The phone was released just six months after it's predicessor the Nokia 2.2, and it's successor the Nokia 2.4 was released September last year.
The Nokia 2.3 features a 6.2 inch IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen with HD+ resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels , a pixel density of 271 ppi and an aspect ratio of 19:9. Despite the varying screen sizes, Nokia have always maintained similar HD displays for it's budget Smartphones including the Nokia 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.2 among other devices in this category.
The 2.3 also feature a dual 13 MP + 2 MP with HDR10 and a single 5 MP selfie camera. This is exactly the same camera arrangement in the 4.2, and we will discuss later about their performance.
Powered by a 4000 mAh battery, the Nokia 2.3 is as basic as it gets with no much fancy features to expect from this budget phone.
It is still part of the Android one program ensuring you get timely security and Software updates as well as a clean user interface free of adds or bloatware.
Launched at the time when notched displays as the trend in the Smartphone industry, Nokia managed to slot in a lovely waterdrop notch in front of this device and the thin bezels all round ensures the phone has a much better screen-to-body ratio of 80.7 is slightly better that the 4.2's 76.6%.
The Nokia 2.3 Pros include:
- Compact design that looks premium and known for it's durability.
- Android one certified which ensures a clean User Interface as well as timely security and software updates.
- Decent camers with good performance in enough Lighting conditions.
- Dedicated Google Assistant button.
- Fair price. You can get this phone at a price that would almost be impossible to get a good durable phones with a clean Android version.
It's downsides are:
- Low quality display.
- No USB-C port.
- Sluggish performance.
Pricing And Competition.
The phone is currently available in a number of stores and you can get one at your favorite electronics shop for around $129.00.
With such a price, the Nokia 2.3 faces a stiff Competition from a number of brands that have a focus on budget smartphone segment.
We would not expect a Samsung phone at this price range, but surprisingly the Samsung Galaxy A10S and the Galaxy A11 come close. The A10S has almost all the same specs as the Nokia 2.3 including a HD+ IPS LCD screen, the same cameras as well as the battery safe for the much better Mediatek Helio P22.
The Galaxy A11 on it's part uses the Snapdragon 450 with much better performance, but the other specs are also almost the same.
Adding a little amount gives you the Realme C12, which like the Samsung Galaxy A11 uses the Helio P22. But it's 6,000 mAh battery and a Quad camera setup are just too good to ignore.
Nokia 2.3 Key Specs/features.
- Launched December 2019
- Dimensions: 157.7 x 75.4 x 8.7 mm
- Weight: 183 g
- Has Single or dual Hybrid Sim.
- Build: Glass front, Plastic back and Plastic frame.
- Screen size:6.2 inch IPS LCD Capacitive touchscreen with 16 Million Colors.
- Display resolution: 720 x 1520 pixels.
- Pixel Density: 271 ppi.
- Aspect ratio: 19:9 ppi.
- Screen-to-body ratio 80.7 %.
- OS:A 9.0(pie) upgradable to Android 10; Android one.
- Helio AChipset: Mediatek Helio A22 Chipset with Quad-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53.
- RAM 2GB
- Internal Storage: 32 GB.
- Micro SD card: Yes.
- Cameras: Dual 13 MP, f/2.2, 1/3.1", 1.12um + 2 MP depth sensor.
- Features include LED flash, Panorama, HDR, Autofocus.
- Video of 1080p@30fps.
- Selfie Camera: Single 5 MP.
- Battery: Non removable Li-po 4000 mAh.
- WLAN:. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/,Hotspot.
- Bluetooth:. 5.0, A2DP, LE.
- Micro-USB 2.0, USB On-the-go.
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity.
- Colors: Cyan, Sand,Charcoal.
- Price in Kenya: Ksh. 11,999.
Beautiful Design.
If you wanted to buy the Nokia 2.2 but it's look didn't impress you, then the Nokia 2.3 will be your best alternative. With a much slimmer body and a lovely water drop notch, the Nokia 2.3 is a beautiful peace of hardware and still remains competitive design wise even now.
The reduction of bezels on the phone allowed HMD to increase the screen size upto 6.2 inches up from 5.71 in the 2.2 while maintaining almost the same measurements. The notch houses the selfie camera and just above it is the earpiece.
The back of the phone is made of plastic and still maintains the monotone color design characteristic of most Nokia phones. You can get this phone in either sand, charcoal or cyan green. I would prefer the later.
The camera module is placed at the centre, and thankfully there is no pumb ensuring no scratches on the lenses. Unlike the Nokia 2.2 which had only one rear camera, we see an added secondary lens in the 2.3.
Below the cameras is the Nokia logo placed vertically just like it's siblings and though we still don't get the fingerprint sensor we get a face unlock feature if you prefer one. All buttons are also where we would expect them to be, the power button and volume rockers at the right hand side of the phone and the dedicated Google Assistant button at the Left hand side just below the Sim tray. The 3.5 mm port is placed at the top right while the microUSB port is placed below the screen. We would have loved to see the USB type-C port, but at just a price we won't have much of a choice.
Display.
The phone has a 6.2 inch screen with a 720 x 1520 pixels resolution. This is the same as it's predicessor, but the slightly bigger screen results in a slightly lower pixel density of 271 ppi. While this is not a phone for heavy gaming or video streaming, it still gives us a good display quality for your day to day Smartphone use. It might not be very good in direct sunlight either, but considering that sunlight visibility is still a preserve of high end smartphones we aren't justified to complain here.
Software Performance.
The Nokia 2.3 is a 2GB RAM phone with an internal storage of 32GB of storage. That's quite satisfactory for a phone at it's price range and if that's not enough you can expand it with an external SD card.
This is an Android one certified smartphone coming with Android 9.0 (pie) out of the box upgradable to Android 10. The Android one provides a clean user interface with no bloatware or ads, and ensures timely security and software updates.
Just like the Nokia 2.2, the phone is powered by a Mediatek Helio A22 Quad-core chipset with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz. This is a major upgrade over the Snapdragon 425 in the Nokia 2.1. The Helio A22 is the same Chipset found in phones like the Realme 6i and the Tecno Spark 5 Air.
The chipset works well with Android go but you might experience lags and have to wait for some seconds for apps to open if used with the mainstream Android versions which are much heavier than Android go.
Battery performance.
One major update of this phone over Nokia 2.2 is the 4000mAh battery, a big boost from the 3,000 mAh. This can last you over two days with normal use. We still don't see fast charge support, a slight dissapointment since the Nokia 2.1 had 10W fast charge.
Why buy the Nokia 2.3.
- Nice design.
- Good display.
- Clean User interface thanks to Android one.
- Good battery.
Conclusion.
The Nokia 2.3 is still a good looking phone even in 2021, with specs expected of a budget phone including a HD display, dual camera setup and a reasonable battery size. However the rather old Mediatek Helio A22 chipset might be the greatest undoing of the phone at this time, with the likes of Infinix Hot 10 offering a much better performance for almost the same price.
But if you just need an Android one phone at all costs then you can consider the Nokia 2.3
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