Nokia 2.2 Review: Solid Android Phone with Removable Battery

There are not that many solid Android One smartphones to choose from, and there are even fewer smartphones with a removable battery, which is why the Nokia 2.2 is so worth taking a closer look at.

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51baOh8oj6L. SL500NokiaNokia 2.2Check Price on Amazon

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Pros:

  • Likable design
  • Solid performance
  • Removable battery
  • Dedicated Google Assistant button
  • Stock Android experience
  • Regular software updates

Cons:

  • Average cameras
  • Larger bezels

Design and Build

When it comes to design and build, the Nokia 2.2 doesn’t stray too far away from other budget smartphones HMD Global, the company that produces Nokia-branded smartphones, has released in recent years.

The smartphone’s lightweight immediately gives away the fact that you’re holding a device that costs that’s pretty cheap. But instead of trying to mask its plastic construction, HMD decided to have fun with it, allowing customers to personalize their Nokia 2.2 smartphones with Xpress-on interchangeable back panels.

All you need to do to give the Nokia 2.2 a brand-new look is to remove the back panel and swap it for a new one. At the time of writing this article, you can choose between dark green, blue, and sandy pink colors. Below the removable back panel is a 3,000 mAh battery (more about it later), two nano-SIM slots, and one microSD slot.

Unlike the latest and greatest flagship smartphone, the Nokia 2.2 has a 3.5 mm audio jack so that you can plug in your trusty headphones without an annoying dongle. Right in the middle of the left side of the smartphone is a dedicated Google Assistant button. On the left side are volume rocker buttons and the power button.

Display

The 5.71-inch IPS LCD display occupies most of the front of the Nokia 2.2. The screen has an acceptable resolution of 720 × 1520 pixels with a 19:9 aspect ratio. It’s bright enough to be clearly visible outdoors, and its color accuracy is pretty good considering how much this smartphone costs.

Unfortunately, the display doesn’t have an oleophobic coating to keep fingerprint spots off of the glass panel that covers it, so it stains easily. There are after-market products that you can apply yourself to give the display a layer of oleophobic coating, but they may wear off over time.

Just like other recent Nokia smartphones, the display has a drop-shaped notch for the front-facing camera. The notch is reasonably small, and it doesn’t get in the way during any activity except for video playback and gaming.

The bezel around the display is undoubtedly on the larger side compared with most other modern smartphones, but, again, the low price of the Nokia 2.2 completely justifies it.

Performance

You should never expect any budget smartphone to deliver spectacular performance, but you can—and should—expect it to handle all necessary tasks confidently, and that’s exactly what the Nokia 2.2 does. It uses the MediaTek Helio A22 (MT6761) chipset, which consists of four Cortex-A53 cores and the PowerVR GE8320 graphics accelerator.

The chipset is paired with either 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage or 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. That extra gigabyte of RAM can go a long way in enabling you to multitask without much lag.

Casual games run fine on the Nokia 2.2, but anything beyond that is a painful experience. Things are fortunately much better when it comes to day-to-day tasks, although we’ve encountered a few apps that struggled to perform well on the smartphone, such as WhatsApp.

Camera

The primary camera has a resolution of 13 MP and is aided by a single LED flash. The front-facing camera doesn’t have a flash, and its decision is 5 MP. Both cameras are only average at best, taking presentable pictures when the lighting conditions are ideal and delivering sub-par results when they’re not.

The good news is that the camera app supports HDR and panorama, so you can get creative even if you’re on a very tight budget. The primary camera can shoot Full HD video, but the lack of any kind of image stabilization often results in shake footage.

Software

The Nokia 2.2 is an Android One smartphone, which means that it runs a near-stock version of the Android operating system and receives regular security updates for three years and Android OS updates for two years.

More specifically, the Nokia 2.2 ships with Android 9.0 Pie, so you can look forward to features like gesture navigation, adaptive brightness, and adaptive battery. The only non-stock app that you’ll find on the smartphone is called My Phone, and its purpose is to provide users personal customer support.

It features a digital version of the user manual, community forums, and a convenient way how to contact support directly with live chat. You can also use the app to find your nearest Nokia Mobile Care center and check up on the status of your warranty, among other things.

Battery Life

The Nokia 2.2 is one of only a few modern smartphones with a removable battery. The battery is hidden under the back panel, and taking it out could hardly be any simpler. Because the battery has a capacity of 3,000 mAh, it can last a full day of heavy use and several days on standby.

The included 5 W charger can take the battery from zero to 100% in 3 hours, and there’s no point in connecting the smartphone to a more powerful charger because there’s no support for fast charging. But considering that you can carry a spare battery in your pocket (make sure to put it in a suitable case first because Li-Ion batteries can be dangerous), we think the slower charging speed is perfectly acceptable.

Nokia 2.2: Verdict

The manufacturer of the Nokia 2.2, HMD Global, has made all the right compromises when deciding which features to leave out and which to include. The result is a reliable smartphone that can confidently handle all basic tasks. Most importantly, it gives you the option to carry multiple batteries with you and swap them out as needed, which is why it has a place on our list of the top 15 best phones with removable battery in 2024.

Specifications

Announced June 2019
Size 146 x 70.6 x 9.3 mm (5.75 x 2.78 x 0.37 in)
Weight 153 g (5.40 oz)
Display 5.71-inch IPS LCD (720 x 1520 pixels)
Chipset Mediatek MT6761 Helio A22 (
Memory 2 or 3 GB
Storage 16 or 32 GB
Camera 13 MP + 5 MP
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio, MicroUSB 2.0
Battery Removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
Operating system Android 9.0 (Pie); Android One
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51baOh8oj6L. SL500NokiaNokia 2.2Check Price on Amazon

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