Nokia 2.4 first impressions: No more nostalgia play

No lockdown or pandemic can stop the flow of new smartphones. 2020, as tough as it might have been, has witnessed some incredible phones in all budgets. Nokia has also been an active participant in launching new phones and the latest entrant is targeted towards the masses. HMD Global introduced Nokia 2.4 with all of its stock Android glory and a few other tidbits.

Nokia 2.4 is priced at Rs 10,399 and competes against some strong contenders in the budget space. Nokia is using its legacy, brand presence and customer loyalty to win over buyers. We aren't using nostalgia as a reason here for a reason.

Design

Nokia 2.4's design is an adamant follower of go big or go home. It's a generously large phone, best suited for multimedia consumption, playing games, browsing social media. The handset comes with a polycarbonate body with a nice textured back, which offered additional grip and keeps fingerprint smudges at bay. There is also a subtle gradient shifting from a lighter shade to a darker shade.

Nokia 2.4 has the regular volume and power controls on the right and a dedicated Google Assistant button on the left, which sadly cannot be remapped but there's an option to disable it completely. At the bottom, we find a microUSB port along with speaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack can be found at the top. There's a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner right below the dual camera capsule. The Nokia branding is in the same linear, giving a uniform look.

Overall, Nokia 2.4 has a standard design, which is not a bad thing. The textured rear panel gives a sense of rich feel, which doesn't feel like cheap plastic.

Display

Nokia 2.4 has a 6.7-inch HD+ LCD display with thin bezels on the sides and a slightly enlarged bezel at the bottom, which also has the Nokia branding. On most days, you will find the display to be good enough to meet all your needs, from social media browsing to multimedia consumption.

However, using the phone outdoors on a bright sunny day would require you to adjust the brightness levels to maximum. By industry standards, the HD+ resolution is a tad disappointing and you'll feel the downgrade if you've used a Full HD+ phone, which is easily available in competition phones even in similar price range. The display is not something you'll be stunned by, but it gets the job done.

Software

This is where Nokia phones always win. By going with stock Android, Nokia 2.4 brings the goodness of Google's best mobile OS in its raw form. Regular software updates and a familiar interface will be liked by may. There's no bloatware, which is a relief as other phones in this range go overboard with excessive pre-loaded apps. Since we regularly use Netflix, it was nice to have the app pre-installed.

Nokia 2.4 is a part of Android One program, which guarantees two years of major software updates and 3 years of security updates. The phone runs Android 10 out-of-the-box, and eligible to receive Android 11 in the coming days and even receive Android 12 whenever it's out.

Camera

The dual-camera setup on the back has a 13MP primary sensor with 2MP depth sensor. The UI itself is nothing new, with all the modes like Photo, Portrait, Night, Video within easy reach on the viewfinder. There's no wide-angle lens, but we have no complaints as it would challenge the clarity, which is pretty average already. We will be sharing camera samples in our full review to give a fair understanding of Nokia 2.4's camera performance. But early indicators show the phone to be equipped with a decent setup if not an extraordinary one - even by the sub-Rs 10k standards.

Performance and battery

Nokia 2.4 is powered by an Helio P22 processor paired with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage. We can count on the phone's capability to handle day-to-day tasks, but that's about it. A good choice for your parents, who really don't demand much out of a phone and has that brand trust. But it's worth noting that there are far better-performing phones out there in the same price range.

Under the hood, the Nokia 2.4 packs a 4,500mAh battery, which we feel is a boon for users. We expect it to easily last two days with 4G connectivity and using the phone to its given capabilities. But the 5W charger in the box and the lack of USB Type-C instantly takes us back to stone-age.

Conclusion

Nokia 2.4 has a few things going for it. It has got a likable design, a lasting battery, a stock Android experience, and a large display. Performance-hungry users are better off looking elsewhere, probably Redmi 9 or even Poco M2. But Nokia has a name that's trusted by many and if you're looking to gift your parent a smartphone so they finally give up their feature phone, Nokia 2.4 is a safe bet. Stay tuned for a full review.