Nokia 3.2

For Those Who Aim Big

HMD Global owned Nokia has extended its pure stock Android smartphone family with the launch of Nokia 3.2 betting on a huge battery and big display to make a dent into the budget segment smartphone market largely occupied by Xiaomi’s smartphones. The newly introduced Nokia 3.2 is an

extension of its previously launched Nokia 3.1 last year. We have also got the Black version of Nokia 3.2 for review having 3GB RAM configuration. Let’s have a look at it as how it does on our parameters.

Design

Like all the previous Nokia smartphones, the 3.2 has a bold, solid feel to it which is very masculine in nature and is quite big to hold. The plastic body has a glossy sheen all over making it prone to fingerprint imprints and smudges. Nevertheless, the Black colour looks classic and quite an attractant too. The huge size of the phone makes it a bit heavy, at around 180 grams, and is thick as well, 8.6mm. The front of Nokia

3.2 uses the waterdrop notch while the back holds the rear camera in a vertical module, flash and fingerprint scanner. The right panel of phone holds the power button with a light emitting strip and the volume keys. The left panel has a dedicated Google Assistant button which you all must be knowing how to use it and what functions does it bear. The bottom of the Nokia

3.2 sports the 3.5mm jack, speaker grille and two plus one SIM slot. They Type-c port is missing. overall, Nokia 3.2 is a smart looking phone having gloss and big form factor something which budget users might enjoy.

Display

The Nokia 3.2 has a huge 6.26 inch IPS LCD display, with a resolution of 720x1520 pixels and 269 ppi density. The aspect ratio is 19:9 with notch makes Nokia 3.2 looks big for content viewing especially video content. The colour reproduction on the screen is impressive and viewing angles are good too. There’s bit of distortion when you take it out in a sun but, that’s normal and you can change it manually. The huge screen makes a good comfortable screen something which is hugely desired these days when whole of the nations has cheap data and ample amount of content to watch. The Netflix and Amazon users will also love it because of the screen size it has makes it perfect companion for binge watching in this budget. Overall, the big display adds to the advantages Nokia 3.2 has protected by 2.5D Glass.

Platform

Nokia 3.2 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 quad-core chipset coupled with 3GB RAM. The smartphone has the firepower to shine in your routine tasks. The chipset maintains smoothness without any lag in basic tasks but being a quad-core processor the multi-tasking is not its forte. The Nokia 3.2 is not for gamers but that doesn’t mean you cannot play games on it. It is good for Subway Surfer, Candy Crush, etc, but, do not expect it to give you a kick while playing PUBG and Asphalt. HMD could have added four more cores to it making it an octa-core at least to become a market slayer.the Nokia 3.2 runs on Android 9.0 Pie something which is quite unique to Nokia smartphones. Being a pure Stock Android smartphone it offers clutter free user interface. There won’t

be any third party app apart from Google’s own native apps such Photo, Gmail, Youtube, etc.it’s also an Android One family smartphone that assures three years security updates from Google. The best and the worst of Nokia smartphones for me is their pure Os’s. Best because it offers smooth, clean, clutterfree performance and worst because you won’t be able to use basic apps such as calculator, calendar, gallery, etc. The pure Android Pie also adds navigation gestures and other unique features such as Adaptive Brightness and Digital Wellbeing. To sum it up, the newly launched Nokia 3.2 suffices your daily needs without boasting too much on gaming and other unnecessary stuffs which we largely ever use in our lives. There’s no complaint till date on the performance while the pure Stock Android makes it even smooth and easy to use and customize depending upon how you want to use it. The Nokia 3.2 does support Face Unlock apart from having a fast and secure fingerprint scanner at the back of it.

Cameras

The Nokia 3.2 offers single lens setup both at back and front. In a world full of dual and triple camera smartphones HMD still believes that the single lens would be enough to take on them. Nokia 3.2 sports a 13MP rear camera at the back having aperture f/2.2. The rear camera is supported by a LED flash, handy for low light conditions. The images clicked by rear lens are good under normal lighting; they maintain the colour temperature nicely. The low light pictures have grains in it. Similarly, the selfie lens of 5MP with f/2.2 clicks good images in daylight but struggles at night or when the lightings are not favourable. The front lens manages to impress you in most of the cases. Going by the market trend, Nokia 3.2 cameras can do lot to stay in competition if you ignore few points. Overall, the camerasare worthy at the sub-10k category.

Battery

The HMD Global has relied on a huge two day battery life of Nokia 3.2 where it houses a mammoth 4,000mah battery, non-removable in nature. To be a budget buy, a smartphone has to have a huge battery and HMD has not let it go. This battery can take you for two days of use in a single charge. You won’t have to rush to a power point every alternate hour.the large battery means that this phone can let you enjoy unlimited video content on the go. The normal usage can take it for two days. The pure Android makes it to consume less battery because the apps do not remain for long in the background. The charging is mediocre and it takes time to fill it up. The smartphone does generate a bit of heat while charging but, that’s not a cause of worry. The huge screen size of Nokia 3.2 needed a huge potential battery like this to stay in business which is likea companion for the power users in the long run.

Conclusion

The HMD Global has tried decently to make Nokia 3.2 a mass seller. The Nokia

3.2 has a huge almost two day battery life, pure stock Android experience and a complimentary large screen. The combination of big display and bigger battery life make Nokia 3.2 a hot favourite at Rs 10,790 in 3GB format.

The smartphone does support Face Unlock and fingerprint. Performance remains clean and clutter-free with Android Pie 9.0, no skin and no preinstalled apps helps it function efficiently. Cameras work well in good lighting conditions. The dedicated Google Assistant button adds extra to the functionalities of Nokia 3.2. The two SIM and a dedicated memory slot make Nokia 3.2 an apt smartphone for India at the moment. ■