Nokia plugs the gaps in its numbers with the Nokia 4.2
There hasn’t been a Nokia 4 before. There’s a Nokia 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8, but no 4. You may assume this is the same reason that there’s no OnePlus 4 – that the number four is considered unlucky in China – but if that’s the case, then the company has clearly decided that things are going well enough to take the chance.
And they are going well: as Nokia’s PRs pointed out to us the company has tripled its user base in the last year. Not bad for a business that was considered a byword for 90s nostalgia until a couple of years ago.
But back to the Nokia 4.2 (presumably 4.0 and 4.1 didn’t make the cut). Did Nokia really need to plug the gap between 3 and 5?
Nokia 4.2 review: Key specifications, price and release date
- 5.71in 19:9 display
- Up to 3GB RAM
- Up to 32GB storage
- Google Assistant key
- Dual rear camera: 13MP + 2MP with 2 phase detection
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor
- Android 9 Pie
- UK Price: $169 or $199 (UK price TBC)
- UK Release date: April
Nokia 4.2 review: Design, key features and first impressions
If you’ve picked up any of Nokia’s many, many handsets from the last couple of years, then the Nokia 4.2’s design won’t be at all surprising. It’s perhaps a little curvier, but it still boasts the smart design and neat, subtle branding that you’ll have seen elsewhere.
The screen dominates the front of the 5.71in display, but it isn’t close to bezel-free, with a thin black line running around the sides and top, before a thicker chin appears at the bottom. Despite this, it still needs space for a notch with the front-facing selfie camera appearing through a small, circular cut out at the top.
It’s not a bad look by any means – just a reminder that you’re not dealing with a flagship phone here. Nokia has only revealed the global average retail price, of $169 for 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, or $199 for 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, but that sits it between the Nokia 5.1 (£189) and Nokia 3.1 (£130). It’s certainly a looker in that price bracket.
For its processor, Nokia has gone with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439, a 1.95GHz octa-core chipset which, as far as we can tell, has only appeared in inexpensive Vivo handsets we’ve not reviewed. I wouldn’t expect miracles, but we’ll have to wait until we get it in for review to be sure.
More intriguing is the Nokia 4.2’s camera set up, which promises to bring multi-lens imaging to a more affordable price point. It’s a dual-camera array with a 13-megapixel main camera supported by a 2-megapixel depth sensor for arty bokeh shots where the background is blurred.
So far, so familiar, but what really sets it apart, we’re told, is Nokia’s own AI-imaging algorithms. In theory, these should read scenes and take multiple images at different exposures, putting them together to produce a picture that packs a lot more detail. The proof is in the pudding as to how good this is, but it’s not a million miles away from the tricks employed by handsets at the top end of the pricing scale, so if Nokia can pull off even a fraction of the results, it’ll be doing very well indeed.
Nokia 4.2 review: Early verdict
The Nokia 4.2 felt responsive enough during our brief time with it, but we’ll need an extended play to really see if it can keep up with other budget handsets.
