Smartphone Nokia 4.2

Button to call the Google Assistant. NFC.

Pioneer of the 4th series of smartphones under the Nokia brand, presented on store shelves in a strict business suit in black and a girlish soft pink body colour. A curious “hardware” is hidden under the external “shell” of the device: an 8-core Snapdragon 439 chipset, coupled with 2/16 GB of memory (at the minimum). Taking into account the stock Android 9 Pie operating system, the smartphone is guaranteed fast responsiveness to user actions when solving most everyday tasks and launching applications of a moderate degree of “severity”.

About 3/4 of the area of the front panel of Nokia 4.2 16GB is reserved for a 5.71-inch diagonal screen with a neat waterdrop notch. The image is broadcast on the display of the device in a maximum resolution of 1520x720 pixels. The device provides a separate call button for the Google Assistant assistant, a face unlock function using an 8 MP selfie camera, it also has a rear fingerprint sensor and an NFC chip on board. A separate reason for pride is the proprietary night mode for taking pictures on the main camera (13 + 2 MP), during which several frames are combined into one high-quality one.

perky kid

Reduced bezels have not given us more compact smartphones. On the contrary, smartphone screens have become even larger, and yesterday's giant 6.5-inch screen has actually become the norm. Fortunately, Nokia has its own vision of a mass smartphone, so in the summer of 2019 the company shipped a rather interesting Nokia 4.2 model to the shelves, which can be considered a compact smartphone, has a good screen, an NFC chip, runs on pure Android and costs less than $200.

Button for Google Assistant

Let's start with the most unusual — a separate button to call the Google Assistant. As soon as you press it, the voice assistant will instantly turn on and be ready to listen to questions about the meaning of life, get directions to a new coffee shop or create a reminder of someone's birthday. This is the first time such a solution has been found in the company's devices, and it will surely be a success — even if you are used to typing a lot on your smartphone, voice control is both faster and more convenient. Yes, this could have been done before, but with a button somehow faster and more visually or something. Plus, you don’t have to spend time unlocking the screen and launching the assistant.

Large screen

For its low-cost price, the Nokia 4.2 uses a well-calibrated IPS screen with good brightness, contrast, and pixel density. With a diagonal of 5.71", the resolution of 1520 × 720 is just enough to make the picture smooth, without pixel "ladders" and floating fonts.

Side frames

But the frames around the screen could have been narrower, the lower one with the company logo turned out to be especially large. If they were smaller, the dimensions of smartphones would be identical to the beloved old man iPhone 6. But with a much larger screen size. But even so, Nokia 4.2 looks like a great smartphone for owners of miniature hands and haters of phablets. With a height of 149 mm, the smartphone fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and all key elements are within easy reach of the thumb.

Dual camera and NFC

In addition to everything, the device is equipped with not the most modern bundle of hardware (Snapdragon 439 + 2 GB of RAM), a good dual camera, an NFC chip and support for aptX codecs. All in all, the Nokia 4.2 looks like a good option for users who are looking for an inexpensive, reliable and compact smartphone with no frills.