Nokia X10 Review (Video) | Cutting the right corners?

The Nokia X20 might have stolen all the spotlight away with its exotic Nordic Blue and Midnight Sun colors and 64MP main camera, but the Nokia X10 still has something to prove. It’s the middle child in the current lineup between the X and G series, and as the middle child, it needs to be reasonable, and very logical. You definitely won’t get any dazzling specs here, and there are definitely some compromises, but do they get in the way in the grand scheme of things? Are the compromises too much compared to the X20? You can watch the video review below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p33AfiSd2WU&w=560&h=315]

Plus Points for the X10

• Solid, well-built hardware design with a nice in-hand feel. No fancy glass or aluminum on the outer shell, but the practical approach is very much appreciated when it’s executed well, and it is executed very well here. I love that forest green personally.
• Excellent battery life. It might not have the largest battery capacity at 4,500 mAh, but it lasts 1.5 days with ease, and up to 2 with a more conservative approach. I’m averaging 8-9 hours of screen on time too.
• Reliable FHD+ IPS LCD display with Pixelworks tech for pushing more punchy colors when consuming content. Good outdoor visibility too.
• The side-mounted fingerprint scanner that’s been integrated into the power button works well and is decently fast too.
• Respectable daily performance. The SD480 might have gathered attention for all the wrong reasons, but in benchmarks, the X10 matches the X20, and the SD480 goes head to head against devices running with an SD720G processor in numbers. This also reflects in gaming, where the Adreno 619 plays games like COD at high settings with max framerate with ease. Haven’t missed the 2 extra gigs of RAM on the X20 at all.
• Okay 48MP camera. Not better than the X20’s 64MP, as it pushes out more saturated, extra sharpened images with slightly fewer details, but it does work well enough, even in low light. It also perfectly matches the X20 when it comes to features. Pro mode,Cinema mode, dual sight, and OZO audio are all present.
• Attention to details in things that might not be obvious, such as the Impressive heat management and haptic engine. It never got warm during my regular usage, and only got mildly warm when gaming for 30+ minutes. It matches devices that are far more expensive in this regard.
• 5G support, and not just as a marketing gimmick. The phone supports a wide range or 5G bands so should work worldwide without any issues. The phone also doesn’t skimp out on any sensors, has NFC, and a headphone jack. Yay!
• 3 Years of OS updates, matched by 3 years of security updates. Nice.

Minus Points for the X10

• The X10 is quite big and heavy for its class. While the heft adds to the overall quality perception, it might not suit everyone. The bezels on the front are also bigger than average, which adds to the overall size.
• The display offers no high refresh rate, which usually helps with the overall smoothness of the experience, but this usually comes at the expense of battery life. Giving people an option to go higher than 60Hz would have been nice.
• The 8MP selfie camera is weak. So are the 5MP ultra-wide cameras and 2MP macro cameras due to lack of resolution. You also can’t record 4K videos at all, so the max you can do is 1080p at 60fps.
• While Android One has its fans, some people might miss the additional customization options offered by the competitors.
• The phone only has a single bottom-firing speaker. It gets pretty loud while keeping decent quality levels, but some competitors offer dual speakers with better audio quality.
• Despite the excellent battery life, the charging speed is limited to 18watts. So it takes just less than 2 hours to fully charge, and around 40 minutes to reach 50%. This is definitely below average for its class.

Anyways, what do you think about the Nokia X10? Is it doing it for you, or do you find the weaknesses too much for you to deal with? Let us know in the comments!