Nokia G21 review

Android One Android 11

The Nokia G21 runs Android 11, on the Android One branch of the OS - so it's about as close as you can get to calling it 'stock Android'. The fact that it's... the year-old version is a whole other point.

Nokia does promise a whopping (/s) 2 years of OS updates (*from the global launch date of the Nokia G21 which was a couple of weeks ago), so you may get Android 13, maybe. The phone is also set to receive 36 security updates, compared to the 16 average that phones in this price segment get, they say.

In all fairness, we may be overly harsh on them - entry-level devices don't get a very favorable treatment when it comes to long-term support regardless of their brand, so the G21 may indeed be a solid option in this respect. It makes sense, since Android One devices should theoretically get their updates seeded straight from Google.

Call it stock, call it vanilla, call it barebones, Android in its One form is simple and functional. Basic things will look familiar - like the lockscreen, homescreens and notification shade.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notifications • Task switcher

The dedicated hardware key on the left will launch Google Assistant from any screen or from standby. The fingerprint reader on the right feels like the default way for unlocking the phone, and it works equally well with either hand, though there's no option to have it require a press - its tap-only behavior may lead to unwanted scans. Basic camera-based face unlock is available too.

Google Assistant • Biometrics and security

Google's apps handle all the major functionality on the phone. The Photos app is your gallery, Gmail is your email client, Calendar is... well, you get the point. There's an FM radio receiver on the G21 with a simple app with RDS but no station memory feature or recording capability.

Google Photos • Gmail • Calendar • Files • FM radio • Settings

Synthetic benchmarks

The Nokia G21 is powered by the Unisoc T606 chipset, an unassuming 12nm chip for entry-level implementations. It's got an octa-core CPU inside in a 2xA75@1.6GHz + 6xA55@1.6GHz configuration and a Mali G57 MP1 GPU. We know of three RAM and storage versions - 3/64GB, 4/64GB, and 4/128GB, and our review unit is the middle option.

We knew not to have too high expectations from the T606, so the rather low benchmark scores came as no surprise. The G21 beats the most basic Samsungs comfortably in GeekBench, and is not too far behind the Redmi 10, with the Galaxy A22 further up a notch.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 8i
  1886
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  1719
• Realme 8
  1690
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1599
• Realme 9i
  1581
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1372
• Xiaomi Redmi 10
  1294
• Nokia G21
  1193
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  889
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  495

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  560
• Realme 8i
  539
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  534
• Realme 8
  533
• Realme 9i
  384
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  376
• Xiaomi Redmi 10
  361
• Nokia G21
  311
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  179
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  131

The G21 actually manages to inch ahead of the A22 in Antunu, though it does predictably lose to the A22 5G, as in GeekBench.

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  357488
• Realme 8i
  308544
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  223188
• Nokia G21
  171299
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  165959
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  101299

The Nokia puts up an okay performance in graphics benchmarks - within its market context, that is, and mostly because of its 720p resolution giving it an advantage over 1080p rivals. The Galaxy A22 (also 720p) does churn significantly more fps in the onscreen tests in GFXBench. The G21 is ahead of the Realme 9i, but way behind the Realme 8 or 8i. And offscreen tests at 1080p do push it lower down the charts.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A22
  30
• Realme 8
  29
• Realme 8i
  22
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  21
• Nokia G21
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  14
• Realme 9i
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  12

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  24
• Realme 8i
  24
• Realme 9i
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  15
• Nokia G21
  8.5
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  7.9
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  6.1

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  48
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  42
• Realme 8i
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  31
• Nokia G21
  24
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  21
• Realme 9i
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  16

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  53
• Realme 8i
  37
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  32
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  24
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  24
• Realme 9i
  23
• Nokia G21
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A03s
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  9.3

It's more of the same in 3DMark, where the Nokia only manages to win against the entry-level Galaxy A02s and lags behind all the other phones in the same price ballpark.

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  2610
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  2391
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1471
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1361
• Realme 9i
  1339
• Nokia G21
  962
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  438

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  2639
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  2257
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  1383
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  1372
• Realme 9i
  1291
• Nokia G21
  930
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  489

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme 8
  1486
• Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
  1104
• Realme 8i
  1102
• Samsung Galaxy A22
  691
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
  482
• Realme 9i
  452
• Nokia G21
  403

While it's not scoring particularly high in 3DMark, the Nokia G21 can sustain that performance indefinitely, apparently, posting a stability rating of 97% in the Wild Life stress test. Similarly, it doesn't really throttle at all in the CPU Throttling test.

CPU throttling test • 3DMark Wild Life stress test