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Nokia 3.2 tested: This is how good the affordable smartphone is

1.8.2019

Translation: machine translated

Cheap smartphones are getting better and better, but not all of them are good. That's why it's particularly important to scrutinise the devices. Find out here whether the Nokia 3.2 is worth buying.

The Nokia 3.2 is just one of three new affordable smartphones from HDM Global. These include the even cheaper Nokia 2.2 and the slightly more expensive Nokia 4.2, both of which can be inferred from the Nokia 3.2.

The red pen reigns

The Nokia 3.2 is a smartphone with a well-made plastic casing that looks like many others - and has the same features. In other words, it is reflective and attracts fingerprints. The lack of a fingerprint sensor is also noticeable. You can only unlock the 3.2 by typing on the display or using facial recognition. I didn't manage to trick it with a photo - which should be the standard. What is not standard, however, is the waiting time until the camera recognises me and unlocks the smartphone. That's far too long for me.

Speaking of slow. This also applies to the rest of the smartphone. The Snapdragon 429 chipset from Qualcomm and two gigabytes of RAM are enough to run almost all apps. But with this hardware, the Nokia 3.2 is noticeably slower than other smartphones. Even PUBG Mobile runs at the lowest graphics quality, but stutters constantly so that the game cannot be played properly.

Looking at the 6.26-inch display doesn't trigger any positive feelings either. The resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels is sufficient for a sharp image, but the colours appear dull - and the screen is not particularly bright either. This is particularly noticeable in the sunshine, as it is difficult to see anything on the highly reflective touchscreen.

And then there are only just over four gigabytes of the 16 gigabyte internal memory free immediately after starting up. With a few apps, Spotify downloads or photos, this will be full after a few months at the latest. Although you can expand the capacity with a microSD card, this should not be the case so soon.

Face recognition, performance, display and storage space: these are four points that speak against the Nokia 3.2 - even if I give it credit for its low price. On the other hand, the software remains a positive memory. HMD Global relies on Android in its pure form for its Nokia smartphones, without any additional apps or user interface installed. This is nice and tidy and has enabled the manufacturer to provide its devices with software updates quickly in recent years - even the cheap ones.

A camera for good weather

Expectations of a smartphone camera in this price range are not particularly high. But here too, the Nokia 3.2 disappoints - other affordable smartphones do a better job. The colours and detail accuracy of the main camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels are okay with sufficient brightness, but nothing more. The HDR effect brings slight improvements with strong contrasts, but only slight ones. When it gets dark, the image quality deteriorates rapidly. The photo becomes grainy and blurred.

The front camera has a resolution of five megapixels and gives your face a red tint. The level of detail is low, even for selfies, and the HDR effect only brings minor improvements.

Conclusion: Saving in the wrong places

The Nokia 3.2 doesn't convince me. Even if I give it credit for its low price, it offers too little storage space compared to other smartphones in this price range, hardware that is too slow, only a mediocre display and an average camera at best.

If the smartphone is supposed to be cheap, the slightly more expensive and smaller Nokia 4.2 still offers a larger memory. In my opinion, however, the cheaper Moto G7 Play would be the better choice. It has more storage space, a more powerful chipset and made a better impression with its display and images.

Smartphones

Nokia 3.2

16 GB, Black, 6.26", Dual SIM + SD, 4G

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Jan Johannsen

Senior Editor

Jan.Johannsen@galaxus.de

When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.

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