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Yesterday saw the launch of several new budget-minded phones courtesy of Samsung, and HMD Global-owned Nokia is getting in on the fun. The company announced a total of six new phones, ranging from €75 and topping out around €349.
Nokia C10 and C20
Starting from the bottom and going up, we have the entry-level Nokia C-series of devices, comprised of the Nokia C10 and C20. HMD Global and Nokia firmly place these as entry-level devices thanks to the Unisoc SC9863a processor found in the Nokia C20, and the Unisoc SC7331e for the Nokia C10. In addition to these Unisoc chipsets, you’ll find either 1GB or 2GB of RAM, along with up to 32GB of expandable storage, and even a removable 3,000mAh battery in each device.
When it comes to these budget phones, software is always a concern, but Nokia has a decent track record since many of its devices are powered by Android One. That’s exactly what you’ll find here, in addition to a 6.5-inch display for each phone, along with a single 5MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera. Other than the price, the reason why these two phones aren’t really all that exciting is that HMD Global is positioning these as smartphones for those who would prefer to use an old-school feature phone.
Nokia G10 and G20
Moving up a rung on the ladder, we have the Nokia G10 and G20, which starts at €109.99 and goes up to €159. Both of these phones sport a 6.5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 720p. Powering the Nokia G20 is the MediaTek G35 SoC with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 128GB of expandable storage. There’s a quad-camera array on the back, headlined by a 48MP primary lens and accompanied by a 5MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. attery life should be pretty impressive on the G20, thanks to the massive 5,050mAh cell.
As for the Nokia G10, the display and battery size remain the same, but processing power takes a bit of a hit with the MediaTek G25. Storage has also been dropped to either 32GB or 64GB, but again, you’ll find a microSD card slot. Paired with the MediaTek G25 is either 3GB or 4GB of RAM, so you have a bit of a choice depending on how much multi-tasking or gaming you plan on doing. Another “downgrade” compared to the G20 comes via the rear camera system. The G10 sports a primary 13MP camera, 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor, so you’ll miss out on the ultrawide camera.
Nokia X10 and X20
Rounding out the bunch, we have the “flagships” of the new Nokia lineup, with the Nokia X10 and Nokia X20, priced at €309 and €349, respectively. There aren’t too many differences between these two, as we have a 6.67-inch 1080p display on both, along with the Snapdragon 480 providing the power you need. Both the X10 and X20 feature a 4,470mAh battery which should get you through the day, with relative ease.
Diving a bit deeper and you’ll begin seeing the differences make themselves known. While we see the Snapdragon 480 powering both handsets, the X20 features either 6GB or 8GB of RAM to go along with 128GB of storage. The X10 sees those numbers drop a bit, featuring only 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. There are also a few changes between the cameras, as both of these sport quad-camera arrays on the back, with the X20 using a 64MP primary camera, in addition to a 5MP ultrawide, 2MP depth sensor, and 2MP macro lens to go along with the 32MP selfie camera. With the X10, the other cameras will remain the same, although the primary rear camera has been downgraded to a 48MP sensor and the selfie camera goes down to 8MP.
HMD Global revealed that pricing and availability for a U.S. launch is still unknown. However, the Nokia G10 and C20 will be coming to “select markets” this month, the X20 and G20 arrive in May, and the X10 and C10 will be coming sometime in June.
HMD Mobile coming to the UK
HMD Global has been a busy company as of late, after seeing the departure of Global Chief Product Office, Juho Sarvikas, who was with Nokia and HMD for a total of 15 years. In addition to the six new smartphones that were announced, HMD Global also announced its new MVNO – HMD Mobile.
While the primary focus will be to provide a wireless service to bundle with its Nokia handsets, the company did state that you will be able to sign up for HMD Mobile even if you are using another smartphone. The service will launch in “late April”, and will be piggybacking off of one of the larger UK cellular providers, but did not exactly share which carrier it is working with.
Pricing for HMD Mobile’s plans will start at £6.50 per month, while including unlimited UK/EU calls, texts and 1GB of data per month. Unsurprisingly, there won’t be any compatibility with 5G networks at launch, but HMD states that it is working towards making HMD Mobile “5G ready”.
At launch, HMD Mobile will be arriving in the UK, but the MVNO should be gradually rolling out to more countries over time. It will be interesting to see how this pans out, as it’s not often that you see a phone maker roll out its own wireless services for its smartphone lineup.
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