Nokia is back with another budget smartphone under the C series – Nokia C20 Plus. The device is a successor to the Nokia C20 that was recently released in the global market. The Nokia C20 Plus was released shortly after the release of the C20. Given a low budget, the Nokia C20 Plus is a typical budget phone with some hits and some misses. It has a dual rear camera setup, a large 6.5-inch screen and up to 2-day battery life, at least that’s what’s being advertised. Let’s start with a detailed review of the Nokia C20 Plus smartphone to see if it can upend rivals.

What’s in the box?

Removing the box of Nokia C20 Plus, we are greeted with the device itself and the first impression is that everything is exactly the same as Nokia C20 and that is expected because this phone is basically the upgraded version of the Nokia C20. The color that I have with me is Ocean Blue and it also comes in Grey color. Just underneath that we have the user manuals and the product information which obviously nobody reads. We are also greeted with a soft TPU case. Just under this case, we get a micro-USB cable (obviously I’m not expecting USB type C as there wasn’t one in Nokia C20 as well). And then there’s a 5W charger which I think is going to take a long time to charge.

Okay, now inspect the device a little bit deeper.

Design

The build quality of the Nokia C20 Plus is solid, with a plastic body and a heavy in-hand feel. On the back of it, we see the Nokia branding. Textured just like the Nokia C20, the back panel boasts soothing pleasure for your eyes. The color – OceanBlue – is amazing. The quiet, modern design has been a favorite choice for many. An interesting specification you will notice is that the circular camera board housing at the back distinguishes it from a sea of very similar-looking budget devices. Unfortunately, there is no fingerprint sensor, but the face lock option is available on the Nokia C20 Plus model.

On top of the device, we are blessed with our good old friend – the headphone jack which we don’t see on the latest phones nowadays, unfortunately. At the bottom, Nokia has given up the USB C port in favor of the rather dated micro-USB. At the bottom of the phone, we have a micro-USB port for charging and data transfer and just next to the micro-USB port, there’s a microphone. On the left-hand side, there’s nothing. On the right-hand side, we have the power slash lock button and just next to it, there are the volume rockers.

Display

Honestly, for a low-budget phone, the first impression of the screen looks great. It has a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel with decently good brightness levels and HD+ resolution. Colour accuracy levels and off-angle tilt-shift are pretty much on point for a low-budget device. On the other hand, you will miss the smooth visual experience as there is not a decent refresh rate. Adjusting the brightness can cause problems sometimes. Another noteworthy feature is the 20:9 aspect ratio. You can expect a decent viewing experience.

There is a little notch on the top, but just generally speaking, the first impression of the screen is fantastic. Also, at the bottom of the device, there is a slight bezel but the screen generally speaking is big enough and this is the bezel that does not make a big difference. As per the price point, you should not expect a lot from the C20 Plus phone but what you get is completely justified.

Performance

Powering the Nokia C20 Plus is a Unisoc SC9863A processor that can be compared with Snapdragon 425 SoC which was launched back in 2018. So do not expect the performance to be the best. However, the plus point is that the smartphone has stock UI and that’s it. Unfortunately, playing state-of-the-art games would not be suitable for this model. Nokia C20 Plus is running on Android 11 Go Edition. I got the 2GB RAM and 32GB storage variant which is just the right amount for the kind of apps you might run on a phone in this range.

Camera

The optics are not anything special on the Nokia C20 Plus. It has an 8-megapixel primary + 2-megapixel depth camera while there is a 5-megapixel selfie shooter. Both the camera can shoot videos up to 720p@30fps.Considering the price tag; there is nothing to talk about. In short, Nokia C20 Plus doesn’t have a good camera. With this model, you cannot expect decent daylight photography. The phone allows you to capture everyday photos, but with some limitations. The front-facing camera is a 5-megapixel sensor that can overexpose shots but gets inaccurate skin tones for the most part. Since the camera is a big factor in any smartphone, you will find many other options with superior specifications.

Battery

If I talk about the power, you would be surprised by its long battery life. The phone boasts a massive 5,000mAh battery that lasts easily for more than a day. Unfortunately, there is no fast charger; instead, you will get a tame 10W charger, which is taking approximately two hours to completely juice up the device. According to the company, it can deliver up to two days of usage on a single charge. As this is an HD+ smartphone, the battery will last for two days but if you use the phone for a long time, then it should last for a day. For charging, it has a micro-USB Port. Overall, the battery section of the Nokia C20 Plus definitely appeals to you over the low-budget phones.

Price

The Nokia C20 Plus starts at Rs 8,999 for the base variant that comes with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. The phone also comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage for Rs 9,999. You can purchase the phone from Nokia India’s official website, Reliance Digital, Jio Point outlets, and offline mobile retailers.

Buy or Not?

Whether it is a display, processor, or battery, Nokia C20 Plus offers almost all the essential features that can do all your daily tasks. While it offers solid build quality and good battery life, it is a bit of a letdown on aspects like performance and camera. However, finding Android 11 Go Edition on any low-budget phone is quite hard. You would be surprised by the long-lasting battery performance. Not only that, the latest software and graphics unit draw your attention to this model. This is where it separates itself from its peers. At a price as low as this, there is little to go wrong, especially with a brand like Nokia. So, if you have a limited budget and you are someone who just needs a device to get work done, you can undoubtedly go for Nokia C20 Plus.