Having used the Nokia 7 Plus for 2 years, I decided the Nokia 7.2 which was announced and released in September 2019 was a worthy upgrade.
Why I find the 7.2 almost perfect
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I love the clean interface of the minimalist Android One. It is one version of Android I can handle. Also, I’m comfy with the Nokia brand – having used it more than any other, in the last 16 years. Now to the 7 features, I prefer on the Nokia 7.2
#1 Bigger screen
I’ve been used to bigger screens since back when I used the iPhone 6 Plus. The Nokia 7.2 offers a bigger screen while being only slightly bigger in the hand than the Nokia 7 Plus. The manufacturer, HMD Global, was able to achieve this partly due to the smaller bezels the 7.2 has.
#2 Faster, Smoother experience
The 7.2 offers an overall faster and smoother experience. This is despite the fact that it uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset. Granted, my 7.2 has a 6GB RAM while the 7 Plus has a 4GB RAM. This would add to the better experience.
#3 Dedicated SD Card slot
My minimum requirement for a smartphone, based on my needs is, it must be a dual-SIM and have a dedicated Micro SD card slot. I take a bit of photos, videos and have 5 active SIMs from 4 countries. The Nokia 7.2 has a dedicated MICRO SD slot while the 7 Plus only offers a shared SIM slot for SD cards.
#4 Better screen
After using the 7.2 for about 5 weeks now, it’s a bit harder to use the 7 Plus occasionally. The screen on the 7.2 is brighter and better in every way. The 7.2 supports the HDR10 technology that makes one’s video experience better.
#5 Camera System
The camera system on the 7.2 is just better. Not only does the biggest camera peak at 48 megapixels, but it also offers an extra ultrawide lens that I haven’t put to much use with outdoor photography due to the extensive lockdown in South Africa at this time.
All the same, the Nokia 7.2 offers more lenses and sharper images.
I love that the camera software on the 7.2 comes with a pause button while recording video. This makes video recordings much more creative. I had to make use of a 3rd-party app known as OpenCamera on the 7 Plus for this feature alone thus loosing the Image Stabilization (gyro-EIS) on that phone when using that app.
#6 FM Radio
Yes, I hardly have to use this daily considering I can make use of TuneIn Radio for a better radio experience but it’s good to know that the FM radio is there for when one is out of internet coverage. The 7.2 has this while the 7 Plus doesn’t.
#7 Aesthetics
While the 7 Plus was good looking in its own way, the 7.2 is much more visually pleasing with its premium design. The shape of the tear-drop notch, the arrangement of the camera system and fingerprint reader the back all make the 7.2 an object of beauty.
Bonus feature
The 7.2 has a very functional face unlock that is convenient to use especially during the day. The face unlock on the 7 Plus was disabled when I upgraded it to Android 10.
Conclusion
Overall, while it is not perfect, I find the Nokia 7.2 to be a worthy upgrade in every way.
NB. The unboxing and other video shots of the Nokia 7.2 were filmed on the Nokia 7 Plus.
Price
In South Africa, the Nokia 7.2 128GB is on sale for R5,999 at Takealot.com while MTN South Africa offers the 64GB version on a 24-month contract from R349 per month.
Android 10
While it was released with Android 9, the Nokia 7.2 can easily be upgraded to run Android 10. It is highly recommended this is done over some internet connectivity as it requires about 1.5GB of data.
