Hands-on review of the Nokia G60

introduction

Buying a smartphone is simple: you weigh the features against the price and try to find the best value for money. At least, that’s how reasonable buyers do it.

Looking at the phone’s specs goes a long way, but it’s far from the full story. There is more to consider, such as HMD’s 3-3-3 promise for the Nokia smartphone range: three years of OS updates, 3 years of security patches and 3 years of warranty. This definitely increases the value of a phone if you plan to keep it for a few years. Some buyers would even rate it more than a 108MP camera or 5,000mAh battery.

The Nokia name still has some weight among buyers, especially European ones. Some people open Amazon, type in Nokia, and scramble to order.

Those people would be happy with the Nokia G60 because it is a solid phone with a reasonable price and the aforementioned stellar software support. But we are different here at GSMArena. We’re the guys who do in-depth analysis and write Buyer’s Guides to help reasonable people get the best deal. And we’ll have our say before this hands-on is done.

Let’s take a look at the Nokia G60 key specs first.

The specifications of the Nokia G60 at a glance:

• Body: 166.0×75.9×8.6 mm, 190 g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic structure, plastic back; Splash resistant.
• Screen: 6.58 “IPS LCD, 120Hz, 400nits (typical), 1080x2408px resolution, 20.07: 9 aspect ratio, 401ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM6375 Snapdragon 695 5G (6 nm): Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold and 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• Operating system / software: Android 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f / 1.8, 1 / 2.5 “, 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 5 MP, f / 2.2, 1/5 “; Depth: 2 MP, f / 2.4.
• Front camera: 8 MP, f / 2.0, (wide angle), 1 / 4.0 “, 1.12µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p @ 30fps; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps.
• Battery: 4500 mAh; 20W wired, PD3.0.
• Various: Fingerprint reader (side mounted); FM Radio; 3.5mm jack.

The Nokia G60 places itself in an increasingly busy segment around the $ 300 price point. Most of its competitors pack larger batteries, in-box chargers (not to mention the fast ones), AMOLED displays, better secondary cameras, and a times, more capable chipsets.

Nokia tries to counter spec inferiority with stock Android software, the promise of better support, and a focus on reducing its carbon footprint. The G60 comes in a recycled paper box, while the phone uses recycled plastic – the back panel is 100% recycled, while the frame is 60%.

This will be important to some buyers and certainly to the planet. But they only matter if the final product is good, so let’s take a look.

Design and management

Nokia is very serious about its environmental impact, so it ships the G60 in a completely recycled box with a USB cable and nothing else. The package itself features placeholders for other accessories, and Nokia ships the G60 with a 20W charger in some markets.

The Nokia G60 is a conventional looking device, large but not huge. It has a 6.58-inch 1080p IPS display complete with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, which means it will trigger the maximum 120Hz when you interact with the display and drop back to 60Hz when idle. Videos are automatically limited to 60Hz, while web pages are refreshed to 120Hz (as you tap the screen).

The panel is nicely sharp at 401ppi and retains most of its legibility when viewed from an angle. Colors are vivid and there is a great deal of contrast for an LCD. The panel has a bluish tint out of the box, but there’s a white balance slider that will make things right when pushed to the warm side the appropriate amount.

At 390 nits the display is bright enough if not blinding. There’s a further boost in Auto mode, which pushes the panel to 440 nits in direct sunlight. The glass above the display is Gorilla Glass 5, while the 8MP selfie camera sits on a teardrop notch.

The Nokia G60 casing is made of plastic. The frame, made from 60% recycled plastic, is flat and snug.

There is a two-stage volume button on the right with a power button with an integrated fingerprint scanner underneath. The capacitive reader is snappy and trouble-free. The only thing worth noting is the tedious setup process – there are only so many ways I can twist my thumb for you, G60.

The phone is IP52 rated which means it is nearly dust proof and can withstand rain. Moving on to the left side of the phone, there’s a hybrid dual SIM and microSD card slot, which means you can have two cards at a time.

The left side and the SIM slot

There’s a secondary microphone at the top, while at the bottom of the G60 there’s a USB-C port flanked by the 3.5mm headphone jack and the single speaker.

The back panel is made from completely recycled plastic. Nokia has added a smudged tactile texture to the back panel to perhaps solidify the feeling of being good to nature, but it makes the phone feel better and different.

The back is also where you’ll find the main cameras. The main wide-angle camera has a 50MP sensor and an f / 1.8 lens, while the 5MP ultrawide unit has an f / 2.2 lens and fixed focus. There is a 2MP f / 2.4 depth sensor and an LED flash.

The Nokia G60 feels balanced in the hand. It’s not too heavy at 190g and the flat frame doesn’t dig in the hand.

