Nokia 7.2 review

Introduction

The Nokia 7 was a China-exclusive from two years ago, while the 7 plus went global and was a bit of an unsung hero back in early 2018, offering a lot of phone at a very reasonable price. The 7.1 wasn’t quite its spiritual successor, instead slipping into a slightly lower tier in the midrange. We now have the Nokia 7.2 with us and we’ll attempt to answer the question whether the 7-series is happy where the 7.1 took it, or it wants back to the plus’ level.

One thing straight of the 7 plus is the chipset and we’re not entirely certain that’s a good thing. The Snapdragon 660 is plenty powerful, sure, but is now more than two years old and more efficient options are available. At least you can spec the 7.2 with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with the base model not coming with the .1’s measly 3/32GB but the plus’ 4/64GB.

Shared with that model are the overall dimensions too – while the 7.1 was a smaller phone, the 7.2 is back to plus size. But dimensions aren’t synonymous with build and the new phone has a composite frame that may be as tough as and lighter than aluminum, but it’s not strictly premium to the touch, which the 7 plus did manage.

Anyway, the Nokia 7.2 comes with a 6.3-inch IPS display bringing a significant increase in area over the 7.1. Helping with that is also the notch – Nokia’s shifted some components around and now it it only holds the selfie camera, making for a smaller cutout.

What’s not small is the camera bump on the back, but it’s got a bunch of cameras to show for it – a 48MP Quad Bayer primary unit is joined by an ultra wide angle 8MP module and a 5MP depth sensor. So it does have one more meaningful camera than the 7.1, but still omits a telephoto, which the 7 plus did have.

Nokia 7.2 specs

• Body: 159.9×75.1×8.3mm, 180g; Gorilla Glass 3 front and back; Cyan Green, Charcoal, Ice color schemes.
• Screen: 6.3″ FullHD+ LCD, PureDisplay, waterdrop notch, HDR10.
• Chipset: Snapdragon 660 (14nm): Octa-core CPU (4×2.2GHz Kryo 260 & 4×1.8GHz Kryo 260); Adreno 512 GPU.
• Memory: 4/6GB RAM, 64/128GB storage, microSD slot.
• OS: Android 9.0 Pie; Android One.
• Rear camera: Main: 48MP, 1/2.0″ Quad Pixel sensor, f/1.79. Ultra-wide: 8MP, f/2.2, 118-degree FoV. Depth sensor: 5MP. Zeiss optics, LED flash.
• Front camera: 20MP, Quad Pixel sensor, f/2.0.
• Battery: 3,500mAh, 5V/2A charging.
• Misc: USB-C, 3.5mm jack, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, 2 mics, FM radio, Google Assistant button, notification LED.

The specsheet is nothing out of the ordinary, but we do mention the notification LED as it’s inside the power button, which we hadn’t seen before. We hadn’t seen a 10W charger in a while either, and that’s less exciting. What else is in the package, you ask?

Nokia 7.2 unboxing

The Nokia 7.2 comes in a compact flat box with a photo of two people shaking hands and the outline of the phone printed on it. Get it? Nokia – connecting people. Inside it, the phone sits to the right, its plastic sleeve pointing at the Google Assistant dedicated button.

To the left of the phone is a box that holds the accessories. You get a basic 5V/2A adapter, a USB-A-to-C cable, and an inexpensive-looking set of earbuds. Essentially, you have the basics covered to get started, perhaps a freebie case was too much to ask for.