Nokia T21 review

Worth When Reviewed

Not obtainable within the Netherlands

Nokia returned to the pill world in late 2021 with the discharge of the T20, a price range 10-inch pill with a classy design. Now, the corporate has adopted it up with a successor.  

The Nokia T21 carries over related appears to be like to the T20, reviewed, however has had just a few upgrades. Nevertheless, is it a better option than the Oppo Pad Air, the Amazon Fireplace HD 10 or Samsung Galaxy Tab A8? That’s what we’ll discover out on this evaluate.

Design & construct 

• Charcoal gray aluminium end
• IP52 score
• MicroSD slot for increasing storage

The Nokia T21 lives as much as the design normal set by its predecessor, with a slim construct and a premium-feeling aluminium physique. Nokia has traded the blue color for a extra understated charcoal gray shade.  

The pill is 7.5mm thick and weighs 471g, so it’s excellent for slipping inside a bag and doesn’t really feel heavy within the hand. No case is included within the field, however Nokia does promote a variety of equipment to maintain it secure from knocks and bumps. It does include an IP52 score, so it’s protected towards gentle mud and water spray.  

On the underside, there’s a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack within the right-hand nook. The ability button is situated on the highest edge, and the amount controls are on the right-hand aspect, together with a detachable tray which may settle for each a SIM card (on LTE fashions) and a microSD card.

The pill doesn’t embody a stylus or keyboard, and there aren’t any official Nokia variations of those for the T21. It is best to nonetheless have the ability to use third-party Bluetooth keyboards – and presumably a stylus too. 

Display & audio system 

• 10.36in show
• 2K display screen with 5:3 side ratio
• Stereo audio system with OZO software program

Nokia has as soon as once more opted for a ten.36in display screen in 5:3 side ratio. Most tablets have a 4:3 display screen, so that is barely wider, however not ‘widescreen’ like a TV.

The 2K IPS show is protected by toughened glass, which has some scratch resistance. Being a price range machine, it’s a 60Hz display screen which implies no excessive or variable refresh price. The height brightness is 360 nits, a downgrade from the earlier mannequin.

Objectively, that is sufficient for indoor use, however below shiny daylight it may be troublesome to see what’s on the display screen, not least as a result of the glass is so reflective, like most tablets.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

See also  Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

Colors are first rate, and you may go for pure, boosted or adaptive relying in your desire. The standard is extra spectacular than what you’ll discover on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, which solely has a FHD panel.

The pill might be unlocked by way of a sample/passcode, or by way of face unlock. I discovered the latter labored persistently, even when carrying glasses. Sadly, there’s no fingerprint scanner, which is a safer possibility than face unlock, which merely makes use of the digital camera.

There are two audio system on both finish of the Nokia T21, together with OZO Spatial Audio software program. Playback is punchy and loud, however not fairly as spectacular as what you will discover on extra premium tablets. Nonetheless, it’s fantastic for Netflix, podcasts and the odd little bit of music.  

Specs & efficiency 

• 4GB RAM
• 64GB or 128GB storage
• Unisoc T612 CPU

The T21 encompasses a Unisoc T612 CPU, a slight improve from the earlier mannequin. That is paired with 4GB RAM, and both 64GB or 128GB price of storage, however the microSD slot permits as much as an extra 512GB. It’s obtainable each in Wi-Fi and LTE variations.  

Total, efficiency isn’t as laggy because the T20, however it’s nonetheless very a lot what you’d anticipate from a fundamental pill. It copes fantastic for streaming, taking notes, studying e-books and shopping the online, however is usually gradual to launch and change between apps.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Nevertheless, there are tablets obtainable for the same worth (or not much more) that carry out noticeably higher. In benchmarks, the T21 carried out higher than the Samsung Tab A8 and S6 Lite in Geekbench 5 – a CPU check – however fell wanting the scores set by the T10 in GFXBench graphics assessments. That is considerably moot, although, as a result of neither pill is basically highly effective sufficient for gaming – besides informal video games that don’t require plenty of 3D grunt.

This isn’t actually the gadget for gaming on, however the T21 was capable of run the likes of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp with minimal points. For any extra highly effective gaming or artistic software program, it’s price contemplating a extra high-end pill.  

Digital camera 

• 8Mp entrance digital camera
• 8Mp rear digital camera

Pill cameras aren’t often as vital as they’re on smartphones. Nonetheless, Nokia has made an enchancment on the T21’s set-up in comparison with the earlier technology.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The entrance selfie digital camera has been upgraded to 8Mp from 5Mp. Colors are barely higher, however textures are a bit comfortable or blurry, and indoor photographs look rather more washed out than when there’s loads of gentle obtainable outdoor. Most individuals will use this digital camera for video calls, for which it’s completely fantastic. 