Android 12 almost in stock

The Nokia G60 runs a relatively unmodified version of Android 12 with a now-old security patch from August, not exactly impressive given the promised 3 years of security updates.

The Nokia G60 packs a Snapdragon 695 chipset with 6GB of RAM. The device works well without hitches and slowdowns. In fact, we find the Nokia G60 to run noticeably smoother than other Snapdragon 695-based phones with custom Android skins.

The user interface and overall appearance are similar to stock Android. This includes the new pill-shaped quick switches in the notification shade. And again, it doesn’t include the switch for automatic brightness, and you have to dig deep into the settings menu to enable or disable the feature.

No changes in the recent apps menu showing apps in a carousel formation and no changes in the app drawer as well. However, the iconography in the General Settings menu has been revamped, so it may take some getting used to.

Performance

Compared to the Snapdragon 690, the 695 has newer and more powerful CPU and GPU cores. The chip boasts 5G and is based on TSMC’s reasonably modern 6nm manufacturing process. The two main Kryo 560 Gold (Cortex-A77) cores are replaced with Kryo 660 Gold (Cortex-A78) cores clocked at 2.2 GHz, while the six energy efficient Kryo 560 Silver (Cortex-A55) cores clocked at 2.2 GHz. 1.7 GHz remain the same. There is only one change in the name, now called Kryo 660 Silver.

The Adreno 619L GPU has been replaced with a regular Adreno 619. The SD695 now also supports faster 2133 MHz LPDDR4X memory.

We compared the Nokia G60 to a bevy of similarly priced opponents with chipsets ranging from the Snapdragon 778G, to the Mediatek Dimensity 920, 900 and Exynos 1280. In the G60, the Snapdragon 695 finished in the middle of the results package.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  2801
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  2796
• Realme 9 Pro +
  2335
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  2225
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  2157
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  2063
• Realme 9 Pro
  2020
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  1964
• Nokia G60 5G
  1908
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  1900
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  1891
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  1873
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  1820
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  1729
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  1662

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 9 Pro +
  814
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  771
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  743
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  742
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  736
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  728
• Realme 9 Pro
  694
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  688
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  670
• Nokia G60 5G
  668
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  603
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  588
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  526
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  511
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  376

AnTuTu 9

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  506432
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  504424
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  437872
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  436640
• Realme 9 Pro +
  416031
• Nokia G60 5G
  402664
• Realme 9 Pro
  401894
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  394918
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  382902
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  380818
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  379313
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  360255
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  319093
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  308741
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  244526

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (on screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  19
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  18
• Realme 9 Pro +
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  15
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  15
• Nokia G60 5G
  12
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  12
• Realme 9 Pro
  11
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  9.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  8.3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  4.6

GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (1440p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  13
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  13
• Realme 9 Pro +
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  10
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  10
• Nokia G60 5G
  7.8
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  7.8
• Realme 9 Pro
  7.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  7.8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  6.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  5.5
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  3.1

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (on screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  19
• Realme 9 Pro +
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  15
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  14
• Nokia G60 5G
  12
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  12
• Realme 9 Pro
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  8.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  7.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  4.8

GFX Aztek Vulkan High (1440p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  14
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  10
• Realme 9 Pro +
  10
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  9.4
• Nokia G60 5G
  8.2
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  8.2
• Realme 9 Pro
  8.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  8
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  5.6
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  5.1
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  3.1

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (on screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  28
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  28
• Realme 9 Pro +
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  22
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  20
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  19
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  19
• Nokia G60 5G
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  17
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  16
• Realme 9 Pro
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  13
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  12
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  6.8

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (1080p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  33
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  33
• Realme 9 Pro +
  27
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  25
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  23
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  23
• Nokia G60 5G
  20
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  20
• Realme 9 Pro
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  14
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  8

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (on screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  49
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  47
• Realme 9 Pro +
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  35
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  35
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  35
• Nokia G60 5G
  30
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  30
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  29
• Realme 9 Pro
  29
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  23
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  22
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  21
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  12

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  56
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  56
• Realme 9 Pro +
  45
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  43
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  40
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  38
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  38
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  35
• Realme 9 Pro
  35
• Nokia G60 5G
  34
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  34
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  26
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  24
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  24
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  15

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (on screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  69
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  64
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  57
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  56
• Realme 9 Pro +
  56
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  55
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  51
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  43
• Realme 9 Pro
  41
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  41
• Nokia G60 5G
  39
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  36
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  34
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  32
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  18

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (1080p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  77
• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  77
• Realme 9 Pro +
  68
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro + 5G
  64
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  61
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  60
• Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
  60
• Nokia G60 5G
  47
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  47
• Realme 9 Pro
  47
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
  47
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S 5G
  40
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
  37
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S
  37
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  21

