The Nokia G60 5G is a terrific smartphone that gives the Pixel 6a a run for its money as a feature-packed budget handset.
It might lack the polished design and operating system that has become inseparable from the Google brand, but with a $200 cheaper price tag, the Nokia G60 5G might just be the perfect alternative for the performance lover.
Not just a brick anymore
Yes, Nokia still exists and no, they aren’t designing only brick-style phones anymore (although they’re still making these as ‘feature phones’). As one of the legendary brands of the pre-smartphone world, Nokia doesn’t make devices anymore that shoot above the $1,000 mark, instead going for the budget and midrange price points. At the time of writing, the most expensive Nokia device is the X30 at $899, while the G60 5G (the one we’re reviewing) comes in at a comfortable $549.
This is an interesting price point, considering that it is well and truly on a performance level adjacent to the $749 Google Pixel 6a, or the $638 Oppo Find X5 Lite.
At $200 cheaper than its Google rival and $90 cheaper than Oppo, the Nokia G60 5G includes an impressive 6.58-inch (1080 x 2408) 120hz screen, a Snapdragon 695 processor and an Adreno 619 GPU, not to mention 5G capability and an impressive camera array. In Australia, the phone comes with 128GB storage with 6GB RAM and there’s also space for a Micro SD card.
Also, thankfully, there isn’t much bloatware on this device. Samsung and Oppo love to cram unnecessary apps onto their handsets and thankfully Nokia hasn’t followed in their footsteps.
But let’s spend a bit of time talking about the aesthetic and its environmental commitment.
Achoo!
It’s a shame that it’s quite an unattractive-looking device, lacking the premium flare that the before-mentioned phone makers all factor in.
Available in either black or grey, the phone looks somewhat like a Samsung Galaxy A series device (AKA, Samsung’s budget range). The selfie camera is implemented as a fairly standard notch and the back of the phone feels and looks quite unpleasant. It’s smooth with odd braille-like dents in it, and visually it looks like somebody has just sneezed on it.
And I hate to say that it’s bad, because it’s like this for an environmental reason. The Nokia G60 is built using 60 per cent recycled plastic, with 3 years of warranty and OS upgrades. The chippered plastic back of the device no doubt invokes a recycled feeling, similar to that of Microsoft’s sea plastic mouse or Acer’s eco laptop.
But it just doesn’t feel good. I would strongly recommend using a case with this phone.
Spec testing
On the battery test, in which we test a phone’s ability to stream Avengers Endgame in its entirety from the Disney+ app, the Nokia went down to 92 per cent in hour one, 85 per cent in hour two and 77 per cent in hour three. This is just below how the Pixel 6a performed in the same test, getting down to 80 per cent by the end of the movie. Not too bad at all.
Colour quality in the movie was fine, but nothing too impressive compared to a premium phone like an iPhone 14 Pro or the Pixel 7a Pro, but there’s nothing surprising there. Sound was very quiet during the film, so I would advise using headphones instead of the inbuilt speakers.
Fingerprint recognition was very responsive and much better than that of the Pixel 6a. Side-mounted on the standby button, it has been responsive without any issues during the review period. The Pixel 6a, however, did have its own issues back when I was using it (though it’s still not perfect).
In day-to-day testing, I was quite impressed with the phone. Having multiple apps open and swiping from app to app, I started to notice lag here and there, but it was never a problem if I were managing my resources well enough (by not having too many processes running at a given time).
In games testing, the phone handled 60fps gaming on Call of Duty Mobile and League of Legends Wild Rift like a treat. Running both games on maximum specs, the game dropped 5 per cent in a single CoD Mobile match and 10 per cent in a Wild Rift match, without any noticeable frame drops. Very nice.
Camera testing
Unfortunately, it is with camera testing that the Nokia G60 5G is undone. From the outset, the photos below are fine. They’re what I’d expect to snap on a phone that costs this much, however, the Google Pixel 6a has completely turned the smartphone camera market on its head (a tradition Google has upheld with its mid-range devices since the 3a). The device includes 50MP wide, 5MP ultrawide, 2MP depth and 8MP selfie cameras.
The photo below includes wide camera testing, with some noticeable camera colour differences between snaps with post-processing.
In the ultrawide photo below, you’ll notice some pixelation, but the colouring was fine. It was capable of capturing a very pleasant day and I don’t think it’s bad at all. Just not the best.
In portrait testing, the phone gives you the option to blur the background in editing, but I found the post-processing background blur to be satisfying enough. Colour correction and accuracy weren’t as impressive as on the Google Pixel 6a, so for the moment, I have no trouble with the Pixel 6a retaining the budget camera king title.
And finally, let’s do a silly one. The camera was able to produce some nice colour, even if slightly muted.
Should I buy the Nokia G60 5G?
I recommend the Nokia G60 5G if you’re after a powerful phone with a high refresh rate, but just know that it’s not that pretty outside of a case. If you care about owning a sustainable, recycled phone, then the G60 is a valuable pick, especially when devices like the Fairphone aren’t available in Australia.
If you care about photos, you might be interested in the Google Pixel 6a, but for the most part, the Nokia G60 5G is a terrific all-rounder.
Nokia has created a very nice device here. It’s just a shame it looks and feels as much like a brick as the Nokia phones of old.
Where to buy the Nokia G60 5G
Nokia ($550) | Amazon ($550) | JB Hi-Fi ($550) | Big W ($550)