Nokia 7.2 — The Not a Review, Review
First the backstory…
I preordered the Nokia 7.2 after spending weeks studying several phone reviews and GSMArena camera comparisons. Then it didn’t arrive on time and I had to reorder it in a different color. More on that later. In any case, yes I meticulously compared phones for weeks before pulling the trigger on a Nokia I hadn’t even seen a review for. Why? Well it started with the list. The list of things I wanted out of a phone that my current iPhone XR wasn’t capable of hitting in totality. The most important things on my list of smart phone features are as follows:
- A Pro-mode camera capable of decent RAW photos when the mood arises as well as decent point and shoot photos when I was too lazy to compose a shot (the best camera is the one you have with you)
- Headphone Jack (screw you 2019)
- All day Battery (and then some)
- Updates!
- Stock Android
- No gimmicky motorized selfie cameras (I know myself and I will break these within the first week)
- Solid build quality
- Sub $600 price
To further this list a few nice to haves but weren’t deal breakers are:
- Expandable storage with Micro-SD card
- Stereo Front Firing Speakers
- Flagship SOC (855? 845? something in that range)
- A modern display with high screen to body ratio
- Wireless Charging
The Nokia 7.2 checked a lot of boxes where other phones couldn’t. I should mention that I’m in the United States so we are left in the dark here with weird bands that won’t work well with lots of popular devices from across the pond. So what phones made the cut?
The Galaxy S10e was high on this list, but the amount of unnecessary apps and the fact that each one I tried in person at my local Best Buy crashed in some manner didn’t leave me with a good impression. From the camera app quitting out to another display model locking up it wasn’t great. That said, the device was beautiful and I’m sure after enough kids poke at display models weird things happen so I tried not to let that bother me too much. It had a great screen, took good RAW photos and had a built in Pro-mode. Check. The SOC was fast, it had a headphone jack. Check. Samsung guarantees some updates, so check. I really wanted 128gb of built in storage and that’s just over my $600 price tag so almost a check. Stock android? Far from it. No Check. Solid build quality? Check. You get the idea. This was the one phone that was really at the top of my list until I saw the Nokia.
The Pixel 3A was the other phone I was interested in but then I saw burn in on every display model despite them running a screensaver splash. Sure these devices have been out for a while so they’ve been sitting on the screensaver for an extended amount of time but there are enough reddit threads about Pixel 3’s having burn in that I was less than ecstatic. Plus, considering sub-pixel layouts LCDs can produce a sharper image with less resolution (don’t believe me just look at the arguments over the XR’s low resolution and how it didn’t really matter). It checked a lot of other boxes off though, and I’m sure I could have used a 3rd party app for composing RAW shots like Lightroom. So it was also high on the list.
On to the Nokia. Except for wireless charging, a flagship SOC and front firing speakers the Nokia checked off every thing else on my list. It was also almost half my max price!
The Not a Review
My first phone was a Nokia. You know, the indestructible ones that were shaped like a candy bar? So me and Nokia go back a ways. Back when Microsoft was producing Nokia Lumia devices I lusted after a 1020, then a 1520, and eventually at the time could afford a 520. I really liked my live tiles, and despite the really modest specs the device was quick, usable and the camera was surprisingly good. Like really good for the price. So when I saw the design of the 7.2 with that big round camera module in the center I was drawn to it. So design, fit and finish? It’s good. The phone feels sturdy and the plastic and glass feels good in the hand. It’s a little slippery but not in the way my iPhone is. The back glass feels like it has a soft touch texture instead of being polished and this is good. It’s not too heavy and not too light, it’s a good balanced mix of materials and design. I like it.
So about those live tiles on those older Lumia, I found it fitting to install Launcher10 and unlock all its features. This is why it’s not a review. At least not in the sense that you’ll find at other places on the web. I’m not going to show you exactly how this phone worked out of the box, because I don’t use it that way. I’m going to show you how I use the phone. And that’s with Launcher10 as my launcher and Gcam for my point and shoot. I use the stock app for it’s pro-mode at 48mp RAW and it’s fantastic at that as the sensor is capable. But for point and shoot the Gcam apk works software magic. If you want to see stock camera app images you can look at hundreds of those on other sites I’m sure. As simple as it is to install the Gcam apk and configure it anyone with 5 minutes of time can do it. And it works perfectly fine, no crashes or anything. I even set it to be my default when I mash the power button twice.
The Camera
The stock camera app is good. Features and layout make sense, it’s pretty snappy (pun intended) and overall gets the job done. Google software magic it isn’t however and I find it often over or under exposes, then post processes with a tad too much contrast or not enough. It’s a bit hit and miss sometimes. At least though it doesn’t smooth your face in to water color (unless you turn that on, which you can if you want). When it gets it right though it produces fine images, and can shoot in full 48mp RAW with pro controls. Those 48 million pixels by the way really only work well in very bright conditions. It’s just physics and the glass and sensor are so small that you can’t expect miracles. That said when you work within the confines of the laws of nature it works just fine. The Wide angle camera works too. It’s nothing too special but it’s there and does in fact shoot images. Some might even be useable on Instagram but don’t try pixel peeping them.
The Gcam apk however works really well, if not a little laggy some times. This is what I use most of the time. I’ve barely configured any settings in it and I’ m sure I’ll find some better settings as time goes on (especially for denoising) but for now it takes very good photos. I don’t have a Pixel 3 to compare to however a friend has an original Pixel and I was able to take some comparison shots there. Below you’ll find those as they were straight from the phone with no post-editing.
Sample Photos
Launcher10
A short blurb here about Launcher10. Wow is all I can say. Once you enable the extra (paid for — they cost about the price of a coffee at Starbucks) features it really does feel like having the best of both worlds. Windows Mobile and Android all wrapped together. If you like live tiles then it’s worth a look. Here’s my home screen:
Battery Life
You can see from the screenshot that the battery life is more or less as advertised. I’m happy with it. This was a use case mixture of about 2 hours of YouTube, 2 hours of Facebook Messenger and 2 hours of Reddit is Fun with some camera and web browsing usage in between while mostly on WIFI. I’m at home a lot as I work from home so I’m usually on WIFI. For those on LTE all the time I’m sure its worse but that should give you an idea.
Conclusion
I paid $350 and some change for 128 gb of inbuilt storage, a very usable camera with options, and good battery life. To top it off the device looks and feels great in the hand, has a headphone jack and gets routine updates as well as receiving the upcoming Android 10 soon since it’s part of the Android One platform. I’m very happy with my purchase and while in a lot of ways its a side grade from my iPhone XR, the camera is better and having a headphone jack means more to me than I thought it would when I bought the iPhone. Bonus, I’ll be able to sell the iPhone and pocket some of the left over dough. If your list of must haves is something similar I would definitely look in to the Nokia 7.2 and perhaps even the new 8.2 when it comes out. This may be some nostalgia talking but I think Nokia, even though it’s really HMD Global now, is more or less back and will only continue to get better. Welcome back old friend. Don’t screw up.
