HMD Global recently launched the Nokia G60 5G in Kenya, further expending it’s smartphone portfolio in the country. The G60 5G was first announced in September last year alongside the Nokia X30 5G.
I wish HMD Global also launched their recently announced Nokia G22, C32, and C22 but I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer for that.
Now, back to the Nokia G60 5G.
When you first look at the G60 5G, on the surface you see a device with an okay design and a somewhat outdated display design. But when you have a look at what the phone packs in the inside, the G60 5G is a well specced device with almost all it’s features worthy of it’s price.
In this article, we’ll have a look at what the G60 5G has to offer and how well it stacks up against the competition like the OPPO Reno 8T 5G.
Design & Build
The actual setup is pretty standard as mentioned earlier – there’s a huge 6.58″ display that takes up the front, with a now outdated teardrop camera tucked into the bezel for selfies and for facial recognition.
At the bottom, there’s a USB-C port and a headphone jack (the latter seemingly the sole domain of budget and mid-range devices these days), and on the side there’s a power button and volume rocker.
Moving to the back, you’re greeted by a vertically stacked trifecta of cameras within a pretty refined camera bump. The back is also made of 100% recycled plastic (60% for the frame) and it comes in Black and Ice color options.
There’s also an IP52 rating which means it’s only splash proof.
Display & speakers
For the display side of things, the G60 5G spots a 6.58″ FHD+ IPS panel. So it’s not an Amoled display, which you can find in this price point from the likes of the OPPO Reno 8T 5G and Samsung’s A34 and A54.
A big plus for the Nokia G60’s display is its 120Hz refresh rate, but the implementation could be better. When you head over to the screen refresh rate settings, you’re met with only two options, Adaptive and Standard.
Adaptive means the phone switches between 120Hz and 60Hz depending on what you’re doing while standard sets your phone’s display refresh rate at 60Hz.
I imagine it’s largely to avoid the battery life falling off a cliff but I wish Nokia gave us an option to manually switch between 120Hz and 60hz.
Viewing angles aren’t the best, with off-axis colors staying fairly accurate, but brightness dipping dramatically. A 500nit peakk brightness isn’t especially high, which can make it tricky to see the screen clearly outdoors.
It also doesn’t play nicely with HDR video. Mobile movie fans might be disappointed, but it’s fine just about everywhere else, with realistic colours and respectable contrast.
Audio wise, the phone spots a single bottom speaker and from the may reviews on YouTube, it’s woefully underpowered for picking out any nuance in the sound at all.
Everything gets lumped in with the mids, so bass and treble can’t escape and everything feels messy. It does handle voice better, so podcasts and phone calls should be fine.
Performance
Performance wise, the Nokia G60 5G isn’t going to match flagships and more premium options, but I’m pleased to say that there’s enough under the hood for most people.
This is thanks to Qualcomm’s mid-range Snapdragon 695 accompanied by either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The latter gets 128GB of on-board storage, while the former makes do with 64GB.
This is the same chipset found on the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, OPPO Reno 8T 5G and the Realme 10 Pro 5G.
Skipping through emails, firing off some tweets, and responding to messages should be smooth. The gaming performance should also be respectable but don’t expect to be hitting 120fps on any large title.
Performance should also be aided by the fact that Nokia likes to keep its version of Android as simple as possible.
Cameras
Nokia has tripled down on rear cameras for the G60 5G – but not necessarily for the better.
The G60 5G gets a thumbs up for the main snapper, which packs a 50MP sensor and f/1.8 lens with autofocus, but the secondary ultrawide makes do with a 5MP sensor.
The third lens is a 2MP depth camera, which I find to not be all that useful. On the front camera, it’s very much business as usual – the 8Mp sensor is no better or worse than pictures taken on similar devices.
Now, I do not have the device with me, so I cannot make any conclusive takes about the camera performance. But from the many reviews online, the 50mp does take some good shots in good lighting.
I’ll do a comprehensive review once I get the device.
Battery life & charging
The G60 5G comes equipped with a 4500mAh battery, which isn’t too shabby. However, similarly-priced rivals do come with slightly larger battery capacities and energy-sipping OLED screens.
The battery life should however be good on the G60 5G as Nokia’s PCMark 3.0 benchmark of the phone’s battery life hit 14 and a half hours of screen-on time.
There’s no wireless charging, which is hardly a surprise at this price point, and Nokia doesn’t stick a power brick in the box either, as part of its effort to cut down on e-waste.
The phone can handle 20W charging over USB-C, which should be fine for any adaptor you’ve got lying around.
Software & apps
Now, unlike it’s competitors, the Nokia G60 5G remains very respectful of the user, offering stock Android 12 outside the box (although 13 is the latest version).
Some may argue that stock Android is boring, but I very much prefer it over most Android skins, plus it does improve the phones performance.
Nokia also promises three years of OS upgrades but this is one year short of what OPPO and Samsung promise.
Nokia G60 5G price & availability in Kenya
The Nokia G60 5G is going for Ksh 53,000 but Safaricom has an offer price of Ksh 49,000 at the moment. The phone comes in Black and Ice color options.
Final verdict
The G60 5G is well built and delivers respectable performance for a sub Ksh 50,000 phone. But the same can be said for many of its rivals. The OPPO Reno 8T 5G for instance goes for the same amount but offers a way better display, better storage options and cameras.
I do appreciate Nokia’s commitment to sustainability, even if it feels like very early days for a scheme that has yet to demonstrate any meaningful change.
Still, for those concerned by the impact their gadgets are having on the planet, that might be enough to sway things in Nokia’s direction.
Nokia G60 5G summary specs