The rear 8Mp digital camera stays unchanged from the T20. And once more, in good gentle you will get some satisfactory snaps on the T21. Nevertheless, colors might be on the insipid aspect, and there’s a noticeable lack of sharpness to textures.

The digital camera is able to as much as 8X zoom, however as you’ll see on the check photographs, it isn’t price utilizing something previous 2X as a result of it turns photographs right into a blurry mess. Each cameras have auto-focus, and embody portrait mode and filters for fundamental modifying.

Battery life & charging 

• 8200mAh battery
• 18W charging supported, however no brick included

The Nokia T21 has a 8200mAh battery, which Nokia claims can last as long as three days. In fact, that isn’t below common utilization. On common, I used to be in a position to make use of this machine to stream, browse social media and skim for round two days in between work.  

Three days utilization could be presumably in case you had been utilizing the pill extra conservatively, making use of the battery-saving mode and having the brightness turned down low. In our battery check, the T21 managed a decent 9 hours and 23 minutes.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The Nokia T21 helps 18W charging however doesn’t embody a charger within the field, solely a USB-C cable. It is a dedication to the corporate’s effort to scale back waste within the packaging. Nevertheless, will probably be irritating in case you don’t have a charger, and Nokia’s particular 18W one will set you again £19.99.  

Thankfully, I had an 18W charger at hand and located the T21 went from flat to 14% in half-hour. Nokia’s personal charger might be able to do higher, however it’s greatest to think about charging this pill in a single day. 

Software program 

• Android 12
• Can be utilized as a second display screen with Home windows gadgets

One of many greatest benefits of going for a Nokia machine is that its software program is essentially pure Android, so there aren’t any main UI variations for Google customers.

All of the apps are laid out clearly, with hardly any bloatware like what you’d discover on rivals from the likes of Xiaomi. It additionally has a wider vary of apps than what the Amazon Fireplace HD 10 presents.

The pill has Android 12 out of the field. This isn’t the most recent Google OS, however Nokia has assured two OS updates and three years of month-to-month safety updates, so it’s going to ultimately obtain Android 13.  

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

All the usual Google apps come pre-installed, and also you get each Google Leisure House and Youngsters House. The previous recommends movies from platforms you’re subscribed to, while the latter makes the Android expertise extra appropriate for youthful customers with instructional app solutions and customisable content material filters.

The T21 can be utilized as a second display screen with Home windows gadgets, offering that they’re each related to the identical Wi-Fi community. This characteristic is out there within the drop-down menu, after which you’ll be able to solid your display screen to the T21 by utilizing the Home windows and Okay keys in your laptop computer/PC.  

It provides the pill an edge on the subject of productiveness, and should show helpful for anybody who doesn’t have the area for a big second monitor of their dwelling workplace.  

Worth & availability 

You should purchase a Nokia T21 from £199 for the Wi-Fi model, and £239 for the LTE model.

On the time of writing, the pill wasn’t but obtainable within the US market, but when it does go on sale, we anticipate it to be across the $250 mark.

You should purchase the pill with Nokia’s month-to-month Round subscription. This covers alternative components for the T21 whether it is broken or stolen, encouraging you to carry onto the machine for longer. It additionally permits customers to earn credit which go in direction of environmental causes.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Verdict 

The Nokia T21 takes every thing we appreciated concerning the T20 and improves on a number of the areas that we didn’t. It combines a premium-looking design with succesful efficiency for a price range purchase, and the battery life can be spectacular.  

The dearth of a charger within the field signifies that speeds might be gradual for many customers, and the show isn’t as dazzling because the earlier technology. Nonetheless, these are minor gripes for what’s an excellent reasonably priced pill from Nokia.  

The issue – for Nokia – is that for roughly similar worth, the Oppo Pad Air presents higher efficiency and comes with a charger within the field, making it the higher purchase except you discover it’s dearer whenever you learn this.

For extra options, see our roundup of the perfect price range tablets, as properly the perfect Android tablets and greatest tablets total.  

Nokia T21: Specs 

• OS: Android 12 
• Processor: Unisoc T612 octa-core processor 
• Reminiscence: 4GB 
• Storage: 64GB/128GB + microSD as much as 512GB 
• Cameras: 8Mp rear, 8Mp entrance 
• Ports: USB-C, 3.5mm Headphone Jack, SIM, MicroSD
• Accelerometer 
• GPS 
• Ambient gentle sensor 
• Corridor sensor
• Twin-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, 4G (on LTE fashions)
• Stereo audio system with twin microphones 
• 8200mAh battery, 18W charging supported 
• Dimensions: 157.3 x 247.5 x 7.5 mm 
• Weight: 471g 
• IP52 score 
• Charcoal Gray end 
• 10.36in 2K IPS show