Nokia’s mid ranger took aim at its usual target audience and does have some compelling features. But is it worth buying at this point in 2024?
Performance
With GeekBench scores of 696 (single core), 1794 (Multi-Core), 1104 (GPU- OpenCL), 894 (GPU- Vulcan), the Nokia G50 will not strike one as a high performer when it comes to intensive tasks. But it will handle the basic necessities quite nicely and will serve well as a decent economical smartphone.
Hardware
| Display | Aspect ratio: 20:9 Cover glass: Corning® Gorilla™ Glass 3 Features: Brightness 450 nits (typ.), Sunlight brightness boost Size: 6.82 in Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1560) |
| Battery | Battery: 5,000 mAh1 Non Removable Charging: 18W fast charging compatible |
| Cameras | Features: Portrait mode, Night mode, HDR, Beautification, Panorama, Watermark Front camera: 8 MP Rear camera: 48 MP Main AF + 5 MP Ultrawide + 2 MP Depth Rear flash LED |
| Dimensions | Height: 6.84 in Weight: 0.49 lb Width: 3.06 in Depth: 0.35 in |
| Cellular | Max network speed: 5G 4 Network bands (5G NR): (EU/ROW/China) sub6 TDD: n78, n38, n41(full), n40, FDD-n1,n3, n5, n7,n28; (LATAM) Sub 6 TDD: n78, n38, n41(full) FDD: n28, n3, n1, n7, n5, n2, n66; (North America) Sub 6 TDD: n78, n38, n41(full) ,n71 FDD: n7, n5, n2, n66 Network bands (GSM): (EU/International/China) 850, 900, 1800, 1900; (LATAM) 850, 900, 1800, 1900; (North America) 850, 900, 1800, 1900 Network bands (LTE): (EU/International/China) FDD: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, TDD:38, 39, 40, 41 (full); (LATAM) 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12/17,13,20,28,38,39,40,41(full),66; (North America) 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12/17,13,20,,25, 26, 38,40,41(full),66 Network bands (WCDMA): (EU/Internationnal/China) 1, 2, 5, 8; (LATAM) 1, 2, 4, 5, 8; (North America) 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 Sim size: Nano |
| Casing | Polymer composite |
| CPU | Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 480 5G Mobile Platform 3 |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | Internal storage: 128 GB2 MicroSD card support up to: 512 GB |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth: 5.0 Headphone jack: 3.5 mm Location: GPS/AGPS, BDS, Galileo USB connection: USB Type-C (USB 2.0) OTG WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax-ready NFC Supported |
| Operating System | Android 11 (Upgradeable to Android 13) |
| Dust/Water resistance | N/A |
Even with the basic plastic casing, the phone doesn’t feel too economical- it’s fairly light and durable feeling. The Polymer composite has a subtle texturized feeling and is not unpleasant to hold in one’s palm.
The cameras can perform decently in well-lit situations, but don’t expect stellar performance during dusk and night time. Video capture is limited to only 1080p at 60FPS and in optimal lighting, can produce decent FHD content with good audio. While the megapixel count is impressive at 50MP, the camera itself cannot seem to capture motion well at all and will require very stationary subjects to get good shots. Low light situations are not covered well by the cameras at all, and the 2MP macro lens seems inappropriate and honestly not even worth including.
The screen is quite surprising. The default wallpaper looks great and is bright enough to use outdoors. The sunlight boost with 450 nits does work.
Final Thoughts
The Nokia G50 on sale was a decent bargain and has some features that a lot smartphones are missing these days. Unfortunately, a big one that the G50 itself is missing is water and dust resistance, and with security updates ending on December 2024, I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone to buy this phone unless they want to use the device without connecting to the Internet like an iPod Touch.
A couple of years ago, this could have been a good buy as a burner smartphone or a traveling spare, but definitely not now at this point in time. Potential buyers for a connected modern smartphone should look elsewhere.