Nokia C12 Smartphone Review – HMD Global starts its year by releasing the new budget-tier Nokia C12, which is unveiled around January 2023. At the same time, there are tons of exciting features offered by the C-series in the entry-level segment, while this model surprisingly looks like a sequel to the Nokia C10. Although, the company doesn’t take any major leap to bring something out of the box. However, the phone appears to get a Nokia C31 design layout with a smaller display.
In this phone, you are getting everything average from the display to the battery. You won’t find that many interesting attributes. But still, with the compact body with a clean UI experience, the phone gives hope in the affordable price segment. It will include a decent size battery, good camera results, and many more things. With that said, let’s head toward the Nokia C12 review to find out more details about this phone.
Table of Contents
Nokia C12 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The phone will render a 720p resolution with 6.3 inches IPS LCD panel at the front.
- At the same time, you are getting the average Android 12 Go edition with robust customization.
- As for the performance section, you will obtain a Unisoc SC9863A1 chipset with an average processing speed.
- In terms of the camera setup, an 8MP main camera setup with a 5MP selfie lens at the front.
- A mediocre Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery capacity arrives in the Nokia C12 with a standard charger.
Design and Display
The Nokia C12 smartphone appears with a grippy texture on the back panel with a unique camera module. It will also appear in three standard color option, which includes the Light Minit, Charcoal, and Dark Cyan shade choice. All of them look pretty robust and give a decent feel. But on the other hand, you can choose the color variant according to your preference without much hassle.
The built quality of the plastic body does look slightly deal from the standard colors. However, it’s good to see that the company added splash resistance with Splash resistant support, which protected the device from small water splashes and dust. On top of that, the device got a 177.4-gram weight, while the body is slightly thick since it equips an 8.8-mm thickness side panel. However, the company cut a corner by removing the fingerprint scanner.
Anyway, it’s good to see that smartphone makers prefer to provide a compact build. You will obtain a 6.3-inches IPS LCD panel that will render decent color and contrast. On top of that, the phone also got tough glass protection, which provides scratch resistance to some extent. The overall viewing experience with this display would be average since it didn’t include higher brightness support.
Memory and Internal
The hardware performance will bring the 28nm Unisoc SC9863A1 chipset, which knows for its underwhelming processing power. Generally, the processing speed will go up to 4×1.6GHz of cloaking speed, while the device will do regular tasks without much hassle. The phone is not designed to work with advanced tasks, but if you are looking for a phone just for calls and messages, then it might hit the deal.
On the other hand, the Nokia C12 smartphone relies on the Android 12 Go edition. Usually, this software skin is used in the entry-level segment and will provide amazing features. The interface is lightweight since you won’t see that much bloatware in the first place. Besides this, the Clean UI properly utilizes the 64GB internal storage. The additional performance will come with a 2GB to 3GB RAM configuration.
Besides this, it also obtains expandable storage options with eMMC 5.1 memory type. Overall, the interface is looking easy to use and you are getting a stock Android experience at your fingerprint. Following this, HMD Global has confirmed that they will provide quality security updates for two years. But they don’t disclose any information regarding the Android OS update.
Camera
The camera performance with the Nokia C12 doesn’t stand out that much. But still, you are getting decent photos and video recording ability with an image processing unit. It will include an 8MP primary lens on the back panel that will capture details at a pretty decent level. Although, the phone won’t bring high-level color saturation. The real-time tests are great, the phone will have good camera results.
However, the device won’t be able to render above-average lowlight photography, and the background noise is evidently seen in the photos. Although, you are getting a decent combination of software so you won’t face any trouble using the native camera app. There are tons of features and modes that will allow you to create memories.
Aside from this, the device will provide a 5MP selfie lens which gives moderate photo results. Even though, you are getting diverse options from the native camera app. But still, you can record up to 720p resolution without video stabilization support. Overall, the video results are shaky since the company doesn’t put much effort into this section.
Battery and Others
Under the hood, you are getting a Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery that will allow users to obtain five hours of screen time to perform regular activities without much hassle. Even casual games can be played and it’s also possible to stream content at 720p resolution. Although, the phone won’t support high-end games. But still, the battery endurance with this phone is pretty superb as the phone will stay active for more than a day with a single charge.
Inside the box, you will obtain a normal charger that will refuel the battery life in less than an hour and a half since you will receive a small configuration. It used a micro USB slot to recharge the battery, but it won’t get a pleasing experience while transferring data. Speaking of which, you will get a 3.5 mm jack to connect your wired headphone device without much hassle. Last but not least, the Nokia C12 smartphone will cost $127 (Rs 10,490 in India) approx for the starting variant.
Nokia C12 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Nokia C12 smartphone.
| Specifications | Nokia C12 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G |
| Announced | January 2023 |
| SIM | Dual SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.32 x 2.93 x 0.35 inches |
| Weight | 177.4 g |
| Size | 6.3 inches |
| Display | IPS LCD 20:9 ratio ~278 PPI density |
| Protection/Others | Scratch-resistant glass Splash resistant |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| OS | Android 12 (Go edition) |
| Chipset | 28nm – Unisoc SC9863A1 |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A55 4×1.2 GHz Cortex-A55 |
| GPU | IMG8322 |
| Card slot | Yes |
| RAM | 2GB, 3GB |
| Internal | 64GB eMMC 5.1 |
| Camera | 8 MP, AF LED flash, HDR |
| Selfie | 5 MP Max – 720p |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP |
| GPS | Yes |
| NFC | No |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | Yes |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, proximity |
| Battery | Li-Ion 3000 mAh |
| Colors | Dark Cyan, Charcoal, Light Mint |
| Expected Price | $127 (Rs 10,490 in India) approx. |
Conclusion
The Nokia C12 is now available in Germany and Austria and soon the company will release this phone in other markets as well. But now everything comes into a circle as the device doesn’t have that many appealing factors in the first place. You are getting a standard configuration of hardware and software that will render average perks under the hood.
We won’t recommend this phone even if you are considering looking for a phone for casual messaging, social media, and beautiful camera results. At the same time, you are getting Realme C33 as a better deal than this phone. But if you are looking for a dedicated alternative, then you should consider Poco M3. Even though it’s an older phone, it still offers better attributes than this phone.
