Nokia 7.2 review: HMD Global's most comprehensive midrange smartphone

Priced Rs 18,599, the Nokia 7.2 has a solid build and good display; PureDisplay technology makes it ideal for video consumption; cameras are not bad, and the phone's overall performance is smooth

The Nokia brand of smartphones, owned by Finnish start-up HMD Global, recently refreshed its Nokia 7 series with the launch of the Nokia 7.2. With every upgrade, the Nokia 7 series has become better in specifications and features. The Nokia 7.2 brings a triple-camera set-up on the back with a 48-megapixel primary sensor. As part of its upgrade, the phone has also got the Nokia-patented ‘PureDisplay’ technology, which equips it to render high dynamic range (HDR) content.

Based on specifications and features, the Nokia 7.2 seems to be a decent midrange device. But how does it fare on the key basic parameters? Let’s find out:

Design

The Nokia 7.2, like most Nokia-branded smartphones, has good ergonomics. The phone has curved glass panels on the front and back, and a polycarbonate chassis. The glass on the front has Corning Gorilla Glass protection, which makes it resilient to daily abuses. The back, on the other hand, has a frosted glass design that looks absolutely premium. Though the phone’s polycarbonate chassis is thick, its uniform build and brushed design make the phone easy to hold and operate. Overall, the Nokia 7.2 seems to have a neat build, but its rear-camera module protrudes a bit from the body which makes it sit unevenly on flat surfaces like table top.

Display

The Nokia 7.2 has a 6.3-inch waterdrop-shaped notch screen of a fullHD+ resolution, stretched in a tall 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The screen is bright and vivid and has a good contrast. Though the phone’s stock Android operating system does not offer any customisation options to calibrate screen output based on personal preferences, the phone’s PureDisplay technology makes it one of the better choices among phones in the same segment for video consumption. The technology converts videos, even those with standard dynamic range, to HDR in real time, improving brightness and contrast and making the on-screen video content look vibrant. Interestingly, this technology works with most video streaming apps, including YouTube.

Camera

Once limited to premium smartphones, a triple-camera module is now a common offering among budget and midrange phones, too. Catching up on the trend, the Nokia 7.2 has brought a triple-camera module with a 48MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 5MP depth sensor. On the front, the phone has a 20MP selfie shooter. The phone also has a dedicated night mode for low-light photography. What is interesting here is that both the primary rear camera and the front camera have the pixel-binning technology, which is again something that you do not usually get to see in midrange and budget smartphones — some Motorola smartphones are an exception, though.

Technical details aside, the phone’s primary 48MP sensor is a capable shooter. It takes shots with a decent dynamic range and satisfactory details, and produces natural colours. The ultra-wide sensor is also decent, but not the best in the segment; it struggles with dynamic range and resolving detailing information. It is, however, a good addition to the mix. In low light, both the sensors struggle to capture details. Thankfully, the phone has a dedicated night mode that increases the sensors’ exposure time to capture more light and details. Though the night mode makes a big difference in the phone’s low-light imaging, it is not the best. For low-light shots, the phone’s manual mode works great, but requires some knowledge; it might not work for everyone.

Performance

Powering the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip, paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. It boots the Android 9 Pie operating system with stock user interface, which looks neat and has no bloatware. The phone’s performance is sleek and handles everyday tasks without any hiccups. It also handles graphic-intensive games like Call of Duty and processor-intensive tasks like multimedia editing well. However, not all games run at their best graphic settings, and the multimedia editing experience is also slightly sluggish.

The phone is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery, which is good enough for more than a day of on-battery time on regular usage — a mix of calls, messages, casual gaming, social media, multimedia streaming and internet browsing. Unfortunately, the phone does not come bundled without a fast charger of 10W rated output. It takes around two hours to charge the phone’s battery.

Verdict

At Rs 18,599, the Nokia 7.2 is one of HMD Global’s most comprehensive midrange smartphone in recent times. It has a solid build, something that is true of most Nokia-branded phones. The phone’s display is good and its PureDisplay technology makes it ideal for video consumption. The cameras are not exceptionally good, but they are not bad, and the phone’s overall performance is smooth. Additionally, the phone’s cleverly implemented features, such as notification light in the power button and multi-purpose capacitive fingerprint sensor on the back, make it fun and convenient to use.