Nokia 2.4 is one of the latest Android smartphones from the company. As with most HMD Global launches, this is a budget smartphone that ranks just one step above some of the more affordable models in the company’s lineup. The Nokia 2.4 launched in India today and will compete against the Redmi 9 Prime and Realme C15, both priced similarly at around INR 10,000.
The Nokia 2.4 has a 6.5-inch 1600×720 IPS LCD screen. It is powered by MediaTek Helio P22, with 3GB of memory and 16 or 32GB of expandable storage. There is a 13MP camera on the back along with a depth sensor and a 5MP camera on the front. The phone is powered by a large 4,500 mAh battery.
Design
The Nokia 2.4 is quite a large phone, thanks to the 6.5-inch screen, flanked by generous bezels on all sides, with the chin at the bottom particularly thick.
The sides and back are made from a single polycarbonate shell. The flat sides have the power and volume buttons on the right and a dedicated Google Assistant key on the left, which can be disabled but not assigned to any other function. At the top is a headphone jack and at the bottom is the single speaker and a microUSB port for charging and data.
Left right up down
The back of the phone is covered in thin diagonal ridges, which are probably designed to improve grip, but only catch the grease from your fingers. In fact, the entire back and especially the sides of the phone are very slippery, so you need to be careful when handling the phone. The back also has a gradient that gets lighter as you go to the top, but it seemed like the bottom half of the phone had darkened from use.
The rear panel houses the dual camera system near the top with a slight camera bump and a fingerprint sensor underneath. The fingerprint sensor is well positioned for the size of the phone and your index finger always falls exactly where it is located. However, for whatever reason, our review unit frequently prevented us from using the fingerprint sensor and asked us to enter the passcode. Most phones normally do this once a week, but our review unit did it every day.
Despite being mostly plastic, the Nokia 2.4 feels sturdy enough with a sturdy chassis. There was no flex or creak when handling or slightly bending the phone. The phone is not resistant to dust or water, so try not to be too adventurous with it.
Monitor
The Nokia 2.4 has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen and 1600×720 resolution. The screen has a notch at the top for the front camera.
The large screen size makes it easy to place a large amount of content on the screen at once, or you can increase the size of the user interface if you have a weaker view. Color accuracy is acceptable if you change the white balance control in settings and make it warmer from its default cool setting. Unfortunately, the good news ends there.
One of the main problems with the screen is brightness. While suitable indoors, the screen washes away easily outdoors, making it difficult to distinguish messages, caller ID, or even subject when taking pictures.
The other issue would be more obvious, which is resolution. The screen is too big to have just a 720p panel. It’s not a big deal if you’re just texting, browsing the web, or even looking at photos. But the screen looks awful when watching any kind of video content, especially YouTube, which maxes out at 720p unsurprisingly. The combination of low pixel density and overly compressed content would be extremely off-putting for all but the least demanding viewer.
The final problem with the screen is the touch screen, which is not very responsive. You need to touch it with some force each time and lighter touches will often just be ignored.
Software and performance
The Nokia 2.4 runs on Android 10 and our review unit is at the security patch of September 5, 2020. Like most of HMD’s Nokia phones, the Nokia 2.4 is part of the Android One program, which means which has a relatively clean version of Android and the only pre-installed bloatware is Google’s, which at this point is so numerous that it seems almost as bad as third-party bloatware. Fortunately, most of it can be uninstalled.
Android One UI
Being a part of Android One also means a guaranteed three years of monthly security updates (no guarantee of receiving them every month) and two years of software updates. Nokia has been a bit better at software updates compared to most other Android OEMs, but if you expect instant Pixel-like software updates when they come out, you might be disappointed.
Otherwise, the software experience is mostly the basic Android 10 that we’ve seen multiple times in the past. It’s familiar and easy to use, but it lacks some of the niceties Android 11 brought with it, such as screen recording, along with several other OEM-specific features on other devices.
Being barebones works out to the benefit of this phone. With just the Helio P22 on board, performance was never going to be exciting, and it isn’t. Basic usage, such as calling, messaging, web browsing, emails, videos, and social media, can be managed as long as you’re a little patient and don’t mind the occasional stutter or lag. But this isn’t a gaming phone unless it’s just 2D games.
Camera
The Nokia 2.4 has a 13MP f2.2 camera on the back with a depth sensor. The autofocus system is of the slower contrast detection method and not the newer phase detection system, so it can be a bit slow at times, especially in low light.
Camera samples
The image quality of the rear camera is a bit disappointing, even for a phone in its price class. The level of detail is acceptable with a decent dynamic range and noise is generally well controlled. The problem is usually that the colors are usually quite unsaturated. This wouldn’t be a major problem if you want to edit your photos anyway before sharing them, but without any editing they can look pretty bland and lifeless.
Battery and charging
We didn’t have time for a battery life test, but we did get about two days of phone use. Unfortunately, the Nokia 2.4 does not have fast charging and still relies on the outdated microUSB port for charging.
conclusion
The Nokia 2.4 could be the ideal smartphone for someone who just wants a large screen, simple software, and a long battery life. For older users, this may be the ideal combination, along with a brand they are familiar with.
Younger users, however, would want more features and performance, along with more playability than the Nokia 2.4 offers. The 2.4 feels really basic at times and the lack of features like fast charging or USB-C makes it feel dated. In this regard, the phone is outclassed by its cheaper Chinese rivals that pack a lot more features at an even lower price.
As such, the Nokia 2.4 is not good value for money and we think it should be priced lower.
