rating, as a part of its durability focus. So accidental splashes of water or raindrops shouldn’t harm it.
I like this ice grey colour, but I would love to see how the pure black version looks. In terms of in-hand feel, the G60 does feel solid, but if I’m doing a blind quality test, the G50 would probably win as it feels denser.
The back on this is matte but it has these tiny flakes that shine under the right light and it looks pretty cool. You can also feel their texture, so the back doesn’t feel completely smooth. Interesting design and look for sure, though a lot less striking than the X30.
The edges are flat, and on the right you get the volume rocker keys and the power button, which also acts as the fingerprint reader. It’s a quick and reliable reader here.
On the left is the if your dual sim and micro SD card slot. So you have to choose between the extra sim card and additional memory. However, the phone also supports an eSIM, which is cool and not very common amongst midrangers. Speaking of memory, the phone comes with either a 4 64 or a 6 128 gigs RAM and memory configurations.
On the bottom you’ll find your usb C charging port and a single bottom-firing speaker as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack (yay!). The loudspeaker isn’t the best in terms of audio quality but it does get loud enough so you shouldn’t have any problems using it.
One of the key features of the G60 is it’s display. It has a 6.58” Full HD IPS LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is a very nice LCD panel that offers good contrast, viewing angles and decent maximum brightness at 500 nits. But the best part about it is how smooth it else when you’re scrolling, playing games and browsing through the interface. The glass on the front btw is gorilla glass 5, which isn’t as shatter resistant as gorilla glass victus, but does a much better job at handling micro scratches. And for all you huge bezel fans, the Nokia chin also makes a comeback, this time without the logo though.
On the back, you’ll find a triple rear camera setup, with a 50Mp main camera, a 5 megapixel ultra wide camera, and a 2 megapixel depth sensor. The camera plate this time around comes with a matte plastic finish which doesn’t get scratched easily and has a 3D effect. It looks alright though definitely forgettable compared to the symmetrical setups of the past. Yes I will mention this in every video haha. The selfie shooter on the other hand is 8mp.
Inside the device is a 4500 mAh battery which Nokia says is good for up to 800 full recharge cycles without losing significant health, which is a nice bonus for people who plan on keeping this device for a longer period of time. That’s easily over 3 years of charging for most people. Another useful longevity aspect is that even though the device ships with Android 12 out of the box, Nokia is promising 3 years of OS updates and 3 years of security updates for the G60. On top of that, in some markets, the device will come with a 3-year warranty, so Nokia is really emphasizing the longevity aspect of owning the device and backs it up with the support needed for it to happen.
Battery Life
In terms of charging speed, the G60 comes with a very conservative 20 watts maximum speed, which should be able to give you about 50% charge in 40 minutes, and a full charge in about 2 hours. These are not class-leading numbers by any means, so the device is best charged overnight. In terms of usage, you can expect to consistently get a day and a half out of the G60 with a medium to heavy usage, and even reach the end of the 2 day mark if you’re a light user.
Software Tour
As for the software, the combination of stock Android 12 OS, and the decently powerful snapdragon 695 5G, and the smooth 120hz screen makes the user experience one of the G60’s key strengths. Theres no noticeable lag, slowdowns, or frustration when using it. Apps launch almost instantly too, though the only time you might realise your running on midrange hardware is when playing games, even those work quite well outside of the best graphics settings and games that require more power like genchin impact for example. Overall the processor gives the device a very nice balance of power and efficiency. Even its more expensive sibling the X30 doesn’t have an advantage over the G60 in this regard.
Stock android heavily relies on google services for all the basics, such as the phone dialer, sms app, email and so on. There are no duplicate services here that cannot be removed and that Nokia will push down your throat even if you don’t need them. Nokia however does bundle a couple of extra apps that can be uninstalled. Things like Amazon, Netflix, and the newest addition, GoPro quick all out of the box.
Camera
Nokia is very proud of their new camera software features on the G60, and the phone comes with a redesigned camera app too which was long overdue in my opinion. The camera interface looks familiar at a glance, with your typical carousel setup to change between modes, however, all the additional mode specific settings are now easily accessible from the left, and the interface looks nice and clean.
The software features included are capture fusion, which cleverly combines between the ultra wide and main camera sensor output for a cleaner ultra wide image, specifically the center of the image where box cameras field of view intersect. Testing this out briefly does show good results for what would have been a pretty mediocre 5 megapixel images. Clever solution, though I would like to see it implemented on higher quality ultra wide camera.
There’s also night mode 2, which improves the way the phone processes low light images, and dark vision, which helps the device capture fairly bright images even when light is very sparse. All the features work as advertised, though you can also clearly see the limitations of the sensor at play here. The 50 megapixel main sensor does a pretty decent job with dynamic range and producing punchy colours, though don’t expect flagship grade image quality. The camera is more than decent enough for the average user but the X30 for example is a far superior camera phone thanks to its larger sensor and optical image stabilization.
In terms of video recording, the G60 is limited to up to 1080p at 60 frames per second, which is a chipset limitation sadly. The device also comes without Cinema mode for pro controls over video, though you do get manual controls for images, as well as signature features like dual sight.
I briefly tested call quality, and I had no complaints about it at all.
Final Thoughts
So what do you guys think of the Nokia G60? Do you like what it has to offer or do you feel like a critical feature for you is missing?
I know this will definitely be overshadowed by the X30 but I think it offers good value for money and ticks many of the right boxes for a practical no nonsense midranger and its key strength actually comes down to its performance and day to day experience. In typical Nokia fashion, it doesn’t wow in any specific area, but the focus on longevity and its implementation (with the battery and extended warranty) are nice touches.
