Nokia G22 born to be repairable. Not just by a specialized technician, but by everyone.
That’s because HMD Global – the company that manufactures and distributes Nokia-branded smartphones – has partnered with iFixit to give life to a device quite unique in its kind.
Is the name new to you? Summarizing we could say that iFixit is a community of people helping each other to fix things. And by “things” we mean phones, PCs, tablets, consoles, appliances… On the website you will find guides of all kinds, including – of course – those dedicated to the Nokia G22.
Smontiamo Nokia G22
As you can see in the video above, we have disassembled Nokia G22using an iFixit kit.
The kit we used costs around 30 euros but by purchasing the spare parts – display, battery, back cover or USB-C connector – you will receive at a cost of 5 euros also the tools for replacing the offending element.
Yes, but these spare parts… how much do they cost?
- back cover: da 24,95 euro;
- battery: from 24.95 euros;
- USB-C connector: from 19.95 euros;
- display: from 49.95 euros.
All this considering that lo smartphone costa 199 euro therefore, proportionally, the prices seem more than adequate to us.
Was it easy to open the device? Yes.
Anxiogen? Decidedly.
It wasn’t the first time we’ve done it but we are still dealing with a delicate technological product, which it requires all the necessary attention and a good manual skill. However, the iFixit guide is simple, accompanied by a lot of photographs and following it is not at all complicated. You’ll just have to have a little patience and put the right amount of concentration into it.
The Nokia G22 review: we’re not there
The problem, in our opinion, is another.
We welcome the fact that Nokia – or rather, HDM Global – has decided to create a product that can be repaired by everyone and therefore born to last a little longer over time.
In a world where resources are increasingly difficult to find, where we discard still functional electronics, where we tend to underestimate the environmental impact of our choices, also and above all in the technological field, Nokia is trying to sensitize users a bit. And it is profoundly right.
The fact is that the G22 is not exactly living up to expectations.
It is, as you may have guessed from the price, a low-end phone with low-end hardware. So we didn’t expect top-of-the-range performance, but a better optimization job could have been done here.
Nokia G22 many a Unisoc T606 processor accompanied from 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal space, expandable via microSD. It’s not a very fast phone, both for the processor and for the only 4 GB of RAM. In daily use we have seen it slow down and struggle even without requiring great effort. You will always have to wait a little longer than expected, whatever operation you decide to do.
And no, it’s not the software’s fault because we have Android 12 in a practically stock version.
The display also didn’t impress us. We stop at 720p so the resolution is HD. And yes, it is already noticeable by looking at the wallpaper.
Brightness, colors, contrast and 90 Hz refresh rate aren’t bad though, not to mention that you have a good 6.5 inches available, so there’s room for all kinds of content and uses.
On the camera front there are no big surprises. We have three rear sensors: the main one with 50 megapixels, 2 megapixels for macro and 2 megapixels for depth; on the front instead we find the 8 megapixel camera for selfies.
The photos and videos are not exciting but it seems clear that Nokia G22 was not born with this purpose.
Instead, the battery has been promoted with full marks: we have 5,050 mAh which with average use they allow you to survive a day and a half without recharging.
Although born to be disassembled, the build quality seemed very good to us. There are no crunches, there are no sags. Obviously the predominant material is plastic but, considering the costs, we didn’t expect anything different.
Nokia G22 with iFixit: does it make sense?
Ours was a quick but hopefully functional summary. A summary to tell you that the intentions behind Nokia G22 are very noble. We are indeed talking about a phone that can potentially be repaired by everyone – “potentially” because obviously we don’t all have the same manual dexterity and the operation certainly causes a bit of stress – it is an excellent idea from an environmental sustainability point of view.
However, we would have expected a more performing smartphone. Right now, it’s not a phone that we would recommend, at least not before some possible software update that could improve its performance.
The road traced by Nokia is still interesting. We are curious to find out if anyone else will try to do something similar. Or if Nokia itself decides to bring the concept of “reparability within everyone’s reach” to slightly higher-end terminals.