Xiaomi Redmi 7 vs Nokia 2.2: Which Entry Level Phone to Buy?

Here’s a detailed specs comparison between Nokia 2.2 and Redmi 7, both priced under Rs 8,000.

Redmi 7 (left) and Nokia 2.2 (right)

(Photo: The Quint)

Nokia was a household brand much before Xiaomi entered India’s shores more than five years ago. But things have changed since then, with Xiaomi occupying the bulk of the mobile market in India, Samsung a close second and Nokia very far down this list.

But coming back to our current topic, we’re looking at two entry-level phones in the sub Rs 8,000 segment, which is still a popular price bracket for buyers in the country. You’ve got the Nokia 2.2, running on a pure Android platform, and Xiaomi’s offering the Redmi 7, claimed to be a competent product itself.

With prices being similar for both the phones, which one should a buyer spend money on?

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

Design and Display

The Nokia 2.2 looks every bit like a phone priced higher than its actual value, until you realise that the back cover, which is glossy and made of polycarbonate, is removable.

At the front, the phone’s sporting a water-drop notch, ensuring you get plenty of screen space for viewing content. The chin size at the bottom is still fairly thick, mostly to accommodate the Nokia branding, and a couple of sensors. The 5.7-inch screen packs a 720 pixels resolution, which again is sufficient for users in this segment. It offers decent outdoor readability, and the viewing angles are also good.

The Nokia 2.2 is also the most affordable Android One-centric phone you can buy in the country right now.

Talking about the Redmi 7, this phone also gets a plastic back panel, and even the buttons are in plastic to keep costs low. The rear body of the phone is glossy and unless you’re good with keeping phones clean, it might start losing its sheen very quickly.

Xiaomi has given a 6.2-inch screen on the Redmi 7, offering 720 pixels resolution as well. For this size, the quality might feel mild but again, it would have been great to see 1080 pixels quality on this device.

The front of the display gets a water-drop notch, but the bezels on the edges are slightly bigger than on the Nokia 2.2. All in all, for these prices, there’s very little we can complain about how both these phones look and feel.

Hardware & Software

Nokia phones from HMD Global have relied on consistency and quality without going overboard on specs. The Nokia 2.2 is no different in that regard. It packs a quad-core Mediatek Helio chipset, paired with 3GB RAM and offering up to 32GB storage which is further expandable.

Generally, Mediatek has been a reliable name with its chipsets in the entry-level segment, but in comparison to the Snapdragon 632 running on the Redmi 7, the stakes are placed much higher for the former. Xiaomi’s octa-core offering on the Redmi 7 gets 3GB RAM and 32GB storage as well, which can also be expanded further.

Performance-wise, we’re sure of how the Redmi 7 will behave, but the Nokia 2.2 needs to be tested for a longer duration, to gauge the efficiency of the Mediatek chipset. Nokia 2.2 gets a 3000mAh battery, while Redmi 7 packs a bigger 4000mAh unit.

Being an Android One device, Nokia 2.2 will get the latest Pie version running out of box, and Google’s promised two-year software update cycle means, the phone’s value remains intact. With Xiaomi, the Redmi 7 is running an MiUi version based on Android Pie, but users have complained about ads showing up uninvited, making it slightly undesirable compared to the Nokia 2.2 in this case.

Camera

The Nokia 2.2 gets a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.2 aperture. It’s a single camera sensor and with stock Android in tow, the quality will just about give you images worth using on social media.

It gets a 5-megapixel shooter on the front, again sufficient enough to click your selfies. With these optics, we’re not expecting impressive output in daylight and low-light.

The Redmi 7 comes with dual sensors, wherein you have the 12-megapixel camera as the main camera, and there’s a 2-megapixel unit for depth-sensing. The main camera, like the Nokia 2.2, gets f/2.2 aperture, which is fairly common among phones in this price bracket.

We can’t compare the quality of pictures clicked with these two devices, but we’ll be doing it in the coming weeks. More or less, we expect the Redmi 7 to get the better of the Nokia 2.2 in the camera department.

Which One Worth Buying?

Looking at all this, you might be thinking that Xiaomi has one-up on Nokia with its sub Rs 8K phone. Going by the hardware, that actually seems to be the case, with a bigger display, improved cameras and competent hardware on board. Nokia 2.2 gets a Mediatek processor which have had issues in the past.

Having said that, Android One program works in favour of the Nokia 2.2, while Redmi 7 gets MiUi-based Android that doesn’t exactly match up to its stock Android counterpart. It all comes down to the pricing actually.

If your budget is strictly limited to under Rs 8,000 then Nokia 2.2 is worth having a look at, which for an entry-level user might not be a bad option. Having said that, Redmi 7 does make it to your list, and just in case you can spend another grand or two, the Redmi Note 7S becomes the obvious choice.