We’ve all been there… that smartphone you paid thousands for slips from your grasp and in slo-mo hurtles towards the ground. You wince while picking it up, waiting to inspect the damage. Sometimes you’re in luck and your precious handset escapes unscathed, other times you face a costly visit to the retailer to try to get some repairs. Enter HMD & Nokia’s G42 5G phone in ‘So Purple’. 

The Brand

The Nokia G42 5G is one of the latest offerings from HMD Global, the company behind the revival of the iconic Nokia brand. Known for their durability (remember the iconic 3310?) and user-friendly designs, Nokia phones have garnered a loyal following over the years. The G42 5G aims to provide a balance between affordability and functionality, aiming to cater to the needs of the modern smartphone user who seeks reliable performance without breaking the bank.

The G42 5G isn’t just your average mid-range smartphone, it has a party trick up it’s sleeve, the claim of self-repairability. With the average cost of replacing a cracked screen in Australia more than $300, Nokia/HMD Global are pitching that consumers can embrace the new Nokia G42 5G without cost-of-living strains. With an iFixit DIY kit you can attempt to repair everything from cracked screens, to charging ports and replacing batteries all with step-by-step repair guides.

Design and Build

The Nokia G42 5G sports a sleek and minimalist design, with a polycarbonate back that offers a good grip and is resistant to everyday wear and tear. The phone is available in a variety of colours, with ours in a quite admittedly lovely ‘So Purple’, there’s also a new ‘So Pink’ and ‘So Grey’ on offer if you’re so inclined. It’s an attractive device, but not exactly ground-breaking in it’s execution, however for the price point it feels nicely weighted (190grams) and well put together. The placement of the buttons is well thought-out too, with the power button doubling as a fingerprint scanner. The phone back is made from 65% recycled materials, and boxed in FSC-certified mixed packaging. This eco-friendly approach not only helps in conserving resources but also sets a positive example for other manufacturers in the industry.

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Display

Equipped with a 6.52-inch HD+ display, the Nokia G42 5G offers vibrant colors and decent brightness levels, ensuring a satisfactory viewing experience for most users. The resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels might not be the sharpest in its class, but it performs well for everyday tasks such as browsing, social media, and streaming videos. The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, which provides some level of durability against scratches and minor impacts.

Performance

Under the hood, the Nokia G42 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G chipset, coupled with 4GB of RAM. This combination ensures smooth performance for daily activities, including multitasking, browsing, and running moderate applications. It runs on a near-stock version of Android 13, which is great for users who prefer a clean and bloatware-free experience. The software is intuitive and user-friendly, with regular security updates promised by Nokia to keep the device secure and up-to-date. With virtual memory feature, you can even choose to dedicate up to 5 GB of storage to be used as extra RAM to help your phone run smoothly while operating multiple apps at once. While it might not be the best choice for heavy gaming or intensive tasks, it handles most regular operations with ease. The device comes with 128GB of internal storage, which much like other non-Apple phones, can be expanded via a microSD card up to a whopping 1TB.

Camera

The Nokia G42 5G features a 50MP triple-camera setup on the rear, that has imaging AI integrated to help capture clear shots in tough conditions. For a mid-range phone such as this, the camera system performs well in good lighting conditions, capturing detailed and vibrant images. The ultra-wide lens is useful for landscape shots and group photos, while the depth sensor aids in producing better portrait shots with a pleasing bokeh effect. The 8MP front camera is sufficient for selfies and video calls, offering decent image quality and various beauty modes to enhance photos. It’s not up there with the front of the back, but certainly not being left behind.

Battery Life

One of the standout features of the Nokia G42 5G is its impressive battery life. The device is equipped with a 5000mAh battery, with which Nokia claims a 3-day battery life! With heavy use, a full day without charge is certainly achievable. Nokia also is continuing with it’s heritage of being notoriously reliable with a battery that will retain up to 80% of it’s original capacity after 800 full charging cycles. That’s about 4 years of charges for the mathematicians amongst us. The phone supports 20W USB-C fast charging, ensuring that the battery can be topped up relatively quickly.

QuickFix Repairability

A unique and commendable feature of the Nokia G42 5G is its QuickFix repairability. Nokia has designed the phone to be easily repairable at home, allowing users to replace components such as the battery, screen, and back cover with minimal tools and technical know-how. This not only extends the lifespan of the device but also reduces electronic waste by empowering users to perform basic repairs themselves.

As we mentioned earlier, the average cost to repair a broken screen alone in Australia can be more than $300 and the average cost to replace a battery is more than $100. The iFixit screen replacement kit costs $89.99 and the battery replacement kit costs $49.99, including the tools. The phones come with a 3-year warranty and the amazing thing is that using iFixit does not void the warranty…provided you follow the instructions, so make sure you don’t throw them away! You also need to purchase the genuine parts from iFixit in order for the repairs to remain within warranty.

Verdict

What we are ‘Addicted’ to?: The Nokia G42 5G is a well-rounded smartphone that caters to the needs of budget-conscious consumers looking for a reliable and future-proof device. With its solid build, decent performance, impressive battery life, and clean software experience, it stands out as a strong contender in the mid-range segment. The inclusion of QuickFix repairability is a novel addition, of which this reviewer was admittedly not able to take full advantage of, as during our testing – nothing broke!

What we need to be more ‘Addicted’ – While it may not offer the highest resolution display or the most powerful processor, it strikes a good balance between price and functionality, making it a worthy consideration for many users.

The Nokia G42 5G in So Pink is available in Australia from today in 6/128 GB storage and memory configurations from AUD$449 RRP from JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Nokia.com, TVSN, Amazon, Catch and Kogan.