The Nokia G42 is a mid-range model that meets basic needs in the lower price segment. The model exceeds expectations in terms of battery life and repair options.

The new Nokia G42 (199 euros including VAT) is the ideal model for users who are satisfied with the basic expectations and don’t want to pay too high a price for it. However, the cheap price is reflected in the mediocre screen quality and performance. This latest model from Nokia excels in battery life and durability.

Purple jacket

First, let’s take a closer look at the design. When we unpacked the Nokia G42, the melody of “Purple Rain” spontaneously sounded in our heads. The brand chose the eye-catching color purple for its G42 model. Luckily, there’s also a gray and pink variant for those who don’t like the flashy color.

At 6.56 inches, the Nokia G42 is rather large for the average user, especially in combination with the relatively thick screen edges. The case doesn’t feel very robust and is made of plastic, which is quite common for smartphones in this price range.

Camera quality

The camera quality of the Nokia G42 is very good for a mid-range model and compares favorably with other models in the same price range. The Nokia G42 has three different cameras: 50 MP main camera, 2 MP depth camera and 2 MP macro camera. Although the photos look realistic and reasonably sharp, we notice a blurry edge to the photos. The camera also offers a night option, but this feature doesn’t do what it’s supposed to and the photos aren’t very impressive.

Long battery life

Patience is a golden virtue. Whether this saying also applies to charging your smartphone is rather subjective. The Nokia G42 battery takes a long time to fully charge. Once charged, this battery performs remarkably well. It lasted remarkably long in both the performance and video tests. The Nokia G42 is therefore equipped with a robust 5,000 mAh.

Unfortunately, this smartphone does not have wireless charging capability and wired charging is limited to 20 watts. We can hardly call this fast charging. Additionally, there’s no charger included in the box, but with a USB-C port now universally available on every new smartphone, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Other specifications

The Nokia G42 runs Android 13, a version older than the current Android 14 operating system. The model receives two operating system updates and three years of security updates from Nokia. It includes the Snapdragon 480+ 5G chipset, which doesn’t always improve performance. CPU and GPU performance is mediocre, especially when compared to similar models in the same price range. This means that 3D games do not run smoothly, but traditional applications work perfectly and without any glitches. The G42 also only has 6 GB of RAM. Adding 2GB of virtual RAM also improves performance, but virtual memory is always slower than real memory.

The low price of this model is partly reflected in the quality of the screen. The resolution is 720 x 1,612 pixels and the refresh rate is 90 Hz. The quality of the screen is quite poor, so much so that it even looks like the apps are blurry. Nevertheless, the cover glass is made of (the old, but still) robust Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Can we do it? Absolutely!

A nice bonus about this new Nokia model is that you can easily carry out minor repairs. The G42 is one of the first Nokia smartphones to be designed so that you can replace parts yourself if they break. This is not only better for your wallet, but also for the planet.

The brand partners with iFixit, which provides a free repair manual and where you can purchase new parts. This allows you to replace your old battery, damaged screen, hidden charging port or scratched cover yourself. This puts Nokia in a good position in the area of ​​sustainability.

This short test report is part of our comparative mass test of mid-range cell phones between 200 and 350 euros. Click here for the other reviews.

The Nokia G42 is available in three different colors: purple, pink and gray. The base model has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage and costs 199 euros. In Belgium, this device comes with a three-year warranty.

Android Update Policy: HMD guarantees that the Nokia G42 will receive three years of security updates and two years of operating system updates from the launch date on June 28, 2023.