Nokia X30 5G, C31 and T21 hands-on

We were lucky enough to get the Nokia G60 5G at the office just in time to do an unboxing, but we were also able to get our hands on Nokia's other new devices at IFA 2022 in Berlin. So without further ado, here's a hands-on of the Nokia X30 5G and Nokia C31 smartphones, and the Nokia T21 tablet.

Nokia X30 5G

The Nokia X30 5G is the company's most premium current offering, which is immediately evident by the inclusion of an OLED panel - the first on a Nokia phone since the 9 PureView from 2019.

The screen is a 6.43-inch 1080x2400px panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 700 nit peak brightness. It's covered by Gorilla Glass Victus. Being an OLED, the display has accommodated a fingerprint scanner.

The phone features a metal frame, but it's made out of 100% recycled aluminum, while the plastic rear panel uses 65% recycled material.

Nokia X30 5G

There are two cameras on the back of the Nokia X30 5G - a 50MP 1/1.56" sensor with a wide f/1.8 optically-stabilized lens, and a 13MP 1/3.06" ultrawide with an f/2.4 lens.

The pair of cameras also feature Gorillas Glass protection of the DX+ variety.

The selfie camera has a 16MP sensor and no autofocus.

The Nokia X30 5G and its 50MP main camera

The Nokia X30 5G is powered by a 6nm Snapdragon 695 5G chipset with a choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB (UFS 2.2) or 256GB (UFS 3.0) of storage, expandable further through the microSDXC slot.

Nokia's 3-3-3 promise covers the X30 5G, meaning future owners will enjoy 3 years of OS updates and security patches, and a 3-year warranty. That means the Nokia X30 5G is covered at least until Android 15.

The phone relies on a 4,200mAh battery with 33W charging. Nokia says the battery will keep its health for at least 800 cycles.

A look at all the angles

In keeping with the recycled materials used in the body, the Nokia X30 5G comes in a smaller box that's made up of 94% recycled paper. Alongside the phone, you will get a USB cable, but no charger, and no case.

An interesting tidbit is the IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. There's also an IR blaster - neat!

Nokia X30 5G

The Nokia X30 5G is rolling out globally starting today with a base price of €530 ($530/₹42,000). You will be able to pick between Cloudy Blue or Ice White colorways.

Nokia C31

Moving on to the 4G Nokia C31. This is a utilitarian device that's meant to do the job, go all day, and not break the bank.

Under the hood, the Nokia C31 uses an Unisoc 9863A1 chipset - an ancient 28nm unit with an octa-core Cortex-A55 (1.6GHz) processor, and PowerVR GE8322 graphics. Memory configurations start at 3/32GB and go through 4/64GB up to 4/128GB.

There's a large 6.75-inch HD+ LCD and 5MP selfie camera at the front, a 13MP main, 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth camera scheme at the back. You can use the selfie camera for face unlocking or the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner for improved security.

The Nokia C31 runs a full-fledged version of Android 12 with a promise of 2 years of quarterly security updates (no word on OS updates, though).

Handling the Nokia C31

The Nokia C31 is IP52-rated for dust and dripping water, and it packs an impressive 5,050mAh battery with unimpressive 10W charging from an even less impressive microUSB port.

The Nokia C31 is launching globally today and it starts at €130 ($1300/₹10,500) for the base 3/32GB model.

Nokia T21

Let's close things off with the Nokia T21 - a modest and very affordable tablet with optional 4G connectivity.

Starting off from the back, the Nokia T21 has an ample 8,200mAh battery with 18W charging that Nokia says is good to keep its health for at least 800 cycles.

The tablet is powered by a Unisoc T612 chipset - a 12nm unit with an eight-core processor (2x Cortex-A75 and 6x Cortex A-55) and a MaliG52 GPU. There's 4GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of storage.

Android 12 comes as standard and HMD promises 2OS updates and three years of monthly security patches.

The Nokia T21 in the hand

Upfront, there's a 15:9 10.4-inch LCD of 2,000x1,200px resolution. The panel supports an active stylus (Wacom WGP and Wacom Active ES 2.0), plus it can be used as a secondary display for a Windows PC.

You can also use it to stream videos (it has a Netflix HD certification) or do video calls thanks to the 8MP front-facing camera (there is another 8MP module on the back). And you shouldn’t worry too much about damaging it, the aluminum body is pretty tough (and there is a 50% recycled plastic cover over the antennas for better reception), and the tablet itself is rated IP52.

The Nokia T21 tablet is launching today for €240 ($240/₹19,000) for a Wi-Fi unit with 4/64GB memory and again there is a version with 4G LTE as well.