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (1440p off screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy M52 5G
  5015
• Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G
  5010
• OnePlus Nord CE2 5G
  3722
• Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  3631
• Realme 9 Pro
  2946
• Nokia G60 5G
  2935
• Motorola Edge 30 Neo
  2921
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
  1316

Battery life

The Nokia G60 is equipped with a respectable 4,500mAh battery. Some of its rivals have 5,000mAh batteries, but the endurance we got from the G60 warrant no worries. We only have the on-screen tests in our hands-on review – the Nokia G60 scored 12:50 hours video playback consistently and accurately 18:00 hours of web browsing, respectively a solid and an excellent result.

The phone locks its refresh rate to 60Hz when you watch a video or browse the web, so the maximum refresh rate of 120Hz doesn’t really impact endurance.

Camera

The Nokia G60 packs three cameras on the back: a 50MP main camera with 1.4µm pixels after 4 to 1 binning and an f / 1.8 lens, a 5MP f / 2.2 ultrawide without autofocus, one of those sensors depth, with 2 MP resolution and a fixed focus 8 MP selfie camera with single 1.12 µm pixels and f / 2.0 lens.

From a software perspective, the Nokia G60 offers intelligence such as Capture Fusion for more detailed ultrawide shots, Dark Vision (also known as Night Mode) and AI Portraits (also known as Portrait Mode). There is the tripod mode, which will detect if the phone is on a stable surface and let the night mode last a little longer for a brighter exposure.

Looking at the samples, the G60 does a good job of keeping detail, increasing contrast, and rendering color. The output is punchy, there’s a wide dynamic range even though the textures are overly sharp to achieve a nice modern smartphone look for shots. You might scratch that excessive sharpness, but you’re wrong – if you’re a photography purist, you’d need to go much deeper into your pocket and get much more capable hardware, maybe even a dedicated camera.

Main wide-angle camera

HDR is particularly impressive. The Nokia G60 captured a very wide range of tones and colors even when pointed directly at the sun.

The main camera works well in reverse

The ultrawide takes very large images. Good dynamic range is carried over, but detail rendition is poor due to declining sensor and lens quality.

Ultra-wide

Selfies from the 8MP front camera are excellent for the class. If you don’t go looking for detail by pixel and enjoy photos at a size that fits your screen, you’ll love the output. Skin tones are excellent and the focal length is just right for one- to two-person shots. The second image is an example of the Portrait mode: it intensifies the contrast in the shadows and has excellent dynamic range in the background. Edge detection isn’t perfect but it’s not the end of the world.

Selfie

At night, with the night mode off, the large camera has a dark, smudged output. The sensor struggles to retain detail and sometimes loses highlight information while at the same time destroying shadow data. You should shoot in night mode when the camera suggests it. Unfortunately, there is no automatic night mode, the camera will show a message on the screen to suggest night mode, which is strange as there is a setting for an automatic night mode.

Main camera without night mode

Dedicated night mode shots greatly enhance images. There is much more information in the shadows, while the highlights are enhanced. The camera reports some information in extreme highlights (point lights and the like), but still can’t keep it under control. The details are much finer even though there is still some noise in the images. A little bit of noise for much greater resolution and detail is fine for us.

Main camera with night mode

The videos, on the other hand, are terrible. They max out at 1080p and even the level of detail isn’t worthy of that resolution.

On a positive note, the software does a great job of stabilizing shaky footage.

Wrap

Putting it all together we can say that the Nokia G60 is a good phone and it won’t cause any owners much frustration. Should you buy it at its original price of € 350, though? We would say no because at that price the HMD phone cannot match the performance of rivals from Samsung, Redmi, OnePlus, Oppo and Motorola.

Luckily it has already dropped to around € 310, at which point its competitiveness has improved significantly.

Some alternatives to consider are the Samsung Galaxy A52s for € 325 (6 / 128GB), the Galaxy A53 for € 345 (6 / 128GB), the Galaxy A33 for € 276 (6 / 128GB), the Galaxy M52 for € 296, the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G at 252 € (6 / 128GB), the OnePlus Nord CE 2 at 289 € (8 / 128GB), the Realme 9 Pro at 262 € (6 / 128GB), the Realme 9 Pro + at 306 € (6 / 128 GB) and the Moto G82 for € 305 (6/128 GB). For context, most of those phones are best equipped with at least one charger and, in many cases, well, a case.

The Nokia G60 is a good phone and at its new price point it is starting to improve in value for money. If you value longevity as a performance over the best possible camera or screen, you should definitely consider it. But if you’re not going to stick with it for the long term, you’re sure to find smarter ways to spend your money.